Welcome to the first Southern California Boys Basketball Rankings of the season.
It features a very large number of squads that finished last season's action ranked in the Top 25 as well, and the familiar names are dominating as usual. The exception right now might be Fairfax, which wasn't ranked last season and is No. 2 here. Some say they're the best in the Southland but we're sticking with Sierra Canyon for now on top.
The Southern California Rankings are based on the CIF Southern California Regional Playoffs group of teams from the San Diego, Southern, Los Angeles and Central sections.
Click here to see the California Computer Rankings and
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MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 Basketball Rankings
1. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), 10-1 Section and Division: Southern 5AA
Rankings: 2 state, 6 national, 9 Xcellent 25
The Trailblazers actually trail Fairfax in the Computer Rankings, but we're siding with Cal-HI Sports, the Xcellent 25 and the Los Angeles Times and putting them No. 1. A loss to Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) is their only blemish and they won the MaxPreps Holiday Classic. They face Beverly Hills Saturday.
2. Fairfax (Los Angeles), 13-0
K.J. Smith, Mater Dei
Photo by David Hood
Los Angeles City I
Rankings: 1 state, 5 national, 24 Xcellent 25
The Lions have always been a good program, but this year's start appears to be something a little more special. What keeps them out of the top spot here? Their schedule hasn't been as tough as Sierra Canyon's, although they own wins over Redondo Union, Centennial, Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Loyola. They face Cathedral and LACES in the next week.
3. Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 12-3Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 7 state, 46 national
The Monarchs' three losses are all to out-of-state, quality opponents. They started the season locally with loads of blowouts but beat Etiwanda at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic. They will battle St. John Bosco and JSerra Catholic in the next week.
4. Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), 14-1Section and Division: Southern 4AA
Rankings: 3 state, 13 national
The defending state champions are heating up and it coincides with a tougher schedule. They own wins over St. John Bosco. Price, Redondo Union, De La Salle and Campbell Hall while their loss is by one point to Marin Catholic. They face Narbonne and St. Bernard in the next week.
5. Long Beach Poly, 11-2Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 4 state, 22 national
The Jackrabbits are ahead of Redondo in our rankings because of a head-to-head win over Redondo Union. But they have also lost to Loyola. Still, the overall resume is quite nice with wins over Foothills Christian and Westchester twice. They face Millikan, Jordan and Cabrillo in Moore League play.
6. Redondo Union (Redondo Beach), 11-4Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 5 state, 23 national
The Sea Hawks have dropped their last two, but they were to Fairfax and Bishop Montgomery. They own wins over Loyola, Centennial, Chino Hills and St. John Bosco. Inglewood is on the schedule for this week.
7. Centennial (Corona), 9-4Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 6 state, 37 national
The Huskies have a win over Etiwanda and spanked Foothills Christian, plus they beat Cantwell-Sacred Heart. Their losses are respectable, to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), Redondo Union, Fairfax and Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.). They face King in Big VIII play this coming week.
8. Price (Los Angeles), 13-2Section and Division: Southern 6
Rankings: 11 state, 80 national
The Knights own victories over Chino Hills and Cantwell Sacred-Heart, as well as Calabasas. One loss to Bishop Montgomery is a quality one. The loss to Tahquitz (Hemet) was definitely not. They will face Orangewood Academy and San Gabriel Academy in the coming week.
9. Etiwanda, 10-4Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 27
state, 259 national
The Eagles aren't getting a lot of love in the Computer Rankings but we still like the overall look. They have losses to Sierra Canyon, Centennial and Mater Dei - plus Great Oak. They have a victory over Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) to balance things out a bit. They're ranked 11th by the Los Angeles Times and will face Los Osos and Damien this coming week.
10. Chino Hills, 7-2Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 10
state, 55 national
Losses to Price and Redondo Union get the Huskies here. But they also have fared well in the Tarkanian Classic and the Rose City Roundball Classic. Foothills Christian is one of the Huskies' wins, as is West Linn (Ore.). Chino Hills faces Rancho Cucamonga, Renaissance Academy and Upland in the coming week.
11. JW North (Riverside), 13-0Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 28
state, 272 national
Just like last year, the Huskies are off to an amazing start but where to rank them is still a mystery. The LA Times has them fifth, but Cal-Hi Sports doesn't have them in the state rankings. They haven't faced any other ranked teams, and the schedule is hardly stellar. But 13 times they have gone to battle, and 13 times they have emerged the victor. They face Verbum Dei and Canyon Springs in the coming week.
12. Cathedral (Los Angeles), 12-1Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 21
state, 157 national
The Phantoms edged Chaminade earlier this season in their only battle against a ranked squad. Their only loss is to Valley (Las Vegas). In between all that, Cathedral has looked very solid and is ranked No. 8 by the LA Times. A huge test comes Saturday against Fairfax. Then they face Bishop Montgomery a week from Friday.
13. Damien (La Verne), 12-2
T.J. Leaf, Foothills Christian
Photo by Jann Hendry
Southern 1AA
Rankings: 8
state, 53 national
Their win over NorCal power Folsom is a huge one and their losses to Saint Francis (Mountain View) and Pebblebrook (Ga.) have to be considered of the good variety. In short, this is a very good team that also has wins over Thousand Oaks, Great Oak and American Fork (Utah). They face Upland and Etiwanda this coming week.
14. Foothills Christian (El Cajon), 9-6 (2 forfeit losses)Section and Division: San Diego II
Rankings: 14
state, 103 national
The Knights are the top team in the U-T San Diego rankings and their record includes two victories that turned to losses due to forfeits. They have taken on many of the Southern Section's better teams and that bodes well for this squad. Foothills Christian owns wins over La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) and Lone Peak (Utah) while losing to great squads including Long Beach Poly, Centennial, Chino Hills and Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.). They face Parker and Bishop's in the coming week.
15. Loyola (Los Angeles), 9-5Section and Division: Southern 1A
Rankings: 18
state, 122 national
The Cubs own victories over Long Beach Poly and Chaminade, yet also have experienced setbacks to Windward and Cantwell-Sacred Heart locally. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) and Alemany are on the schedule in the coming week.
16. Chaminade (West Hills), 12-2Section and Division: Southern 4AA
Rankings: 25
state, 226 national
The Eagles have a loss to Cathedral but did beat Village Christian earlier this season. All that would be good but a four-point loss to Loyola in the most recent outing is a bit of a blemish. St. Francis, Serra and Crespi are the opponents for the coming week.
17. Orange Lutheran, 12-2Section and Division: Southern 4AA
Rankings: 12
state, 84 national
The Lancers beat Miller Grove (Ga.) and Foothill (Santa Ana) as well as a split with La Mirada. They have a loss to national power Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) as well, and they will play Servite and JSerra in the coming week.
18. St. John Bosco (Bellflower), 9-5Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 23
state, 194 national
The Braves have taken five losses on the chin, but those losses have been to teams ranked higher or powerhosues from other states: Redondo Union, Bishop Montgomery, Oak Hill Academy (Va.), Miller Grove (Ga.) and Mater Dei. They face Santa Margarita and Servite this coming week.
19. La Mirada, 12-3Section and Division: Southern 2A
Rankings: 26
state, 256 national
The Matadores don't have a spot in the LA Times' Top 25, but they do here. We like that they beat La Costa Canyon by 15 and split with both Sonora and Orange Lutheran. And we'll excuse the loss to Edison (Huntington Beach) because of a win over Canyon. They face Brea Olinda, Cerritos and Norwalk this coming week.
20. La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad), 11-4Section and Division: San Diego 1
Rankings: 20
state, 135 national
The Mavericks are ranked No. 2 in the SDS and suffered three of their losses in the Under Armour Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines. They have a variety of victories against teams from their home section and the Southern Section as well. They face Mission Hills this coming week.
21. Sonora (La Habra), 13-3Section and Division: Southern 3AA
Rankings: 29
state, 273 national
The Raiders own a split with La Mirada, a victory over Servite and another win over St. Augustine (San Diego), plus tight losses to La Costa Canyon and Canyon (Anaheim). They will battle Sunny Hills in league play.
Andrew Gardiner, Brentwood School
Photo by Heston Quan
Southern 1A
Rankings: 32
state, 297 national
The Knights won eight in a row to start the season, and have wins over JSerra and Canyon (Anaheim). One loss is to Central Section No. 1 Clovis West and another is to Orange Lutheran. They face Yorba Linda this coming week.
23. Brentwood School (Los Angeles), 12-1Section and Division: Southern 5AA
Rankings: 36
state, 327 national
The Eagles have a victory over a good Canyon (Anaheim) team and their loss to El Camino Real came when the Conquistadors were playing at a very high level. They face Crossroads this coming week.
24. Cantwell-Sacred Heart (Montebello), 9-5Section and Division: Southern 3A
Rankings: 42
state, 372 national
The Cardinals have had little trouble getting past Westchester (which will end up in these rankings eventually) but have defeated Loyola, Compton and Salesian. They face Sacramento power Sheldon and then Serra this coming week.
25. Torrey Pines (San Diego), 13-2Section and Division: San Diego I
Rankings: 30
state, 274 national
The Falcons are fourth in the U-T San Diego rankings but we're giving them the nod for now over San Marcos. Their win over Bellevue (Wash.) is huge, and beating Los Angeles powers Westchester and Lawndale also bodes well. The Falcons have Mission Hills, Royal and El Capitan on the schedule in the coming week.
