SBLive’s Southern Section Top 25 Basketball Rankings: Sierra Canyon No. 1

SBLive’s Southern Section high school boys basketball rankings are compiled by SBLive California reporter Connor Morrissette and will be released every Monday throughout the spring 2021 season.

SBLive’s Southern Section high school boys basketball rankings are compiled by SBLive California reporter Connor Morrissette and will be released every Monday throughout the spring 2021 season.

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SBLIVE CALIFORNIA TOP 25 BASKETBALL RANKINGS

April 26, 2021

1. Sierra Canyon (2-0)

Amari Bailey

Even with Bronny James missing the start of the spring season through injury, Sierra Canyon is in good hands with Amari Bailey (UCLA commit) and Shy Odom. Bailey scored 23 points to lead the Trailblazers to a 103-80 win over Culver City in their opener.

2. Mater Dei (10-0)

Nick Davidson

Mater Dei has three great seniors in Wilhelm Breidenbach (Nebraska commit), Harrison Hornery (USC commit) and Nick Davidson (Nevada commit). Davidson scored 23 points to leads the Monarchs to an 87-53 win over Los Alamitos on Saturday.

3. Etiwanda (2-0)

Etiwanda pulled off a surprising win over Damien in their season opener.

Final: Etiwanda 64, Damien 60. Big game from Marcus Green with 17 points and 8 rebounds, Darvelle Wyatt added 15, Jahmai Mashack 8 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks. Soph. Curtis Williams added 9.

Malik Thomas led all scorers with 26, RJ Smith finished with 12.

— Devin Ugland (@Devin_Ugland) April 21, 2021

4. Damien (17-1)

Damien senior Malik Thomas and junior RJ Smith

Damien’s only loss on the season came to Etiwanda. The Spartans’ best win is over Harvard-Westlake.

5. Harvard-Westlake (8-2)

Cameron Thrower

Harvard-Westlake has great young talent led by junior Cameron Thrower and sophomore Brady Dunlap. Their two defeats came against Damien and Heritage Christian

6. Ribet Academy (0-0)

Reggie Howard

Mike Price and Tre White make up one of the state’s top underclassmen duos.

7. Santa Margarita (7-0)

Jake Blazona

Santa Margarita has been one of the surprises of the spring so far thanks to a win over St. John Bosco. Jake Blazona and Luke Murphy are key contributors.

8. Long Beach Poly (2-0)

Peyton Watson

UCLA signee Peyton Watson is regarded as California’s top 2021 prospect.

9. St. John Bosco (9-1)

Scotty Washington

Beware of St. John Bosco’s three-headed monster of Scotty Washington, Jeremiah Nyarko and Lamaj Lewis (LMU commit).

10. Heritage Christian (9-3)

Kyle Frelow

After starting 9-0, Heritage Christian has lost three in a row in large part due to injuries. Heritage Christian’s best win came against Harvard-Westlake on April 3rd. The Warriors won 72-61.

11. Chaminade (7-1)

KJ Simpson and Keith Higgins form one of the state’s best backcourt partnerships. Chaminade’s lone loss on the year came to Harvard-Westlake.

12. Corona Centennial (6-1)

Sophomore Jared McCain may be the state’s top shooter. The Huskies have beaten JSerra and Fairmont Prep.

13. Windward (5-1)

2022 UCLA commit Dylan Andrews and four star big man Kijani Wright will look to lead Windward to another Southern Section title after winning the Division 1 championship a year ago. Right now, the team is on a COVID-19 pause. Before that, they’d won five straight games.

14. St. Anthony (5-0)

Juniors Elijah Price, Kaih Williams and Jaayden Bush have started strong for the Saints.

15. Roosevelt (5-0)

Roosevelt is one of the best shooting teams in the Section.

16. West Ranch (2-0)

Corey Cofield leads a West Ranch team with Foothill League title aspirations.

17. Colony (7-1)

Brenton Knapper has the Titans off to a hot start.

18. Capistrano Valley (6-0)

Capo Valley has wins over JSerra and Fairmont Prep.

19. Fountain Valley (4-1)

Fountain Valley's lone loss on the season came to St. John Bosco 80-62.

20. Los Altos (5-0)

Jazz Gardner is one of the best bigs in the 2023 class nationally.

21. Rolling Hills Prep (2-0)

Benny Gealer and Kenny Manzi are a strong duo.

22. Laguna Beach (7-0)

A two point win over Los Alamitos kept Laguna Beach undefeated.

23. Rancho Christian (2-0)

Led by Jaden Byers, Rancho Christian has wins over Murrieta Mesa and Greak Oak.

24. Fairmont Prep (3-2)

Myles Che and Chol Deng are very talented. Fairmont Prep's two losses on the season came against Capo Valley and Corona Centennial.

25. Beverly Hills (1-0)

Beverly Hills beat up Calabasas in their opener winning 76-44.