California CIF Southern Section Boys Basketball Top 25 rankings, Jan. 4

The latest edition of High School On SI's expert CIF Southern Section high school basketball rankings as teams embark on league play in January.

Pierce Thompson of Harvard-Westlake is playing some of his best ball ahead of league play this January. / Samuel Mawanda

Happy New Year.

It's January now, and this is when the rubber hits the road with league play as teams are vying for playoff position regardless of their computer ranking.

This past week, the CIF Southern Section released its first edition of the computer rankings, which will be used to format the postseason in February. To see those, CLICK HERE.

Here are the latest Top 25 expert rankings as of January 4, 2025:

1. SIERRA CANYON (13-1)

Trailblazers win their lone game at Hoophall West in Arizona, beating St. Mary's 77-45. Next up: St. Francis on Wednesday in Mission League opener.

2. SANTA MARGARITA (19-2)

Eagles have won six straight and have a little time off before playing St. John Bosco on Jan. 9 at home.

3. NOTRE DAME/SHERMAN OAKS (12-4)

Knights are on a five-game winning streak before playing Loyola and Sierra Canyon on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

4. REDONDO UNION (16-3)

Sea Hawks should win the Bay League, but Mira Costa is always is a tough out.

5. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (17-2)

Pierce Thompson and Dom Bentho are playing well at the right time. Mission League play is here.

6. ST. JOHN BOSCO (11-4)

Braves start Trinity League play with Santa Margarita and Mater Dei.

7. CORONA CENTENNIAL (15-4)

Huskies have not lost a game to a California team this season. Isaiah 'Slim' Rogers might be the best player in SoCal nobody is really talking about.

8. LA MIRADA (11-6)

Matadores fly up after taking down Crespi this past week — not to mention — their losses are to the state's top teams and out-of-state programs.

9. CRESPI (13-6)

Celts are learning what it's like to keep a high-level of play every night. Not easy to do.

10. ETIWANDA (17-1)

Eagles were idle last week.

11. CREAN LUTHERAN (14-5)

Saints won two games this past week including a win over Crossroads.

12. ROLLING HILLS PREP (13-5)

Huskies went toe-to-toe with Harvard-Westlake Saturday night, falling 50-46.

13. JSERRA (13-8)

Lions fall to Harvard-Westlake and St. Pius.

14. ST. FRANCIS (16-2)

Cherif Millogo is getting better and better. The Golden Knights have won 14 straight ahead of a Mission League showdown against Sierra Canyon Wednesday night.

15. CROSSROADS (9-9)

Roadrunners are navigating life without Evan Willis (injured), but will be a force when he returns with Shalen Sheppard. Eventually, they'll need to win games ...

16. BISHOP MONTGOMERY (15-2)

Knights are good, but not playing a big schedule like we're used to seeing.

17. INGLEWOOD (14-5)

Sentinels get a quality Southern Section win over Pasadena.

18. VILLAGE CHRISTIAN (13-5)

Big showdown at Heritage Christian on Tuesday in Olympic League opener.

19. DAMIEN (15-4)

Spartans could fly up these rankings with wins over Rancho Cucamonga and Etiwanda this coming week in Baseline League play.

20. ARCADIA (13-4)

Big win over San Gabriel Academy on Dec. 27 seems forever ago now after losses to Rolling Hills Prep and Campbell Hall.

21. SAN GABRIEL ACADEMY (7-6)

Narrow loss to Etiwanda. Talent is there, but execution against quality teams is lacking. Still a very dangerous team.

22. BRENTWOOD (18-1)

Nice win over St. Bernard. Big man Ethan Hill is playing All-CIF basketball.

23. THOUSAND OAKS (16-0)

Big game against Oaks Christian Jan. 9.

24. MIRA COSTA (16-2)

The showdown with Redondo Union is Jan. 16.

25. CAMPBELL HALL (8-8)

The Vikings seem to have found something since 6-foot-11 big man Kyle Sanders became eligible, and have won three of their last four including an impressive win over Arcadia.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• PRESEASON RANKINGS
• TOP 25 RANKINGS, NOV. 23
• TOP 25 RANKINGS, NOV. 30
• TOP 25 RANKINGS, DEC. 7
• TOP 25 RANKINGS, DEC. 15
• TOP 25 RANKINGS, DEC. 22
• TOP 25 RANKINGS, DEC. 31

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