Top 25 California Girls High School Basketball State Rankings - Feb. 23, 2026

The postseason is heating up with section championships taking place this week

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

With the whole state now entrenched in girls basketball playoffs, the top-ranked teams in California have generally lived up to snuff through the opening rounds.

In the Southern Section, top seeds Ontario Christian, Etiwanda, Sierra Canyon, and Sage Hill all remain unbeaten heading into the Open Division semifinals. Which, by the way, means it's time for another potential instant classic between Etiwanda and Sierra Canyon.

In the Central Section, Clovis has remained hot and has a chance to make history with its rubber match against Clovis West carrying a Central Section title on the line.

And who knows what other massive storylines will emerge before the week is over?

Here are High School On SI's California top 25 girls basketball rankings for the week of Feb. 16.

The rankings will be updated every Monday throughout the season.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Preseason | Dec. 8 | Dec. 15 | Dec. 22 | Dec. 29 | Jan. 5 | Jan. 12 | Jan. 19 | Jan. 26 | Feb. 2 | Feb. 9 | Feb. 16

1. ONTARIO CHRISTIAN (30-1 – 1st last week)

Tati Griffin erupted for 44 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals on 17-24 FG as Ontario Christian blew out Fairmont Prep 114-50 to advance to the CIF-SS Open Division semifinals. It'll be the heavy favorite against Sage Hill, which enters on a 21-game winning streak.

2. ARCHBISHOP MITTY (23-2 – 2nd)

Off to a dominant start to the playoffs as usual. Archbishop Mitty smoked Half Moon Bay 89-23 to open CIF-Central Coast Section Open Division pool play and faces WCAL foes Saint Francis (Mountain View) and St. Ignatius next.

3. SIERRA CANYON (28-2 – 3rd)

Held off a close test from Corona Centennial for the second time this season before walloping Mater Dei 79-38 to advance to the Southern Section Open Division semifinals. It's time for yet another battle between Sierra Canyon and Etiwanda, and this one has a chance to be as good as any of them.

4. ETIWANDA (30-2 – 4th)

The Eagles haven't lost since the transfer sit-out period ended and made a statement in the CIF-SS Open Division quarterfinals with an 87-36 rout of red-hot Rancho Christian. It seems to be the perfect time for another heavyweight playoff battle with Sierra Canyon, this time in the section semifinals.

5. SAGE HILL (27-4 – 5th)

Sage Hill's 22-game winning streak will be put to the test in the Southern Section semifinals against No. 1 Ontario Christian. It's tough to know what to expect, but if Sage Hill brings its A-game, it's hard to rule out the Lightning from giving Ontario Christian a competitive game.

6. ST. MARY'S-STOCKTON (23-2 – 6th)

All season it's looked like this is St. Mary's' year to get back on top of the Sac-Joaquin Section, and so far so good through a 91-30 playoff blowout of Sheldon. The Rams might get their toughest game in the semifinals, where they host Vanden on Tuesday.

7. SAN RAMON VALLEY (24-3 – 8th)

It was a bye week for the Wolves, who now look to defend their CIF-NCS Open Division title. They will be the heavy favorite to do so with likely their toughest competition coming from Carondelet, who they've beaten by 10 points and 21 points this season.

8. CLOVIS (22-9 – 9th)

Even hotter now than in TRAC play after beating Redwood (Visalia) 67-31 and Central East 55-43 to open the playoffs. Clovis now looks to keep its stellar play going for another historic win over Clovis West – this time for a Central Section Division 1 title.

9. MATER DEI (24-7 – 7th)

Mater Dei didn't bring its A-game to the Southern Section playoffs on offense, winning narrowly over Redondo Union before falling 56-45 to Sage Hill and 79-38 to Sierra Canyon. Additionally, the Ventura team it recently lost to was just upset by Windward, and that also doesn't help the Monarchs' stock.

10. CLOVIS WEST (28-3 – 9th)

If Clovis West was looking to make a statement heading into its final rematch with Clovis, it certainly did that. It enters the Central Section finals with renewed momentum after routing St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 82-40 and Caruthers 70-32.

11. CARONDELET (23-5 – 11th)

By the time Carondelet faces Piedmont to open the CIF-NCS playoffs on Wednesday, it will have gone 12 days without a contest, whereas Piedmont made waves with a 66-45 win over Cardinal Newman in the first round. Potential rust aside, it should be a heck of a game, and the winner will play San Ramon Valley or Clayton Valley Charter for an Open Division title.

12. OAK PARK (20-9 – 12th)

Oak Park seriously came to play in its inauguration to the CIF-SS Open Division. It followed up its surprising 23-point rout of Corona Centennial by nearly taking down Sage Hill, which it beat earlier in the season before the Lightning found their groove, falling 59-58.

13. CORONA CENTENNIAL (19-5 – 13th)

The Huskies did manage to give Sierra Canyon a run for its money again, but to no avail, losing 59-54. Southern Section Open Division play wasn't totally fruitless for them, however, as they finished with a 66-55 win over Saint Joseph (Lakewood).

14. FRANCIS PARKER (19-7 – 14th)

The two top-ranked teams by our count will meet in the San Diego Section Open Division semifinals as No. 1 seed Francis Parker takes on fourth seed Mission Hills. Mission Hills won 60-51 for the title when these teams met a year ago. The winner will take on either Westview or Grossmont in the championship.

15. MISSION HILLS (19-10 – 15th)

If Mission Hills wants another San Diego Section title, it'll have to complete a remarkably tough path to get there. It opened with a 53-46 win over La Jolla Country Day and now faces Francis Parker with Westview waiting in the finals – unless Grossmont pulls its second consecutive upset. That means, seeding aside, that Mission Hills needs to beat the section's three top-ranked teams (besides itself) for the crown.

16. FAIRMONT PREP (17-14 – 16th)

Health permitting, Fairmont Prep could be in line for a big playoff run if it ends up in the Division I state bracket. Ontario Christian dismantled the Huskies 114-50 in their only game last week.

17. RANCHO CHRISTIAN (23-8 – 17th)

Rancho Christian is another Southern Section Open Division team that could plausibly earn a top seed in Division I for state and make some serious noise. It fell 87-36 to Etiwanda in the quarterfinals after its massive win over JSerra.

18. JSERRA (20-8 – 18th)

Suffice to say that JSerra lost whatever it had rolling for most of the regular season in the last few weeks. But just about nobody will want to play the Lions in the state playoffs if they simply get their offense clicking again. They handled Redondo Union 50-43 to close their first CIF-SS Open Division appearance.

19. CENTRAL EAST (18-10 – 20th)

Clovis was once again the Bengals' cryptonite. They fell 55-43 to the Cougars in the Central Section D1 semifinals after opening the postseason with a 77-67 win against Buchanan (Clovis).

20. PRIORY (20-5 – 21st)

Quite a juicy playoff schedule for Priory, which opened CIF-CCS Open Division play with a 69-28 beatdown of Alisal. Up next is league foe Pinewood, which is certainly amped up for revenge, and then another potential thriller against Archbishop Riordan.

21. REDONDO UNION (17-12 – 23rd)

Aside from a close loss at less than full strength to Bishop Montgomery, Redondo has consistently beaten any lower-ranked challengers. Despite their mediocre record, we aren't ready to drop the Sea Hawks for playing an elite schedule and making the CIF-SS Open Division where they managed to push Mater Dei and JSerra until the end.

22. VALENCIA-VALENCIA (28-4 – 24th)

Up to its highest ranking of the year, and one win away from a Southern Section Division 1 title. After the Vikings took down Troy and Windward last week, only La Salle stands in the way.

23. SAINT JOSEPH-LAKEWOOD (21-8 – 25th)

Like Redondo, Saint Joseph actually moves up two spots despite going 0-3 in CIF-SS Open Division play with some D1 teams dropping.

24. LA SALLE (28-4 – Bubble)

La Salle is still yet to lose this season to any California team that isn't in the Southern Section Open Division. If that remains true for one more game, the Lancers will be Division 1 champions. They stifled Villa Park 50-45 and Moreno Valley 48-40 to earn their spot in the finals against Valencia.

25. VENTURA (26-5 – 19th)

Lower-ranked Windward has been an anomaly with player availability causing major fluctuations in level of play from week to week. Ventura's fantastic season appears to be over with a 48-45 CIF-SS D1 quarterfinals loss, but with its full 2025-26 season to be considered, Ventura would still be a top-25 team in California in our book if it had more games to play.

ON THE BUBBLE:

PIEDMONT, BUCHANAN (CLOVIS), ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN, LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY, SAINT FRANCIS (MOUNTAIN VIEW), ST. IGNATIUS, CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER, WESTVIEW, BRENTWOOD, WINDWARD, VILLA PARK, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS, VANDEN