California High School Central Section News

Notre Dame's NaVorro Bowman Jr. handles the ball in a game against Sierra Canyon at the Intuit Dome.

California

Heading into the postseason — more than half the state is done with the regular season — here's the best of the best in the Golden State

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Sierra Canyon's Maxi Adams gave an impressive performance in a victory over Columbus (FL) in the 2026 Hoophall Classic. The Trailblazers are the No. 1 team in California's Top 25 boys basketball rankings for Jan. 27.

California

With the regular season winding down in parts of the state, here's the latest high school rankings in the Golden State

Modesto Christian’s Trevor Dickson went for 22 points including four three-pointers but it wasn’t quite enough against a determined Riordan squad in the 10th Crush in the Valley Showcase Saturday at Napa Valley College

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Florida national power Prolific Prep returns to home base in Napa to host star-studded event that also includes showdown of future Stanfords stars Julius Price, Elias Obenyah

Prolific Prep junior guard Nasir Anderson with a throw down early in the 2025-26 season.

California

Florida national power Prolific Prep returns to home base in Napa to host star-studded event that also includes showdown of future Stanfords stars Julius Price, Elias Obenyah

Stanford-signee Julius Price with two of his 16 points helping the Knights to a 19-point victory over host De La Salle at the 28th MLK Classic on Monday. St. Joseph moved up a sport this week in the High School On SI California rankings.

California

The state's elite and its order taking shape after busy, competitive, MLK Jr. Holiday week

King's Academy senior Claxton Ladine (11) goes up to contest a shot by Xane Machle of Riverside Poly in the second game of the MLK Classic at De La Salle on Monday.

California

St. Joseph, Riordan and Salesian among the top squads at the longstanding event to honor the civil rights leader

Julius Price, of No. 3 St. Joseph-Santa Maria, swoops in for two of his 16 points in Saturday's 76-67 win over No. 9 Salesian in the Crush in the Valley Showcase in San Pablo Calif. Price and his brother Malcolm are at least two Knights on the list as well as three Salesian players heading into Monday's MLK Classic at De La Salle.

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Five top 20 senior prospects in California are among the players to watch at the longtime showcase that features seven games on MLK Day

De La Salle junior Davit Pachulia, oldest son of former NBA veteran Zaza Pachulia, is the Spartans leading scorer after slim playing time last season on De La Salle's North Coast Section Open Division championship team.

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Beyond all-around offensive skills, Davit Pachulia's biggest contributions may be 'engaging, warm, fun' personality says his coach, whose inexperienced team is a surprising 17-2

Jan 9, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) defends on Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Gordon may be the best player under any criteria to ever play in the Martin Luther King Classic presented by De La Salle. The 28th annual event takes place Monday at the Concord campus. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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Always room for debate when looking over the last 27 boys basketball showcases in Northern California's Bay Area, but no questioning these 28 players have been something special

St. Joseph-Santa Maria senior guard Julius Price has been a starter for one of the state's top teams for four seasons and after this season is headed to Stanford to play. St. Joseph takes on the host team De La Salle in one of the prime matchups of Monday's 28th Martin Luther King Jr. Classic.

California

St. Joseph, Riordan and Salesian among the top squads at the longstanding event to honor the civil rights leader

Brandon McCoy Jr. throws down a dunk in his Sierra Canyon debut against JSerra at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, November 22.

California

Southern Section dominates as usual with 18 of the top 25, including the five best led by Sierra Canyon, which doesn't exactly breeze in the first week of the Mission League

File photo of McKenna Woliczko during first-quarter action of last season's Jan. 6 game against Ontario Christian, the game she tore her ACL and MCL. The nation's No. 6 recruit from the Class of 2026 returned to the court Friday in a nonleague home game with Clovis.

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California girls basketball national power Mitty welcomes two-time national player of the year back and her performance offers a surprise

Santa Margarita poses after winning the CIF State Open Division championship with a 47-13 win over De La Salle at Saddleback College.

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Remaining section champions will be crowned this week after another wild week of playoff action

Fresno's Central East wins the CIF State Division 1-A final after beating Oxnard Pacifica 42-28 at Saddleback College.

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Brandon Smith rushes for 144 yards and three touchdowns, Jelani Dippel passes for 293 and accounts for three as Central East wins second state title after losing in finals last season.

St. Mary's senior and UCLA commit Kenneth Moore III (3) leads the Rams into the CIF State Division 2-AA game. Moore has 56 catches, 858 yards and 10 touchdowns heading into the game.

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First meeting between the two longstanding outstanding programs from the Sac-Joaquin and Central sections

Dominic Davis breaks free for a 70-yard touchdown run in the 2025 Silver Bowl win over Oakland Tech at Castlemont High School

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Quiet on the field, the versatile 1,750-yard rusher gives insights on his teammates, coaches, Oakland and the late John Beam

What will Santa Margarita senior Trent Mosley do for an encore after going for more than 300 reception yards in his team's surprisingly lopsided Southern Section finals win over Corona Centennial. The Eagles go for their second state title Saturday at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. Check out how to watch, history, top players and predictions below from all 15 CIF California State football championships.

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One stop shop for all 15 games at three different Southern California sites Friday and Saturday (Dec. 12-13)

There's no looking back at last season's failure in the state finals, the Central East Bengals are now looking straight ahead to their state-title date at Saddleback College on Dec. 13 against unbeaten Pacifica Oxnard. Bayon Harris had touchdown catches of 49 and 30 yards on Saturday night in Pittsburg and now has 25 on the season. Central East moved inside the Top 25 in the state rankings this week.

California

Remaining section champions will be crowned this week after another wild week of playoff action

Fleet Central East wide receiver Xavior Jones salutes after scoring on a 52-yard reverse in the second quarter of his team's 55-36 CIF Northern California Division 1-A championship win at Pittsburg on Dec. 6.

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Senior tailback carries a career high 38 times for 270 yards, carrying the Bengals to the finish of a thorough road win over a determined and host Pirates team

After starting quarterback Ryder Lyons got injured during the final drive of the third quarter against undefeated Archbishop Riordan on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, Folsom junior backup Brody Rudnicki guided a pair of second-half touchdown drives to help the Bulldogs pull out a stunning 42-38 come-from-behind victory in the CIF NorCal Division I-AA regional championship.

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After California POY Ryder Lyons goes down with shoulder injury, junior quarterback throws two late touchdowns to pull out wild Division 1-AA title comeback victory; The Smiths — Brandon and Mekei (no relation — led Central East, Balboa to Saturday wins

Folsom quarterback Ryder Lyons passes during Friday's season-opening victory over visiting Long Beach Poly. He's finishing off illustrious career with either his last game or second-to-last game Friday versus powerhouse Riordan.

California

Elite quarterbacks Ryder Lyons (BYU signee) versus Michael Mitchell (Stanford) take center stage in premier game; 13 other contests also determine state finalists