MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 boys basketball rankings

The Southern Section and Los Angeles City Section playoffs have arrived, and that means the rankings are sure to change in a big way in the next two weeks as the best face the best. And this past week we had a few changes, with Rancho Cucamonga beating Etiwanda, Windward beating Brentwood School, Hart losing to Canyon and Calabasas dropping out of the Marmonte League race.

We welcome Serra (Gardena) and Westlake (Westlake Village), previously ranked teams, plus Army-Navy of Carlsbad, a new entrant into the SoCal Top 25.

The Central Section and San Diego Section will wrap up regular-season play this week.

Click here to visit our California boys basketball playoff brackets



MaxPreps Southern California Boys Basketball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 26-1, 10-0
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings:  1 state, 5 national

Winning the Trinity League with a perfect 10-0 mark certainly deserves the top seed in the I-AA playoffs, and that's what the Monarchs got. A 71-54 triumph over Orange Lutheran and a 47-37 win over Servite wrapped up a stellar regular season for Mater Dei, and now the Monarchs will host Roosevelt (Eastvale), which went 15-11, on Friday. Nine players scored for the Monarchs in the win over Orange Lutheran.

2. (2) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), 26-0, 8-0
Division: Southern Section IV-AA
Freeman Rankings: 2 state, 10 national

Their record is still perfect, and their draw in the Division IV-AA playoffs is extremely favorable, so the Knights look like they are well on their way to the state playoffs. Because league opponent Serra is also in the IV-AA bracket, they need to be on opposite side from Bishop Montgomery. And since Serra is the No. 4 seed, that means instead of a matchup against Serra it would be La Verne Lutheran, assuming all the seeds hold. The Knights wrapped up their season with a 74-34 whacking of St. Bernard. Next up is Whittier Christian, which brings a 12-15 record.

3. (3) Long Beach Poly, 24-2, 12-0
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 3 state, 12 national



The Jackrabbits earned the No. 2 seed in I-AA after decimating the Moore League. They beat Wilson 79-49 and Millikan 85-51, capping off a regular season in which no California team beat them. Palmdale comes to town with a 13-12 record for a Friday playoff opener.

4. (6) El Camino Real (Woodland Hills), 25-2, 10-0
Division: Los Angeles City Section I
Freeman Rankings: 10 state, 62 national

The Conquistadors were hurt by their schedule when the City Section made its brackets, so they are the No. 2 seed behind Westchester. ECR certainly had the better record, but Westchester did do its part with its tough schedule. Nonetheless, this historic season produced ECR's first league title since 1978. Granada Hills was no trouble, 71-35, and neither was Taft, 70-51. Now comes No. 15 Canoga Park on Thursday in the opening round.

5. (7) Westchester (Los Angeles), 24-6, 12-0
Division: Los Angeles City Section I
Freeman Rankings: 13 state, 68 national

Unlike the LA City Section brackets, we have ECR ahead of the Comets. What all basketball fans should hope for is a chance for these teams to decide it on the hardwood against each other with a section title up for grabs. Fairfax (68-47) and University (84-40) each went down to the Comets this past week, and on Thursday, Fremont (Los Angeles) comes in for the playoff opener as the No. 16 seed.

6. (8) St. John Bosco (Bellflower), 19-6, 8-2
Division: Southern Section III-A
Freeman Rankings: 5 state, 39 national



Second place in the Trinity League is a lofty achievement these days, and the Braves have to be thankful that Mater Dei is no longer on their schedule. Half of their losses came to the Monarchs. Now come the III-A playoffs, and that means the Braves are the top seed. They beat Servite 70-25 and Santa Margarita 79-61 to close out the regular season, and Isaac Hamiltonis back after a coach's decision had him sidelined for two games.

7. (9) Centennial (Corona), 25-2, 9-1
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 7 state, 47 national

OK, let's call the loss to King (Riverside) an aberration. The Huskies got back to their winning ways with a 85-67 win over Roosevelt (Eastvale) and a 75-62 triumph over Santiago (Corona) to secure the Big VIII league title. Centennial earned the No. 3 seed for the playoffs and gets to host Jordan (Long Beach) Friday in the opening round. Jordan is only 12-18 but two of those losses were by forfeit, and they've played Long Beach Poly twice, so they won't be star-struck.

8. (4) Etiwanda, 22-2, 9-1
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 4 state, 22 national

The playoff brackets show the Eagles as a No. 6 seed in I-AA, and behind Rancho Cucamonga. That's because they lost 61-59 to the Cougars, and ended up sharing the Baseline League title. Now it gets a little bit tougher on the path to a section title, as Etiwadna starts out on the road against 16-8 Highland (Palmdale). Since Etiwanda beat Rancho Cucamonga twice, convincingly, and has toppled many of the teams in these rankings, the Eagles don't fall below the Cougars.

9. (10) Bullard (Fresno), 22-2, 8-0
Division: Central Section I
Freeman Rankings: 17 state, 97 national



The Central Section is still wrapping up its regular season, as the Knights battle Madera and Edison this week. They already have the league title and nobody from the area can equal the talent they have. San Joaquin Memorial went down to the Knights 69-32 and Sanger did as well, 77-27. Expect Bullard to make noise in the state playoffs.

10. (11) Tustin, 25-2, 12-0
Division: Southern Section III-AAA
Freeman Rankings: 37 state, 253 national

The Tillers earned the top seed in the III-AAA playoffs after an outstanding regular season that featured a cakewalk through the Empire League and victories over El Toro, Pasadena and Village Christian. Last week they bested Western (Anaheim) 58-32 and Kennedy (La Palma) 68-46. The III-AAA playoffs begin Wednesday and Cerritos (11-15) will be the opponent.

11. (12) JW North (Riverside), 23-3, 11-1
Division: Southern Section II-AA
Freeman Rankings: 29 state, 208 national

The Huskies capped off their impressive regular season with a 70-24 victory over Arlington, and more importantly they earned the top seed in the II-AA bracket. They ended up sharing the Inland Valley League title with Rancho Verde at 11-1, but Rancho Verde is in another bracket so there won't be another rematch in the section playoffs. University (Irvine) is the opponent in the playoff opener, bringing in an 8-19 record to Friday's matchup.

12. (5) Brentwood School (Los Angeles), 23-3, 10-2
Division: Southern Section IV-A
Freeman Rankings: 22 state, 163 national



The topsy-turvy Alpha League saw a three-way tie for first place after the Eagles lost to Windward (Los Angeles) 55-54 in the season finale. Even worse? They led by 12 points at the end of the third quarter. Even worse? It likely cost them the top seed in the IV-A playoffs. Tra Holder did score 22 points on the bright side. Now the attention must turn to the playoffs, where Brentwood School is the No. 2 seed and will host 7-19 Malibu.

13. (13) Pacific Hills (Los Angeles), 20-4, 10-2
Division: Southern Section IV-A
Freeman Rankings: 16 state, 88 national

The Bruins beat Viewpoint 84-49 to finish off the season and it solidified a three-way tie for the Alpha League title with Windward and Brentwood School. That's all good and nice, but what's best is that Pacific Hills is the top seed in the IV-A bracket and is one of two teams to get a first-round bye. The Bruins will face the winner between Marshall (Pasadena) and Notre Dame (Riverside).

14. (14) Price (Los Angeles), 23-3, 3-0
Division: Southern Section IV-AA
Freeman Rankings: 20 state, 139 national

The Knights earned a solid amount of praise with the No. 2 seed in IV-AA and that means a first-round matchup against 10-16 Morningside (Inglewood). They beat Ribet Academy 82-62 to close out the season and that was their eighth-straight win on the court.

15. (15) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad), 22-4, 8-0
Division: San Diego Section II
Freeman Rankings: 33 state, 232 national



The Mavericks' season is still going, and they're still winning. San Marcos could loom large in the playoffs. But for now, they have two games left: El Camino (Oceanside) and Carlsbad. Last week, LCC beat Rancho Buena Vista 81-45 and Fallbrook 80-34. Since Dec. 13, the Mavericks are 18-1, with the only loss coming to Etiwanda. Jeff Van Dyke is averaging 14.5 points per game.

16. (17) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 22-3, 10-0
Division: San Diego Section III
Freeman Rankings: 19 state, 138 national

The Dons dominated Scripps Ranch 72-32 and Mission Bay 75-52, and they are 14-1 in their last 15 contests. Four players scored in double figures in the Mission Bay victory. All that's left are road games at Lincoln (San Diego) and La Jolla before the playoffs begin.

17. (18) Loyola (Los Angeles), 20-6, 10-2
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 12 state, 64 national

The Cubs' up-and-down season (with more ups than downs) now comes down to fighting as a No. 7 seed in the I-AA bracket. That's the Long Beach Poly side, which might be better than the Mater Dei side. Either way, it's brutal. On Friday, Loyola will host 14-14 Montebello, then could face 10th-seeded Pasadena in the next round. They beat Alemany 89-79 and knocked the defending state champions out of the playoff picture, but it took overtime and 24 points from Trey Mason to get the job done.

18. (19) Mission Viejo, 24-3, 7-1
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 14 state, 74 national



The shared title in the South Coast League ended up becoming a reality, as Mission Viejo shared it with El Toro. The Diablos beat Trabuco Hills 56-39 and then finished off a successful season with a 60-51 result over Tesoro that featured 18 points from Evan Zeller. More importantly, they earned a great No. 4 seed in the I-AA bracket, and that means they open Friday against 17-7 Knight (Palmdale).

19. (20) Rancho Cucamonga, 23-4, 9-1
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 36 state, 248 national

Let it be known: The Cougars may have been overlooked. They grabbed the No. 4 seed in the I-AA playoffs thanks to a 61-59 triumph over Etiwanda that forced a tie for the Baseline League title and avenged a 76-39 loss to the Eagles earlier this season. Malcolm Drumwright led the way with 27 points and Victor Joseph added 26. The Cougars also bested Alta Loma 85-62. For the playoffs, they will host 15-12 King (Riverside), which has a win over Centennial (Corona) on its resume.

20. (21) El Toro (Lake Forest), 23-5, 7-1
Division: Southern Section I-A
Freeman Rankings: 30 state, 214 national

The Chargers are the top seed in the I-A bracket after tying with Mission Viejo for the South Coast League title. Now comes a playoff opener Friday against 10-14 Cabrillo (Long Beach). They bested Aliso Niguel 67-60 and then finished things off with a 65-46 triumph over Capistrano Valley.

21. (23) Chino Hills, 23-4, 10-0
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 28 state, 194 national



These Huskies are one of the hottest teams in the section coming into the playoffs, with 14 straight victories. The Sierra League didn't prove to be too much trouble, and now Chino Hills will go to battle as the No. 8 seed in the loaded I-AA bracket. The playoff opener is Friday against Montclair, no slouch at all with a 20-6 record. Last week, the Huskies beat Damien (La Verne) 62-50 and South Hills (West Covina) 84-44.

22. (NR) Serra (Gardena), 20-6, 6-2
Division: Southern Section IV-AA
Freeman Rankings: 47 state, 331 national

Had it not been for Bishop Montgomery, the Cavaliers probably could have been in the rankings more this season. But the fact remains that they don't have a victory against any team in these rankings. We still like Serra, the No. 4 seed in the IV-AA playoffs, and the opening round will feature a home game against 9-18 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks).

23. (NR) Westlake (Westlake Village), 22-4, 12-2
Division: Southern Section II-A
Freeman Rankings: 32 state, 225 national

The Warriors had a spectacular sprint to the finish and earned the Marmonte League title with a 75-69 win over Royal (Simi Valley) followed by a 78-53 thrashing of Calabasas. Those were two quality wins, and they catapulted Westlake to the top seed in the II-A playoff bracket. The Warriors will host 9-16 La Habra on Friday to open the postseason.

24. (25) Lutheran (La Verne), 21-6
Division: Southern Section IV-AA
Freeman Rankings: 45 state, 322 national



The Trojans, who played a freelance schedule, grabbed the No. 5 seed in IV-AA and got a slight bit of help when No. 4 Serra was moved to the other half of the bracket. That could make it easier to get to the semifinals. Of course Bishop Montgomery is on their side of the bracket, so danger still does loom. Lutheran opens the playoffs Wednesday at 18-4 Milken (Los Angeles), definitely not an easy draw.

25. (NR) Army-Navy (Carlsbad), 21-4, 7-1
Division: San Diego Section IV
Freeman Rankings: 25 state, 182 national

This week we extend a welcome to the Warriors, who have always been part of the conversation but never quite into the rankings. Their signature win came against Cathedral Catholic (67-61 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and they also have taken down San Diego Section power San Marcos. We're willing to look past the fluke loss to La Jolla Country Day and the setback to St. Augustine. Last week, Army-Navy avenged its loss to La Jolla Country Day (72-36) and bested Parker 73-68. This week, they close out the regular season with Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) and Bishop's (La Jolla).