California CIF-Southern Section Girls Basketball Top 25 Rankings - Jan. 20, 2026

Ontario Christian is still No. 1 despite taking its first loss of the season; Moreno Valley leaps for beating Rancho Christian

Ontario Christian's Kaleena Smith is the No. 1 recruit in the 2027 class. / Hoophall Classic

Here are High School On SI's CIF-Southern Section girls basketball rankings for the week of Jan. 19.

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 | Jan. 12

1. ONTARIO CHRISTIAN (22-1 – 1st last week)

The Knights' perfection ended with a 57-55 loss to fellow national title contender Bishop McNamara (MD) at Hoophall Classic, the same team that beat Archbishop Mitty at Nike TOC. As for the state and section level, however, that doesn't drop Ontario Christian's stock at all. Ontario Christian did bounce back by beating New Jersey powerhouse St. John Vianney 78-70 and has a chance on Monday to deeper entrench itself in the national title race when it faces Long Island Lutheran (NY), which is 1-1 against Bishop McNamara and just beat Sierra Canyon 70-60.

2. SIERRA CANYON (18-2 – 2nd)

Like Ontario Christian, Sierra Canyon doesn't move down after taking a loss to one of the best teams in the country at the Hoophall Classic. It fell 70-60 to Long Island Lutheran (NY) despite a 33-point double-double from Jerzy Robinson. That was the Trailblazers' first loss of the season with her in the lineup.

3. ETIWANDA (20-2 – 3rd)

Now on 12-game winning streak capped off by last week's 72-44 win over Saint Joseph (Lakewood).

4. SAGE HILL (18-4 – 5th)

Speaking of long winning streaks, Sage Hill has 13 straight wins since a 59-56 loss to Oak Park on Dec. 6. It is, however, coming off a near-upset, a 67-62 win against Moreno Valley.

5. MATER DEI (17-4 – 8th)

Whereas a lot of teams' seasons are a tale of two halves, Mater Dei's has been a tale of two identical portions consisting of just under half the season separated by a brutal Nike TOC showing, and that blip is now a month into the past. When the Monarchs went 1-3 at the TOC and got rolled by Tualatin (OR) the next week at the Nike POA Holiday Classic, it seemed that a return to the top nine within a month would be impossible even if they won out from there. But with everyone else getting upset, here we are. Mater Dei's eight-game tear includes wins over Benson Tech (OR), Democracy Prep Agassi Campus (NV), Caruthers, Francis Parker, and most recently, Christ the King (NY) and Sacred Heart Academy (72-32).

6. JSERRA (17-3 – 4th)

The close call against Flintridge Prep did turn out to be a bad omen as the Lions were upset 47-43 by traditional rival Santa Margarita in their next game to lose their Trinity League opener. That marks the second time this season Santa Margarita posed a thorn in JSerra's side, as JSerra's Nov. 22 loss to Villa Park only weighed the Lions down for so long in the rankings because Villa Park was upset not long afterwards by none other than Santa Margarita. Fortunately for JSerra, many of the other heavyweights in this part of the rankings also fell in the last couple of weeks.

7. FAIRMONT PREP (10-10 – 6th)

The roller coaster ride continued with a 75-56 loss to Francis Parker in the Huskies' only game of the week. Saint Francis (Mountain View)'s loss to Archbishop Riordan would've plummeted Fairmont in the rankings under normal circumstances, but the Huskies were not at full strength when they fell 74-62 to Saint Francis earlier this month so we'll give them some grace given all their big wins this season.

8. CORONA CENTENNIAL (10-3 – 7th)

It turns out that the Huskies' meeting with Francis Parker on Saturday will give them ample opportunity to rise in the rankings. All three of Centennial's losses were against excellent teams, but unfortunately for the Huskies, JSerra and Fairmont Prep cooled off since beating them.

9. OAK PARK (14-5 – 9th)

One spot past the section of the rankings that's been defined by continual chaos, Oak Park has steadily maintained its spot in the rankings for a while. It'll need to win on Saturday to keep that up, however, with statewideNo. 16 Carondelet coming to town.

10. MORENO VALLEY (12-9 – 18th)

Like Priory, MoVal reentered the top 25 in a big way, but for the Vikings it was due to an upset win: 95-86 over Rancho Christian with an Ivy League title on the line. The rematch on Jan. 30 will be must-see TV. Later in the week, Moreno Valley crushed Valley View and then gave No. 5 Sage Hill all it could handle in a 67-62 loss.

11. RANCHO CHRISTIAN (16-4 – 10th)

Even with the deflating MoVal loss, Rancho Christian still has a particularly clean 2025-26 track record. It bounced back to destroy Hemet 113-19 and gets a crack at Moreno Valley at home on Jan. 30.

12. VENTURA (17-4 – 15th)

Ventura came back to the top 25 with a statement by beating Redondo Union 59-47.

13. REDONDO UNION (11-7 – 11th)

For now, the Sea Hawks retain their spot despite the loss to Ventura and a general cooling off as of late. While they haven't beaten any higher-ranked teams, they're also ranked behind every team they've lost to and they've beaten a slew of other tough teams.

14. VALENCIA-VALENCIA (17-4 – 13th)

Valencia is back in the top 25 as well despite a relatively quiet week with a lot of strong teams going down. In its only games last week, it thrashed Golden Valley (Santa Clarita) and Santa Monica by a combined score of 150-37. While the Vikings dropped a spot this week in our Southern Section rankings with Moreno Valley and Ventura registering big wins, they actually rose in the statewide rankings and returned to the top 25.

15. BRENTWOOD (14-5 – 14th)

Like Valencia, Brentwood technically dropped a spot in the CIF-SS rankings but rose in the overall California rankings after a big week. The Eagles went to the house of rival Windward and came out with a 74-55 win and followed it up by blowing out Campbell Hall and Bishop's. They've now won 11 of their last 12 games since sophomore transfer Mikaella Kawahito became eligible, including beating a handful of top-40 teams in the state, and their upcoming schedule gives them a visible path to rising in both rankings.

16. VILLA PARK (17-5 – 11th)

Recency is the name of the game when it comes to power rankings, and Villa Park took a big hit for its 49-43 loss to Esperanza despite the fact that it still has a top-15 overall body of work in the Southern Section with room to spare. The rematch is on Feb. 3, the Spartans' last game of the regular season. Before then, they face more tough competition in Crean Lutheran, El Dorado (Placentia), Brentwood, Canyon (Anaheim), and Rosary Academy.

17. SAINT JOSEPH-LAKEWOOD (17-5 – 17th)

Despite having the same section-wide ranking, Saint Joseph still rose in the statewide rankings and overall scheme of things for a tremendous week. It took down St. Anthony and La Salle move to 4-0 in Del Rey League play before falling 72-44 to Etiwanda.

18. SANTA MARGARITA (15-6 – 20th)

Oddly enough, Santa Margarita only rose two spots in the Southern Section rankings for its amazing upset of rival JSerra because the majority of the teams in between JSerra (now No. 6) and the Eagles had stock-up weeks. However, Santa Margarita moved up about a dozen spots in our statewide rankings for the win and proved that the gap from roughly No. 5 to No. 20 in the CIF-SS rankings is about as small as ever. Santa Margarita is now 2-1 against higher-ranked Southern Section teams and figures to rise further soon with its losses to West (Torrance) and Beckman now quite a ways into the past.

19. ESPERANZA (14-9 – 22nd)

Really cooking now after some serious ups and downs earlier in the season. Esperanza has won five straight including a 49-43 conference upset of Villa Park on the road.

20. LA SALLE (19-3 – 16th)

All is not lost despite a four-spot drop from a loss to Saint Joseph. La Salle is still 3-1 in Del Rey League play and can force a tie atop the standings later on when it gets a home rematch with the Jesters.

21. FLINTRIDGE PREP (13-2 – 19th)

Yet another team in the standings that got leaped by a couple other teams despite having a big week in its own right. Flintridge Prep crushed EF Academy and Rio Hondo in Prep League play and then put a 62-35 hurting on dangerous Troy.

22. RIALTO (19-3 – 21st)

Rialto stayed hot with a 68-60 win over Oak Hills.

23. OAK HILLS (15-5 – 23rd)

Someone's winning streak had to end when Rialto played Oak Hills, and the slightly higher-ranked team won by single digits. No need for Oak Hills to drop.

24. BECKMAN (17-5 – 24th)

In a similar vein, Beckman nearly defeated a higher-ranked out-of-section team when it lost 72-67 to Bakersfield Christian, so that loss is not much of a concern.

25. PORTOLA-IRVINE (16-7 – Bubble)

Portola is back in the top 25 with Los Osos falling by 18 points at Rancho Cucamonga.

ON THE BUBBLE:

LOS OSOS, ORANGE LUTHERAN, NORTH (TORRANCE), ROSARY ACADEMY, TROY, THOUSAND OAKS, MARLBOROUGH, RANCHO CUCAMONGA, ST. ANTHONY