Softball: State Ranks By Divisions

Here’s our first look at teams across the state placed into state rankings by divisions, which is what we have done since we began doing state softball rankings in the early 1980s. Just like baseball, the issue due to competitive equity playoff placements is that we have no idea which divisions to place teams in until the CIF does its divisions. We rush out this first, free breakdown of ranked teams by divisions so folks can see what they are before the regional semifinals on Thursday. Final rankings will be done later next week. The No. 1 teams after Tuesday of this week would be Destiny Christian (D1), Alameda (D2), Las Plumas of Oroville (D3), Alisal of Salinas (D4) and Notre Dame of Belmont (D5).

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(Records through Tuesday, June 2 regional games)
*Season complete.
**Forfeits not included.

Note: All teams are ranked even if they opted out of the CIF regional playoffs. We also look for teams that aren’t in the CIF regional playoffs because they lost in section playoffs or played in a section championship and their section doesn’t allow its runner-up in some divisions to move on.

DIVISION I
1. Destiny Christian (Sacramento) 29-0
2. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 25-8*
3. Norco 28-3*
4. Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) 29-3
5. La Mirada 26-5*
6. La Habra 23-8
7. Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta) 27-2*
8. Lutheran (Orange) 21-9*
9. St. Francis (Mountain View) 26-4
10. Whitney (Rocklin) 25-8
11. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 26-4*
12. Etiwanda 24-4*
13. Clovis North (Fresno) 23-4-1*
14. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 23-4*
15. Fullerton 24-4*
16. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 26-4*
17. San Ramon Valley (Danville) 23-7*
18. Clovis East (Clovis) 22-4
19. Elk Grove 27-5*
20. Tracy 24-2*
Notes: Without competitive equity based divisions, to be clear Destiny Christian would not be in D1 but even though the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section doesn’t do it that way, the CIF on the state level does so it is possible for the Lions to be up in D1. They need a win on Thursday in the D1 semifinals vs St. Francis of Mountain View (which they beat 1-0 earlier this season) and then a win in the final on Saturday and that would also mean a final No. 1 state ranking. Down south, meanwhile, it’s been a nightmare for the CIF to place teams in the SoCal D1 bracket. Only one of the semifinalists from the CIF Southern Section D1 playoffs, La Habra, accepted a bid. The Highlanders then got a forfeit win on Tuesday vs Bonita of La Verne when it dropped out of the playoffs due to a lack of available players, Both Bonita and Murrieta Mesa both initially accepted bids but found out later that too many players were done with high school for the season and already heavily involved in with their travel ball squads. We’ve been critical of the CIF handing a No. 2 seed in the north to Clovis East just because of one head-to-head win over Archbishop Mitty, but on Tuesday the Timberwolves won in their regional opener (played on their home field) against CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D2 champion Elk Grove. They’ll get another home game in Thursday’s semifinals vs Whitney of Rocklin, but would have to travel if they are playing Destiny Christian in the final. For more bubble teams, see our overall State TOP 25 rankings that were done before Tuesday’s regional contests.

DIVISION II

1. Alameda 23-5
2. Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) 27-1*
3. Willow Glen (San Jose) 23-7
4. Point Loma (San Diego) 24-9
5. Del Oro (Loomis) 21-8
6. Whittier Christian (La Habra) 24-9-1*
7. Los Gatos 24-3*
8. Hollister 22-7
9. Vanden (Fairfield) 17-7*
10. Riverside Prep (Oro Grande) 28-4
Bubble: (all season complete except teams with asterisk) Birmingham (Lake Balboa) 13-10*; Bonita (La Verne) 22-9; Bonita Vista (Chula Vista) 22-7; Carlsbad 21-6; Carson 21-7* Central Catholic (Modesto) 23-9; College Park (Pleasant Hill) 20-7; Dos Pueblos (Goleta) 21-7; Garces (Bakersfield) 26-6; Northgate (Walnut Creek) 15-11; Oxnard 17-11; Redwood (Visalia) 22-7*; San Clemente 22-8; St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs) 19-13*; Temescal Canyon (Lake Elsinore) 18-6.
Notes: This division is more confusing even for us but it’s because so many top D1 teams in the CIF Southern Section opted out of the regional playoffs that the CIF took more than one D2 level team into its D1 SoCal playoffs. This includes Point Loma and Whittier Christian, who played each other on Tuesday in D1 with the Pointers winning. We couldn’t put St. Paul into the top 10 for D2 but it will be playing La Habra on Thursday in D1 after getting a forfeit win on Tuesday. The problem in the north is that just going by our own rankings that Ponderosa of Shingle Springs would be the No. 1 team. But for divisions we’re going to rank a CIF regional champion highest at the end and that team under those guidelines would be NorCal D2 top seed Alameda. The Hornets, who beat Livermore in an NCS third-place game to gain elibility for the regional playoffs, had a first-round bye on Tuesday and will play Hollister on Thursday in the semifinals. Hollister had a win over the Vanden team that took out previously unbeaten Ponderosa in the Sac-Joaquin Section D3 semifinals. Ponderosa still had a great overall season despite the one loss. We can rank that team No. 2 at the end for its division, but not No. 1. SoCal D2 top seed Riverside Prep had a win on Tuesday vs Del Norte of San Diego. The Silver Knights won the CIFSS D3 title, but have to be ranked lower for now since the only CIFSS D1 team they played, Los Alamitos, was a team they lost to and that also lost in the first round of the CIFSS D1 bracket.

DIVISION III

1. Las Plumas (Oroville) 29-1-1
2. East Nicolaus (Nicolaus) 26-1
3. Monterey 16-10
4. Helix (La Mesa) 25-4
5. Northwood (Irvine) 15-7-1*
6. Chico 25-7
7. Mission College Prep (SLO) 18-15
8. Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 22-3-1*
9. Grace (Simi Valley) 18-11
10. Chowchilla 22-7-1*
Bubble: (all season complete) Carmel 22-7; Brawley 19-12; Covina 16-12-1; Foothill (Pleasanton) 14-13; Hanford West (Hanford) 19-14; Kerman 19-8-1; Patriot (Riverside) 18-12; Petaluma 17-11-1; Rodriguez (Fairfield) 17-11; Santa Clara (Oxnard) 15-8; South (Bakersfield) 24-7; Venice 23-8.
Notes: Monterey is the top seed for NorCal D1, but we really like the matchup coming on Thursday between CIF Northern Section rivals Las Plumas and East Nicolaus and decided to make it a No. 1 vs No. 2. Las Plumas was the section’s D2 or top divisional winner while East Nic won in a lower division. The Spartans have often moved up for the NorCals and did so again. They won in their Tuesday game 3-2 over Sac-Joaquin Section D3 finalist Rodriguez of Fairfield. Las Plumas topped Foothill of Pleasanton on Tuesday. The two team also had the best records besides Destiny Christian of any team still playing in the state after Tuesday. Chico, the runner-up to Las Plumas in that top division, is playing Monterey (had a first round bye) on Thursday after ousting Chowchilla in the first round. In the south, we kind of thought that Helix should have been top seed and now the Highlanders are highest ranked after top seed Venice lost on Tuesday to Mission College Prep. Helix defeated Covina in its first round game. Note that No. 5 Northwood opted out of the SoCal playoffs after defeating Grace of Simi Valley in a CIFSS title game. We also have ranked Marin Catholic, which had a great overall season but was upset as top seed in the NCS D2 playoffs by Foothill of Pleasanton.

DIVISION IV
1. Alisal (Salinas) 21-5
2. West Valley (Cottonwood) 28-2
3. Woodlake 29-4
4. Madison (San Diego) 23-9-1
5. Escalon 16-11
6. Hughson 20-4*
7. Irvine 17-16
8. Hillsdale (San Mateo) 19-10*
9. Grossmont (La Mesa) 19-11-1
10. Live Oak (Morgan Hill) 15-8
Bubble: (all season complete except team with asterisk) Amador (Sutter Creek) 20-7; Arroyo (El Monte) 19-11; Avenal 17-9; Calaveras (San Andreas) 24-3; California City 22-8; Edgewood (West Covina) 18-7-1; Lassen (Susanville) 22-9; Newark Memorial (Newark) 19-8; Salesian (Richmond) 21-3.
Notes: In the lower divisions of state softball, just like in football and other sports, is where you really see a difference between higher ranked teams in the north compared to the south. The CIF sections in the north just don’t do competitive equity quite as completely so you’ll see smaller school programs get through where they don’t in the south. Woodlake was the No. 1 team in this division last year with just one loss and is in the SoCal semis on Thursday after a win on Tuesday vs Edgewood. The Tigers not only have a better record than Madison (seeded No. 1 in the bracket) but also have a higher computer ranking plus they’re defending champions. Madison won its first round game vs Arleta. They could play each other on Saturday. In the north, West Valley has a better record but Alisal has a better computer ranking and won its first round game on Tuesday, 12-0, over Newark Memorial. West Valley had a first-round bye. A team we will likely have in the final rankings is Hughson, which beat Escalon twice during league games but was upset in the Sac-Joaquin Section D5 playoffs as the top seed.

DIVISION V

1. Notre Dame (Belmont) 16-11-1
2. Le Grand 20-7
3. Durham 19-10
4. Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 17-12
5. Los Molinos 24-5-1
6. Arroyo Valley (San Bernardino) 11-14
7. San Bernardino 17-15-1
8. Monte Vista (Spring Valley) 19-14
9. Minarets (O’Neals) 18-10*
10. La Jolla 17-13
Bubble: (all season complete except team with asterisk) Argonaut (Jackson) 22-9; Berean Christian (Walnut Creek) 17-71; Chester 20-11; Elliot Christian (Lodi) 11-4; Hesperia Christian 20-10; Lowell (San Francisco) 15-14; South East (South Gate) 10-13*;
Notes: There is a big gap between the computer rankings of the top teams in the north in D5 compared to the south. Notre Dame, the top seed, had a 236 ranking when checked out on Monday. No. 2 seed Le Grand had a 325. For the south, Arroyo Valley is the top seed, has a win over San Bernardino but is only 11-14 overall with a computer ranking of more than 500. It’s the same for the other two SoCal finalists — Monte Vista and La Jolla. Notre Dame had a bye on Tuesday but Le Grand played and swamped Justin-Siena of Napa, 10-0, in six innings.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports