State School of Year: Santa Margarita

It’s a different mix of highly successful sports, but the Eagles have repeated as the Cal-Hi Sports State School of the Year for the 2025-26 school year. They’ve also now made it three State School of the Year honors in the last four years. It was not an easy selection since two schools — Mater Dei of Santa Ana and Buchanan of Clovis — both won four CIF state titles compared to three for the Eagles. They just had a bit more success in more sports. Go inside this post to see why it came out this way.

For State Schools of the Year by gender, by division plus writeups of other Top 10 schools for 2025-26, CLICK HERE.

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS FREE STORY ON CALHISPORTS.COM. SOME PRESEASON FOOTBALL STORIES AND LISTS NOW ALSO BEING WORKED ON WILL BE FOR GOLD CLUB MEMBERS ONLY. HELP US OUT BY SIGNING UP NOW. YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT FOR JUST $4.99 FOR ONE MONTH. FOR DETAILS, CLICK HERE.

Despite the girls swimming team seeing its run of CIF state championships end at six, there was still plenty of CIF state champioship celebrations to be had at Santa Margarita Catholic High of Rancho Santa Margarita during the 2025-26 school year.

The Eagles, in fact, earned three CIF state crowns in the highest division in three other sports, went deep into the CIF SoCal regional playoffs in two more, were considered in the top five in two more and that girls swimming team was in the top 10 of its final state meet.

Add it all up and Santa Margarita has repeated as the Cal-Hi Sports State School of the Year. The school also has now been tops in the state for overall athletic excellence for three of the last four years. Santa Margarita also now has four State School of the Year honors in its history. Long Beach Poly has the most with nine since 1950, which is the year when the research by legendary Cal-Hi Sports founder Nelson Tennis begins.

“I am super excited and proud for our school to achieve this award once again,” said Santa Margarita Vice President of Athletics Jim Hartigan. “The accomplishment is a testament to our all our coaches, administrators, support staff and parents. Our programs were consistent across all three sports seasons — fall, winter and spring — although it was never a forgone conclusion that we would capture the prize once again.”

While Santa Margarita topped its total of winning CIF state titles from last year with three compared to one, the Eagles were still surpassed in winning state titles by both Mater Dei of Santa Ana and Buchanan of Clovis. The Monarchs, from the same Trinity League as Santa Margarita, won its four in girls water polo, girls volleyball, boys soccer and girls soccer. Buchanan, also a recent State School of the Year, swept the CIF state team titles in boys and girls wrestling, won one earlier in D1 girls cross country and added one in the small varsity category in competitive cheer. Santa Margarita needed its extra depth to overcome not having four like the other two and in final calculations it did.

“We have tremendous amount of respect for Mater Dei and their current and historic athletic success — it was a tough battle between the two of us all year,” Hartigan added. “There were also a couple of other schools that were right there at the wire. We set out with this goal as a school – we set the bar high. We knew we needed to start fast and be solid all the way through. This was a lofty goal, especially with competition in the Trinity League, and the other schools throughout the state.”

Here is a recap of all of the Santa Margarita teams that helped the school pile up enough high playoff finishes to outpace all other schools in California:

Football – The excitement surrounding the football program at SMC when last year’s State School of the Year decision was announced was off the charts. And in the first game of the season when new head coach Carson Palmer’s team played (and lost) to Mission Viejo, staff at the school were wearing School of the Year t-shirts. Well, at this year’s first home game, they can wear them again. The Eagles also had regular season losses to St. John Bosco and Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, but they beat Centennial of Corona and Mater Dei. Everything was clicking on both sides of the ball by the playoffs and with Mr. Football State Player of the Year Trent Mosley leading the way, Santa Margarita won the CIFSS D1 title with a 42-7 victory over Centennial and then rolled past De La Salle of Concord 47-13 to win the school’s first-ever CIF Open Division state title.

Girls Golf – Two weeks before the football team’s historic win in the CIF Open Division state championship, the Eagles were just as dominant in their final performance to win the CIF state title in girls golf. SMC out-shot defending champion Torrey Pines of San Diego by eight strokes and won its third state title in four years. The girls shot an even par 355 on the course at Poppy Hills in Monterey. Donina Zhao shot a 68, which was one shot behind the individual leader, while Nora Qu wasn’t far behind with a 70.

Boys Swimming – Junior Tyler Lee didn’t bring home a win, but his 44.65 final leg in the 400 free relay in the CIF D1 state championship meet clinched a second-place finish in the race and enabled the Eagles to win the team title by 2.5 points over Northwood of Irvine, which actually won that race. Santa Margarita won its third CIF state boys swimming crown after wins in 2023 and 2024. Lee was joined on that relay team by senior Adam Cuthbert, junior Jeffrey Chang and senior Bennett Korner. Korner also was all-Orange County in the 50 free and 100 back. Senior Sam Zhao also was all-county in the 100 fly while junior Taylor Thongitra was all-county in the 100 breast.

Girls Soccer — Trinity League rival Mater Dei got the better of the Eagles in the CIF SoCal D1 final and went on to win the first-ever CIF state title, but SMC had gone 2-0-1 in earlier matchups with the Monarchs and therefore would be an easy call to be considered No. 2 in the state for final rankings. Junior Felicity Nguyen was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year and CIFSS D1 Player of the Year since SMC also was the champion in that division before the regional loss to MD. Reagan Condon and Jastel David also were on the All-Orange County team.

Boys Basketball – With a talented roster including senior Drew Anderson (Stanford), senior Kaiden Bailey (Georgia Tech) and senior Brayden Kymen (Washington State), the Eagles won their second straight Trinity League title, went to the CIFSS Open Division semifinals, ended 28-6 and were No. 5 in the final state rankings. Their last two losses were to eventual CIF Open Division state champion Sierra Canyon.

Girls Volleyball — SMC enjoyed a 28-11 season on the court that was highlighted by a 3-2 win in the CIF Southern Section D2 championship game over West Ranch of Valencia. The Eagles then went to the CIF D1 SoCal regional playoffs where they lost in the regional final to Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, which then won the CIF state title. There were other teams from the CIFSS D1 playoffs, including Mater Dei, Sierra Canyon and Mira Costa, that were higher ranked but the Eagles were not that far behind. Junior Ireland Real was named the CIFSS D2 player of the Year.

Boys Water Polo — The Eagles had to be considered one of the top teams in the state in this sport as well. They had a 26-5 record, but were the No. 2 seed for the CIFSS Open Division playoffs when it began, including a perfect record in the Trinity League (which like all sports has a lot of highly regarded squads). Santa Margarita lost in the semifinals to Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, a team it has split with in two earlier meetings.

Girls Swimming – The Eagles’ girls had an off-year for them compared to their previous six, but still scored school of the year points for finishing seventh in the final CIF D1 state meet team standings. Freshman Haley Premono earned All-Orange County honors in the 200 individual medley. Senior Angela Lim did the same in the 50 free as did sophomore Daniela Scott in the 100 butterfly.

Boys Golf — The boys golfers also were one of the best squads in Southern California, but finished fourth by one stroke in the SoCal regional championships and therefore did not qualify for the CIF state championships.

Girls Cross Country — Led by junior Carol Dye, the CIFSS D3 champion, the Eagles were among the leaders in the CIF D3 state race. They finished in third-place, trailing only El Toro of Lake Forest and St. Francis of Sacramento.

There were other highlights in other sports, including those we chronicled in girls basketball and baseball plus a 20-8 team in flag football, and once again it was just all too much for any other school in California this year.

Congrats to all of the athletes and coaches at Santa Margarita for helping the school reach the top. Special kudos as well to Annie Garrett (Athletic Director), Donald Evans (Athletic Director) and Justin Bell (Assistant Athletic Director). Sports Information Director Chuck Nan also contributed with this article.

Cal-Hi Sports State Schools of the Year
All-Time List

2025=26 – Santa Margarita (Rancho SM)
2024-25 – Santa Margarita (Rancho SM)
2023-24 – Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
2022-23 – Santa Margarita (Rancho SM)
2021-22 – St. Francis (Mountain View)
2020-21 – Harvard-Westlake (Studio City)
2019-20 – Buchanan (Clovis)
2018-19 – Buchanan (Clovis)
2017-18 – Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
2016-17 – Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
2015-16 – Torrey Pines (San Diego)
2014-15 – Torrey Pines (San Diego)
2013-14 – Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
2012-13 – Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
2011-12 – De La Salle (Concord)
2010-11 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
2009-10 – Junipero Serra (Gardena)
2008-09 – Archbishop Mitty (San Jose)
2007-08 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
2006-07 – Archbishop Mitty (San Jose)
2005-06 – Buchanan (Clovis)
2004-05 – Clovis West (Fresno)
2003-04 – De La Salle (Concord)
2002-03 – Torrey Pines (San Diego)
2001-02 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
2000-01 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
1999-00 – De La Salle (Concord)
1998-99 – Clovis West (Fresno)
1997-98 – Santa Margarita (Rancho SM)
1996-97 – Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
1995-96 – De La Salle (Concord)
1994-95 – Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
1993-94 – Clovis West (Fresno)
1992-93 – Esperanza (Anaheim)
1991-92 – Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
1990-91 – Poway
1989-90 – Bakersfield
1988-89 – Corona del Mar (Newport Beach)
1987-88 – Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo)
1986-87 – Mission Viejo
1985-86 – Bellarmine (San Jose)
1984-85 – Bellarmine (San Jose)
1983-84 – Cordova (Rancho Cordova)
1982-83 – St. Francis (Mountain View)
1981-82 – Mission Viejo
1980-81 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
1979-80 – Berkeley
1978-79 – Mt. Whitney (Visalia)
1977-78 – Andrew Hill (San Jose)
1976-77 – Pasadena
1975-76 – San Fernando
1974-75 – Clovis
1973-74 – Kearny (San Diego)
1972-73 – Monte Vista (Spring Valley)
1971-72 – Ygnacio Valley (Concord)
1970-71 – Lompoc
1969-70 – Blair (Pasadena)
1968-69 – Compton
1967-68 – Homestead (Cupertino)
1966-67 – El Rancho (Pico Rivera)
1965-66 – El Segundo
1964-65 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
1963-64 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
1962-63 – Santa Clara
1961-62 – McClymonds (Oakland)
1960-61 – Compton
1959-60 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
1958-59 – Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
1957-58 – Berkeley
1956-57 – Fresno
1955-56 – Jefferson (Los Angeles)
1954-55 – Centennial (Compton)
1953-54 – St. Ignatius (San Francisco)
1952-53 – Santa Monica
1951-52 – Compton
1950-51 – Compton
1949-50 – Jefferson (Los Angeles)

Note: All-time list extends back to 1890-91 in the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book and Almanac. All selections prior to 1980 made retroactively through research by the late Nelson Tennis, founder of Cal-Hi Sports.

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