CIF-SS Basketball Wrap-Up: Holiday tourney recap; playoff computer rankings released

The big holiday tournaments have concluded, and the first edition of CIF Southern Section playoff computer rankings have been released.

Milken's Grayson Coleman handles pressure from two Alemany defenders. / Weston Hancock

Welcome to the 'CIF Southern Section Basketball Wrap-Up'.

Every week, High School on SI senior reporter Tarek Fattal will recap the CIF Southern Section's best basketball performances, notable headlines and scores - and of course - an updated boys basketball Top 25 rankings.

This week's wrap-up covers the bevy of big-time holiday tournaments that took place in Southern California, but also touch on teams that traveled for the holidays. Also, a look at the latest CIF Southern Section expert rankings, plus a look at the first edition of the playoff computer rankings.

SIERRA CANYON WINS LES SCHWAB INVITATIONAL

Sierra Canyon is 12-1 heading into 2026 after winning the Les Schwab Invitational with a 67-60 win over Columbus (FL) in the tournament final at Portland State University Tuesday night.

Sierra Canyon's Brandon McCoy Jr. throws down a dunk in the team's tournament final victory over Columbus (FL). / MADE HOOPS

Brandon McCoy Jr. who dazzled the crowd all week long with his high-flying act of dunks and impressive plays was named tournament MVP. Maxi Adams, a North Carolina commit, was named finals MVP after tallying 21 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Mize added 10 points and four rebounds.

• FULL STORY & HIGHLIGHTS

BIG CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCES

The dust has settled, and from it emerged holiday tournament champions.

Sierra Canyon, Santa Margarita, Notre Dame, Bishop Montgomery, and St. Francis will ring in the new year as Christmas champions, so to speak.

Santa Margarita won the Rancho Mirage tournament. Notre Dame won Torrey Pines. Bishop Montgomery won the SoCal Christmas Classic at South Pasadena. St. Francis won the Holiday Hoopfest.

But there were plenty of teams that showed promise in the holiday tournaments, too, despite not winning an event: Crespi, Redondo Union, Rolling Hills Prep and Arcadia were stellar in the Classic at Damien.

TOP 25 RANKINGS

There will be two rankings published every week in the CIF Southern Section as it pertains to boy and girls basketball. There are the traditional expert rankings, which is a Top 25 compiled by a reporter, and there are the computer rankings, which are used to place teams come playoff team.

EXPERT: BOYS TOP 25 RANKINGS | GIRLS TOP 25 RANKINGS

COMPUTER RANKINGS

The first edition of the computer rankings was released Tuesday for boys and girls basketball.

As teams are vying for league placement, which will determine their playoff eligibility, working in the background is CIF's 'competitive equity' model that uses computer rankings to determine where teams should fall come playoff time. The computer will determine which division and where within that division a team should be placed based on the results from the current year.

COMPUTER: BOYS BASKETBALL | GIRLS BASKETBALL

NOT BASKETBALL, BUT WORTH NOTING

There's already movement during winter break.

Cathedral QB Jaden Jefferson. / Rene Morales

High school football players are transferring at semester, including one of California's top 2027 quarterbacks in Jaden Jefferson. The 3-star dual-threat QB headed to Sacramento State is checking out of Cathedral High in Los Angeles and headed to powerhouse Corona Centennial for his senior season.

Jefferson isn't the only one on the move. Players from Mater Dei have left during winter break, and Jefferson's top wideout at Cathedral is also going to Centennial. (FULL STORY)

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