California CIF-Southern Section Girls Basketball Top 25 Rankings - Jan. 12, 2026

No. 1 Ontario Christian takes down Archbishop Mitty; JSerra has its highest ranking yet at No. 4; Beckman and Los Osos return from the bubble

Ontario Christian sophomore Kaleena Smith about to set sail on a free throw in Friday's 93-45 win over Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) at the 2025 Sabrina Ionescu Showcase in Concord, Calif. Smith had 24 points and seven assists. / Photo: Dennis Lee

Here are High School On SI's CIF-Southern Section girls basketball rankings for the week of Jan. 12.

The rankings will be released every Monday throughout the season.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Preseason | Dec. 1 | Dec. 8 | Dec. 15 | Dec. 22 | Dec. 29 | Jan. 5

1. ONTARIO CHRISTIAN (20-0 – 1st last week)

The Knights are still undefeated after their biggest, most challenging, and most exciting game of the regular season. Kaleena Smith dropped 50 points to lead them toa 96-87 double overtime victory against Archbishop Mitty on Saturday, scoring the last 11 points of the game after Ontario Christian trailed by 12 points halfway through the fourth quarter. Tati Griffin totaled 20 points and 18 rebounds, and Dani Robinson had 16 points and eight rebounds.

2. SIERRA CANYON (16-1 – 2nd)

A big upset outside of California just made Sierra Canyon's highest-ranking win of the season quite a bit more valubale. The Trailblazers won 59-48 against Missouri juggernaut Incarnate Word Academy – the team that had the longest winning streak (141 games) in high school girls basketball history before losing to Etiwanda a year ago – on Dec. 19, and Incarnate Word just surged in many national rankings by upsetting Long Island Lutheran (NY). Meanwhile, Sierra Canyon made quick work of Chaminade, Lousiville, and Mission Hills last week.

3. ETIWANDA (17-2 – 3rd)

The Eagles made it look easy against a few of the Southern Section's better teams last week. They beat Los Osos, Villa Park, Moreno Valley, and St. Lucy's with the least lopsided finish being their 69-49 win over Villa Park.

4. JSERRA (16-2 – 5th)

The Lions are up to seventh as their amazing run, including 13 wins in their last 14 tries and eight consecutive wins, continues. Last week started with a 10-point win over nationally ranked Corona Centennial and concluded with their first particularly close call at getting upset, a 75-73 win over Flintridge Prep in which they trailed by 10 points in the third quarter. When was the last time JSerra was the heavy favorite entering Trinity League play?

5. SAGE HILL (16-4 – 7th)

Sage Hill started Pacific Coast League play with a bang, blowing out Laguna Hills 92-28 and Portola (Irvine) 73-45. On Tuesday it looks to hand Rosary Academy its first ever loss in PCL play after the Royals left the Trinity League.

6. FAIRMONT PREP (9-8 – 5th)

Fairmont Prep is above .500 against one of the toughest schedules in the nation despite having health problem after health problem for most of the season. If the Huskies get healthy and stay healthy down the stretch, they'll probably prove to be better than they're currently ranked. Last week was one of the Huskies' better ones as they defeated Corona Centennial 47-45 and La Jolla Country Day 67-52 with a blowout loss to Archbishop Mitty.

7. CORONA CENTENNIAL (8-3 – 4th)

The Huskies slide substantially for week-opening losses to JSerra and Fairmont Prep, but they did manage to win three games – including two against ranked opponents – to enter this week with some momentum. They annihilated Norco 96-8 in their Big VIII League opener before defeating Valencia (Valencia) 60-57 and Brentwood 68-54.

8. MATER DEI (14-4 – 8th)

It appears that the Monarchs have found whatever footing they entered the season with before struggling in the second half of December. They are on a five-game winning streak with wins over excellent competition, most recently Caruthers and Francis Parker, entering a challenging slate of Orange Lutheran, Christ the King (NY), and Sacred Heart Academy (CT).

9. OAK PARK (12-5 – 9th)

Saturday brought one of Oak Park's best wins of the season, a 63-44 rout of Redondo Union.

10. RANCHO CHRISTIAN (14-3 – 10th)

It was just another day at the office last week as Rancho Christian blew out Canyon Springs 112-24 and Lincoln (San Diego) 86-40.

11. VILLA PARK (16-4 – 12th)

The Spartans thrashed a solid El Dorado (Placentia) foe 68-25 in North Hills League play before falling 69-49 to Etiwanda.

12. REDONDO UNION (9-6 – 11th)

All of a sudden, the Sea Hawks have dropped five of their last six. They did get a nice 68-53 Bay League win over West (Torrance) under their belt last week before losing by a similar margin to Oak Park.

13. VALENCIA-VALENCIA (15-4 – 13th)

Valencia scored 82 points against both West Ranch and Canyon Country to move to 5-0 in Foothill League play before nearly upsetting Corona Centennial in a three-point loss. Solid work.

14. BRENTWOOD (11-5 – 14th)

It was one heck of a nine-game winning streak for Brentwood before it fell 68-54 to Corona Centennial. Up next is probably the Eagles' biggest game yet this season: a Gold Coast League battle at Windward, which has been a much stronger team since Princeton commit Angelina Habis became eligible after the transfer sit-out period. Those two teams have accounted for the last three GCL crowns.

15. VENTURA (14-4 – 15th)

Ventura will have swept the first round of Channel League play if it avoids upset against Oxnard on Tuesday. Saturday brings an exciting non-league matchup against Redondo Union.

16. LA SALLE (18-2 – 17th)

Del Rey League play is now underway, and that Lancers defense is still stifling. La Salle opened by beating St. Anthony 43-40 and Bishop Montgomery 49-36.

17. SAINT JOSEPH-LAKEWOOD (13-3 – 16th)

The Jesters made a statement in their Del Rey League opener with a 69-46 rout of Bishop Montgomery. This week is the one we've waited months for as they take on La Salle and St. Anthony.

18. MORENO VALLEY (7-7 – 18th)

Wednesday's Ivy League battle with Rancho Christian should be a good one. MoVal is easy to overlook with a mediocre record, but it wouldn't be that shocking if it manages to knock off Rancho at home on Wednesday to eventually split a conference title.

19. FLINTRIDGE PREP (13-2 – 19th)

Flintridge Prep came painfully close to stunning No. 4 JSerra before falling 75-73. The Wolves led by 10 points in the third quarter and were paced by 29 points from Yale commit Maddie Smith.

20. SANTA MARGARITA (13-6 – 20th)

Speaking of JSerra, Santa Margarita beat Villa Park and Villa Park beat JSerra. Does that make Santa Margarita the favorite on Thursday at JSerra? Not exactly, but we do expect a higher finish than usual for Santa Margarita in Trinity League play.

21. RIALTO (16-3 – 21st)

Summit managed to hang around, but Rialto never let up and pulled away late in a 64-42 win that nearly guarantees the Knights a slice of the Sunkist League title.

22. ESPERANZA (11-9 – 22nd)

It was a big week for the Aztecs, which held off Troy 61-60 in their non-league finale and beat Canyon (Anaheim) 47-34 in conference play.

23. OAK HILLS (13-4 – 24th)

The winning streak is up to nine games with last week's Mojave River League beatdowns of Sultana and Burroughs (Ridgecrest). Expect Serrano and Hesperia to put up a bit more resistance this week, and expect Oak Hills to roll nonetheless.

24. BECKMAN (15-4 – Bubble)

While Beckman has been a bit up-and-down this season – to whatever extent a 15-4 team can be "up-and-down" – it didn't feel like the Patriots would be outside the top 25 for long after falling to Troy and Oak Hills in recent weeks. Last week was huge as they beat San Clemente 59-45, San Juan Hills 49-40, and Rosary Academy, which was fresh off an upset of Portola (Irvine), 51-38.

25. LOS OSOS (15-4 – Bubble)

It wasn't a hard decision to move Los Osos back into the top 25 with a few higher-ranked teams sliding because the Grizzlies have a very clean track record. All their losses were against teams that are currently ranked above them, and they hold double-digit wins over Troy and Palos Verdes.

ON THE BUBBLE:

PORTOLA (IRVINE), ORANGE LUTHERAN, WINDWARD, ST. ANTHONY, NORTH (TORRANCE), ROSARY ACADEMY, TROY, THOUSAND OAKS, SAN CLEMENTE, MARLBOROUGH, BISHOP MONTGOMERY