High School

California (CIF) baseball: Section-by-section start/end playoff dates, defending champions

San Francisco and Oakland Sections start next week; Regional play is June 3-7 in the North and South

Mitch Stephens

High School baseball from CIF Central Section: Frontier-Bakersfield high school junior Laylen Tia checks the ball in flight while running bases in a 7-1 win over Garces Memorial. Garces sophomore Gavin Williams looks on.
High School baseball from CIF Central Section: Frontier-Bakersfield high school junior Laylen Tia checks the ball in flight while running bases in a 7-1 win over Garces Memorial. Garces sophomore Gavin Williams looks on. / Photo by David Dennis

Like a fastball from Paul Skenes — a California prep product by the way (El Toro High School) — the high school baseball season in California is rocketing by.

The state's 10 sections open their playoffs in the next few weeks — all with different starting dates — followed by the California Interscholastic Federation regional playoffs (North and South) June 3-7.

The state has yet to agree on a state championship format which would pit the North champions versus the South, though one is anticipated in the next few years.

Here is a section-by-section calendar of its baseball playoffs.

San Diego Section

Starts: May 21. Championships: May 29-31

Defending champions: Torrey Pines (Open), San Marcos (Division 1), Point Loma (D2), Valhalla (D3), University City (D4), Mount Miguel (D5), Calvin Christian (D5AA)

Southern Section

Starts: May 15. Championships: May 30-31

Defending champions: Corona (D1), Hart (D2), Beckman (D3), Camarillo (D4), Chino Hills (D5), Colony (D6), Oxford Academy (D7), Azusa (D8)

LA City Section

Starts: May 13. Championships: May 24 (Dodger Stadium)

Defending champions: Bell (Open), North Hollywood (D1), Eagle Rock (D2), University (D3)

Central Section

Starts: May 16. Championships: May 31

Defending champions: Liberty Patriots (D1), Bakersfield Christian (D2), Kingsburg (D3), Liberty Hawks (D4), Shafter (D5), Chavez (D6)

Central Coast Section

Starts: May 24. Championships: May 29-31

Defending champions: Mitty (D1), King's Academy (D2), Christopher (D3), Mountain View (D4), Capuchino (D5), Menlo School (D6)

San Francisco Section

Starts: May 8. Championship: May 14 (Oracle Park)

Defending champion: Lowell

Oakland Section

Starts: May 7. Championship: May 14

Defending champion: Oakland Tech

North Coast Section

Starts: May 20. Championships: May 30-31

Defending champions: Granada (D1), Cardinal Newman (D2), San Marin (D3), Justin-Siena (D4), Branson (D5), Ferndale (D6)

Sac-Joaquin Section

Starts: May 7. Championships: May 22-23

Defending champions: St. Mary's (D1), Granite Bay (D2), Oakmont (D3), Casa Roble (D4), Bradshaw Christian (D5), Leroy Greene Academy (D6), Woodland Christian (D7)

Northern Section

Starts: May 13. Championships: May 24

Defending champions: Chico (D2), Gridley (D3), Colusa (D4), Etna (D5), Redding Christian (D6)

Corrections/changes: email mitch@scorebooklive.com

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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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