Southern Section

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.

California

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

Recent Articles

Inglewood's Jason Crowe Jr. broke the Hoophall Classic scoring record with 48 points against Notre Dame (CT).

California

The latest CIF-SS high school boys basketball expert rankings after an action-packed week highlighted by Sierra Canyon, Santa Margarita and Inglewood.

Inglewood High's Jason Crowe Jr. scored record-setting 48 points in an 81-80 win over Notre Dame (CT) at the 2026 Hoophall Classic.

National

Inglewood High's Jason Crowe Jr. led the Sentinels to a big-time win over Notre Dame (CT) with a historic performance.

Jerzy Robinson of Sierra Canyon (CA) celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer against Long Island Lutheran at the 2026 Hoophall Classic.

National

With Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley on hand, the 2026 Hoophall Classic dedicated a full day to girls basketball for the first time in the event's history.

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

California

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

Aaryn Washington, a 4-star corner committed to USC, is transferring from Mater Dei (CA) to IMG Academy (FL) to play his senior season in 2026.

California

Aaryn Washington, who recently committed to USC, told his teammates at Mater Dei he's transferring to play at IMG Academy in Florida.

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

A wide shot of Blake Arena on the campus of Springfield College where the Hoophall Classic is played every year.

California

The nation’s premier high school basketball showcase returns to Springfield with No. 1 prospects, national powerhouses, a historic girls-only day, and wall-to-wall coverage across ESPN, NBA TV, and NBA.com.

Ontario Christian (CA) sophomore Kaleena Smith drives for a layup against Christ the King (NY) in 2025 Hoophall Classic.

California

Cherif Millogo continues to impress; Kaleena Smith goes for 50; Juju Watkins has jersey retired; and updated rankings shake things up.

Etiwanda girls basketball coach Stan Delus instructing during the Eagles' CIF State Open Division final in March of 2025.

California

The third edition of the CIF Southern Section girls basketball computer rankings, which will determine the fate of a team's playoff division and seeding.

Loyola takes on St. Francis at Pauley Pavilion in the Trinity-Mission League Showdown on Nov. 22, 2025.

California

The third edition of the CIF Southern Section boys basketball computer rankings, which will determine the fate of a team's playoff division and seeding.

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

St. John Bosco's Christian Collins scores at the rim against Harvard-Westlake at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 22, 2025.

California

Sierra Canyon escapes with victory in its first two league games. St. John Bosco and Damien rise after impressive wins.

Kaleena Smith, Ontario Christian junior point guard and No. 1 recruit for the 2027 class, outdid herself if that's possible with a 50-point explosion lead her No. 1 ranked team in the country over No. 3 Mitty in a double-overtime classic.

California

The nation's No. 1 recruit finishes off one of great girls baksetball in history with 11 in second overtime as top-ranked Ontario Christian fights back to stun No. 3 Mitty.

Former Sierra Canyon standout, and current USC women's basketball star, Juju Watkins had her #12 jersey retired on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 at halftime of a boys basketball game on ESPN2.

California

Watkins, who was a McDonald's All-American, had her jersey retirement ceremony televised on ESPN2 Friday night.

Santa Margarita's Dash Fifita was named 2025 All-CIF Defensive Player of the year in Division 1.

California

Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors, along with a crop of names from each of the CIF Southern Section's 14 playoff divisions.

Mitty then junior McKenna Woliczko during first-quarter action in last season's 61-44 loss to Ontario Christian at the Sabrina Ionescu Classic in Concord on Jan. 4, 2025. With her team up 19-17, Woliczko went down with a season-ending knee injury. She played in her first two games over the last week since the injury and now prepares to play the Knights Saturday in a national showdown at Mater Dei in Santa Ana. | Photo: Dennis Lee

California

Two teams with lots of very recent history meet at Mater Dei in a likely showdown to determine early California state champion and national championship favorite

St. Francis junior Cherif Millogo is one of the more intriguing 2027 prospects in the country at 7-foot-4.

California

St. Francis' Cherif Millogo was a standout against Sierra Canyon, which is the No. 1-ranked team in California with 4-and-5-star prospects.

Olivia Elsokary (1) had a record-setting 25 steals in Westlake's 48-31 win over Santa Barbara on December 20, 2025.

California

Westlake (CA) sophomore guard Olivia Elsokary broke the national single-game steals record that was set more than 30 years ago.

California

A national record was broken in girls basketball; plus, a ton of movement in the second edition of the basketball computer rankings.

Brady Sullivan of Oaks Christian drives to the basket against Franklin High.

California

The second edition of the CIF Southern Section boys basketball computer rankings, which will determine the fate of a team's playoff division and seeding.

JSerra's Rosie Santos drives to the basket against Oaks Christian.

California

The first edition of the CIF Southern Section girls basketball computer rankings, which will determine the fate of a team's playoff division and seeding.

Justin Utupo's lifetime ban from coaching in the Long Beach Unified School District was reduced to three years after he won his appeal.

California

Former Long Beach Poly football coach Justin Utupo won his appeal against the school district after being let go and receiving lifetime ban.

Dec 21, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) and quarterback Bryce Young (9) celebrate after a play during the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium.

California

Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan were once high school football rivals in Southern California at Mater Dei and Servite, respectively.

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

California

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.