Head coach Harvey Kitani from Rolling Hills Prep (left) receives congratulations after team won 1,000th game of his career. At right, Lynwood’s Ellis Barfield is shown after team won its 30th straight league title. Photos: Ronnie Flores & Nick Koza.
Presented by our partners from CalGamesWanted.com, both of the boys and girls all-time state coaching records lists have now been updated for everyone through the 2025-26 season. One boys coach was able to celebrate a 1,000th career win even though our records still show him one win short. California’s winningest boys coach ever also has it set up to become the national leader next season. For girls, Lynwood’s Ellis Barfield won 700th game and program set a state record for most consecutive league titles. Many other top coaches written up.
To check out our updated Gold Club list of California’s all-time winningest boys hoops coaches (all with 600 wins or more), CLICK HERE.
To check out our updated Gold Club list of California’s all-time winningest girls hoops coaches (all with 400 wins or more), CLICK HERE.
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BOYS BB COACHING HIGHLIGHTS (2025-26)
(All listed in alphabetical order)
Harvey Kitani (Rolling Hills Prep, San Pedro)
The annual Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei on January 23 included a big celebration for Kitani, who gained the 1,000th win of his career when the Huskies rang up an impressive 60-45 win over Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas. Kitani, who gained most of his wins during his years at Fairfax of Los Angeles, was joined by Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight (see below) for the special occasion. If one looks at our all-time list, however, Kitani is still shown with 999 career wins. The 1,000-win total includes forfeits, which for our records are not counted. Some coaches and schools go by our totals to avoid any confusion, but some don’t. It’s happened before when a coach and school have celebrated a milestone win counting forfeits and it will happen again. All of our state records were simply set up in the hundreds of categories we have by founder Nelson Tennis by counting on-the-field or on-the-court results only.
Mike LeDuc (Damien, La Verne)
Early in the season, LeDuc went past the 1,100-win mark, but it was the end of the season that was truly memorable. His squad at Damien got hot at just the right time of the CIF D1 regional playoffs and went all the way to the D1 state title with a win over Folsom in the title game. It also put LeDuc on a list of coaches who have won more than one CIF state title. His first came four years ago and he was State Coach of the Year after that season as well, which made him ineligible to get it a second time after this season.
Mater Dei’s Gary McKnight is in line to become all-time national coaching wins leader sometime next season. Photo: mdathletics / Instagram.com.
Jeff Lucas (Los Altos, Hacienda Heights)
The one coach to win a 500th game and go onto our radar of those getting toward 600 and going on to all-time state list was Lucas. He got that done when Los Altos beat rival Wilson of Hacienda Heights, 71-23, in the semifinals of the El Rancho tourney back on Dec. 3. The father of former CIF Southern Section all-time career scoring leader Jarod Lucas (played for his dad from 2014 to 2018) has been head coach at Los Altos for 30 years.
Gary McKnight (Mater Dei, Santa Ana)
With 16 losses, it was not a good year for McKnight by his usual standards, but the Mater Dei legend did win his 1,300th game and has set himself up to become the winningest boys basketball coach in national history next season. McKnight, now in his 70s, moved his career total to 1,315 wins. The record is held by the late Robert Hughes of Texas, who has 1,333. Do the math. The Monarchs are going to win at least 19 games next season and that should be quite a celebration when it happens.
Doug Mitchell (Bishop Montgomery, Torrance)
The Knights had a 24-3 season and the big news for that is that it moved Mitchell up two spots on the all-time state list and he’s now in the top 10 and No. 10. Mitchell became the 15th coach in state history to win an 800th game during the 2024-25 season.
Brian Mulligan (Capistrano Valley, Mission Viejo)
It takes 600 wins to be on the all-time state list and Mulligan is now on it. He won the 600th game of his career early in the season when the Cougars downed Portola of Irvine, 65-53. Mulligan has been the Capo Valley head coach for 29 years. Brian is the son of the late, great Bill Mulligan, who was a coach at Riverside City College, UC Irvine, Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College. He died in 2010.
John Olive (Torrey Pines, San Diego)
Wins by the Falcons over Olympian of Chula Vista and La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad pushed them into the CIF SoCal D2 semifinals where the season ended with a loss to Palisades. Olive’s team for him had a sub-par 20-14 record, but that was enough to move up him up past five others on the all-time state wins list, which is the most passed among everyone for the season. Olive, who’s been at Torrey Pines since 1998, could pass four more next season and also get close to the 700-win milestone.
Tom Orlich (Buchanan, Clovis)
The third full season for Orlich at Buchanan was another outstanding one. The Bears went 27-5 that included Orlich getting the 900th win of his career. He became just the sixth coach in state history to go past 900, joining Gary McKnight, Mike LeDuc, Harvey Kitani, Ed Azzam and Don Lippi. It was the second straight season that Buchanan won 27 games under Orlich and the second straight year the Bears were in the CIF Central Section D1 title game.
GIRLS BB COACHING HIGHLIGHTS (2025-26)
(All listed in alphabetical order)
Ellis Barfield (Lynwood)
The big news for Coach Barfield and the Lynwood program came in early February when a win by the Knights over Downey clinched their 30th straight league title (including co-titles). With that win, Lynwood broke the state record of 29 straight league titles set by Troy of Fullerton from 1993 to 2021. Barfield’s team otherwise didn’t have a great season at 14-16, but the 14 wins also moved his career win total over the 700-win mark. He became just the 12th coach in state history to go past 700 career wins.
Sean Chambers (Antelope)
One season removed after Chambers won the 500th game of his career, he guided the Titans to a 25-6 record. The significance of that is that it moved him up six spots on the all-time state list, which is the highest jump for any coach on the all-time list for the season. Sean had been the head coach at Antelope since 2008 and was at Highlands of North Highlands (his alma mater) before that beginning in 2001.
Etiwanda’s Stan Delus was given a banner to celebrate the 500th win of his career after game played on Feb. 18. Photo: morrisondv / Instagram.com.
Stan Delus (Etiwanda)
The architect of the Eagles’ program that won three straight CIF Open Division state titles from 2023 to 2025 but had its streak broken this year by Ontario Christian earned the 500th win of his career in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs. An 81-59 win over St. Joseph of Lakewood in a pool play game was followed by a celebration that Delus reportedly didn’t expect. Stan’s previous high school girls coaching stops have been at Oak Park, Canyon (Canyon Country) and Bellarmine-Jefferson (Burbank). Bell-Jeff has been closed for several years.
Gary Jackson (San Dimas)
It takes 400 career wins to get on to our all-time girls coaching list and Jackson’s name is now on it. The head coach at San Dimas since the 2001 season notched No. 400 in January when his squad recorded a league win against South Hills of West Covina.
Kevin Kiernan (Troy, Fullerton)
The state’s winningest coach ever ended up taking just one year off of girls coaching as he took over the program back at the school he left prior to the 2008 season. Kiernan, who retired from athletic director duties at Mater Dei of Santa Ana after the 2024-25 school year, had a team this season that finished 22-9 and lost in the CIFSS D1 playoffs. One would think that the Warriors’ program is going to be doing better than that if Kiernan keeps coaching. He led the girls program at Mater Dei from 2008 to 2024.
Kelly Sopak (Carondelet, Concord)
We’re going to miss Sopak on the state girls coaching scene as he takes over the women’s program at the University of Nevada (Reno). Kelly’s last team at Carondelet finished 25-6, which moved him up four spots on the all-time state list. Our 2024-25 State Coach of the Year ends his girls high school coaching career (at least for now) with a mark of 541-91.
Marlon Wells (Rancho Christian, Temecula)
It looks like Marlon got the 600th win of his coaching career in an early February 105-43 win over Hemet in a Ivy League game. We didn’t have his coaching record before this season when girls hoops editor Harold Abend was able to get Marlon to figure it out. Wells, known for having prolific scorers such as Destiny Littleton at Bishop’s of La Jolla and Charde Houston at San Diego High, has been at Rancho Christian since the 2021-22 season. This year’s team had big losses to national powerhouses like Archbishop Mitty, Sierra Canyon, Etiwanda, Ontario Christian and full-strength Corona Centennial, but avenged earlier losses to both Fairmont Prep and Moreno Valley and beat JSerra in both the CIFSS Open Division playoffs and in the CIF SoCal D1 semifinals.
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