St. John Bosco's Second D1 Baseball Title Forged by Julian Garcia's Comeback Story

Julian Garcia paced St. John Bosco with 14 strikeouts to defeat No. 1-seeded Norco in the Division 1 CIF final.

Julian Garcia anchored St. John Bosco to a 2-0 win over Norco to win the 2026 CIF Southern Section Division 1 title on Friday, May 29 at Cal State Fullerton. | Staff Photog

The sports Gods have an interesting way of forging stories. The kind of stories someone might scoff at if they were made in Hollywood because of its unbelievable nature.

St. John Bosco senior pitcher Julian Garcia's story is one of perseverance and patience that built to one, big moment: the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title game in front of nearly 5,000 people Friday night.

After a year off due to Tommy John surgery, and two years removed from being the losing pitcher in a CIF Division 3 final, the poised right-hander threw a complete-game, one-hitter with 14 strikeouts to anchor St. John Bosco to its second straight championship with a 2-0 victory over Norco.

VIDEO OF GARCIA'S 14 STRIKEOUTS

Garcia threw 86 pitches, 66 of them were strikes. He was clocked at 95 miles per hour multiple times, retired the last 20 batters, and walked none.

"I was happy for the guys last year (when they won), but it shattered my heart that I couldn't play," Garcia told the LA Times. "I told the guys in the last inning tonight, these are our last three outs together. 'Let's do it'."

St. John Bosco won last year's Division 1 championship 3-2 over Santa Margarita in nine innings thanks to a walk-off hit from Miles Clark.

Garcia's story runs even deeper if you look further back. As a sophomore in 2024, he was the starting pitcher in the Division 3 title game when St. John Bosco faced Beckman, which beat the Braves 2-1 in extra innings on a walk-off. Then no baseball at all in 2025 due to the surgery. But now, a CIF champion highlighted by an unforgettable performance.

"For me, that's the story of the year," St. John Bosco coach Andy Rojo told the Press-Telegram. "I'm so happy and proud of him. He really deserved this moment. For him to be on that field and getting the final out ... he's a future big-leaguer."

In the postseason alone, Garcia logged 15 innings over two starts with 24 strikeouts and just two walks before Friday night's final.

St. John Bosco celebrates its second straight CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship with a 2-0 victory over Norco on May 29, 2026 at Cal State Fullerton. | CIF-SS

This year's journey for St. John Bosco wasn't as dramatic or surprising. The Braves had never won a Division 1 title until 2025 — now they have two.

Norco had a brilliant pitcher of its own on the bump. Jordan Ayala retired the first 10 batters he faced. He had six strikeouts in the first four innings and didn't give up a hit. He also tossed a complete game, finished with 10 strikeouts, allowed three hits and one earned run. He walked two.

But St. John Bosco broke through in the fifth inning when a passed ball got runners to advance on the base paths before a sacrifice fly from Miles Clark scored Moises Razo to make it 1-0. In the sixth, Jack Champlin hit a monster shot to left-center that hit the wall for a sliding triple that scored Aaron Garcia.

UPDATED PLAYOFF BRACKETS

• DIVISION 1
• DIVISION 2
• DIVISION 3
• DIVISION 4
• DIVISION 5
• DIVISION 6
• DIVISION 7
• DIVISION 8
• DIVISION 9

---

D1 POOL PLAY FORMAT BREAKDOWN

Here were 16 teams that made up the Division 1 playoffs.

POOL A: Maranatha, Norco, Ayala, Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks
POOL B: Etiwanda, Corona, Santiago/Corona, Orange Lutheran
POOL C: Oaks Christian, Sierra Canyon, Cypress, St. John Bosco
POOL D: Huntington Beach, Temecula Valley, La Mirada, Harvard-Westlake

Pool play guarantees each team at least two games. After the first round of pool play, the teams that are 1-0 play each other. The teams that are 0-1 play each other.

• RANKINGS: Final, regular-season 2026 High School On SI Top 25

Teams that go 0-2 are disqualified. Teams that go 2-0 advance to the quarterfinal, knockout stage. Teams that go 1-1 will play each other in a third game to advance. Two teams from each pool move on.

NOTE: In Division 1 pool play, the team that's played the least amount of home games gets to host (the next game). If it's the same, it's a coin flip, which is similar to subsequent divisions.

BREAKDOWN OF EACH DIVISION, 2025 CHAMPIONS

DIVISION 1 (16-Team Bracket, 16 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Norco (24-3), Big VIII League Champion

2. Harvard-Westlake (23-5), Mission League Champion

3. Sierra Canyon (23-5), Mission League Runner-Up

4. Lutheran/ Orange (22-5), Trinity League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRY: None

2025 FINAL: St. John Bosco 3, Santa Margarita 2.

DIVISION 2 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Villa Park (19-8-1), Crestview League Runner-Up

2. Westlake (18-8), Marmonte League Runner-Up

3. Servite (15-13), Trinity League No. 3 Entry

4. Gahr (17-10-1), Gateway League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRY: Chaminade (Misson), 17-11; Loyola (Mission), 15-12-1;

Santa Margarita (Trinity), 15-13.

2025 FINAL: West Ranch 2, Mater Dei 1.

DIVISION 3 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Mira Costa (16-12), Bay League No. 3 Entry

2. Arcadia (18-10), Pacific League Runner-Up

3. Agoura (15-13), Marmonte League At-Large Entry

4. St. Francis (14-13-1), Mission League At-Large Entry

AT-LARGE ENTRY: Corona del Mar (Sunset), 14-13.

2025 FINAL: Glendora 2, San Dimas 0.

DIVISION 4 (32-Team Bracket, 31 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. San Marino (20-8), Rio Hondo League No. 3 Entry

2. Moorpark (19-9), Coastal Canyon League No. 3 Entry

3. Marina (13-15), Sunset League No. 3 Entry

4. Canyon/ Anaheim (14-14), Freeway League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Upland (Baseline), 14-12-2; Claremont (Palomares), 17-9.

2025 FINAL: Ganesha 8, Dos Pueblos 2.

DIVISION 5 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Citrus Valley (13-14), Citrus Belt League No. 3 Entry

2. St. Bernard (15-12), Del Rey League Runner-Up

3. Wilson/ Long Beach (16-12), Moore League Runner-Up

4. Santa Barbara (14-14), Channel League At-Large Entry

AT-LARGE ENTRY: Moreno Valley (Ivy), 14-12; Kaiser (Sunkist), 15-13.

2025 FINAL: Elsinore 2, St. Anthony 0.

DIVISION 6 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. California (15-13), Del Rio League No. 3 Entry

2. Crossroads (17-6), Gold Coast League Champion

3. Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary (18-9), Camino Real League At-Large Entry

4. El Rancho (16-12), Del Rio League At-Large Entry

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Troy (North Hills), 17-11.

2025 FINAL: Estancia 4, Marshall 3.

DIVISION 7 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. New Roads (18-9), Coastal League Champion

2. Norwalk (14-7), Mid-Cities League No. 3 Entry

3. Hemet (17-11), Inland Valley League No. 3 Entry

4. Victor Valley (12-11), Desert Sky League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Campbell Hall (Gold Coast), 15-11;

Golden Valley/ Santa Clarita (Foothill), 13-12; Viewpoint (Gold Coast), 17-10.

2025 FINAL: Mary Star 8, Notre Dame/ Riverside 7.

DIVISION 8 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Los Amigos (17-5), Orange League Champion

2. Schurr (11-16), Almont League No. 3 Entry

3. Duarte (10-11), Montview League Runner-Up

4. Oxford Academy (9-19), 605 League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Rio Hondo Prep (Prep), 9-9-1; Chadwick (Prep), 11-10;

Compton (Moore), 14-11.

2025 FINAL: Fillmore 7, Pioneer 6.

DIVISION 9 (32-Team Bracket, 31 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Dunn (11-7), Frontier League Runner-Up

2. St. Pius X – St. Matthias Academy (14-14), Santa Fe League No. 3 Entry

3. Rolling Hills Prep (7-11), Coastal League Runner-Up

4. Yucca Valley (7-9), Desert Valley League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: St. Monica Academy (Heritage), 9-6; Pacifica Christian/ Santa Monica

(Liberty), 15-13.

2025 FINAL: Nuview Bridge 3, Mountain View 2.