The 2025-26 season proved once again that the CIF-Southern Section has a stockpile of elite high school girls basketball teams and players that can’t be matched.
In the last week of the season – nothing but regional and state finals – Ontario Christian and Corona Centennial put on for the CIF-SS by winning the Open Division and Division I state championships, respectively.
Here are High School On SI’s California CIF-Southern Section top 25 girls basketball rankings for the week of Mar. 16 – the season-end rankings for 2025-26.
PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Preseason | Dec. 1 | Dec. 8 | Dec. 15 | Dec. 22 | Dec. 29 | Jan. 5 | Jan. 12 | Jan. 19 | Jan. 26 | Feb. 2 | Feb. 9 | Feb. 16 | Feb. 23 | Mar. 2 | Mar. 9
1. ONTARIO CHRISTIAN (34-2 – 1st last week)
While Ontario Christian was assisted by a poor perimeter shooting night from Archbishop Mitty, the Knights had to put on the defensive gem of the year to hold the Monarchs to 49 points – their lowest of the season – in a 56-49 win worth an Open Division state championship. And they did it with just six players in the unexpected absence of star freshman Chloe Jenkins (concussion protocol), a versatile two-way threat who averaged 14.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.6 steals per game. Kaleena Smith dazzled with 24 points and five assists, and Skylah Archer, usually the Knights’ sixth man, had season-highs of 14 points and eight rebounds on 5-7 shooting starting in place of Jenkins. So, for the first time ever, Ontario Christian finishes the season as the No. 1 team in California – and perhaps the country. 6-foot-3 center Layia King is the top Knight preparing to graduate, but almost the whole rest of the squad – namely Smith, Tati Griffin, Dani Robinson, and Archer – could be back in 2026-27.
2. SIERRA CANYON (30-3 – 2nd)
Sierra Canyon’s Jerzy Robinson celebrates winning the CIF Southern Section Open Division after beating Ontario Christian 69-62 on Feb. 28, 2026 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. | Weston Hancock
It’s the end of an era for Sierra Canyon with Jerzy Robinson (South Carolina), the program’s all-time leading scorer, graduating in addition to 4-star post Emilia Krstevski (Oregon), Delaney White (UC Irvine), and Payton Montgomery (Pacific). The Trailblazers have dealt with graduating one of the nation’s premier senior cores on multiple occasions and stayed elite each time. Every other player on the team is an underclassmen and is expected to be back in 2026-27, including Rosie Oladokun and Cheri Hatter.
3. ETIWANDA (30-4 – 3rd)
Arynn Finley of Etiwanda finished with game-high 21 points in the California (CIF) State Open Division title game at the Golden 1 Center. | Photo by Ralph Thompson
Etiwanda is the only team in California with basketball left to be played. Later this week, the Eagles head to The Throne in New Jersey to battle with seven more of the nation’s top teams on a national stage. Looking ahead to next season, Etiwanda is projected to return arguably the deepest and most experienced core of talent anywhere with only two seniors on this season’s roster. They are, however, tasked with filling the void of leading scorer Arynn Finley (Florida).
4. SAGE HILL (28-6 – 4th)
Sage Hill junior Amalia Holguin with one of four three-pointers en route to a game-high 21 points | Photo: Dennis Lee
From a 5-4 start to finishing the season in the Open Division’s statewide final four ranked fifth in California, fourth in the Southern Section, and as high as seventh in the country. Sage Hill’s regional championship date with Ontario Christian was another lopsided loss to the Knights (73-51), but making it that far alone was a huge win for the Thunder. They’ll be an interesting team to watch next year with two of their longtime cornerstones, Amalia Holguin (Texas) and Alyssa Cuff, off to college, but possibly every other player back, including double-digit scorers Kamdyn Klamberg, Eve Fowler, and Addison Uphoff.
5. CORONA CENTENNIAL (24-5 – 5th)
The only team to move up in the state rankings in final week of the season, Centennial peaked when it mattered most and won a Division I state title in what technically was a total rebuilding season. The Huskies cruised past Rancho Christian 81-61 in the regional finals behind 27 points and 15 rebounds from Sydney Douglas, and the 5-star sophomore had 21 points and 10 rebounds on 8-13 shooting to lift them past Clovis 73-66. Junior guard Armanyie Reed totaled 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in the state finals, and those two should form one of the state’s top trios next year alongside sophomore wing Talithakoum Poialii-Hunkin.
6. MATER DEI (26-8 – 6th)
Despite graduating a deep, talented senior class, Mater Dei is expected to return much of its core in 2026-27, including juniors Harmony Golightly (Trinity League MVP) and Stella Hoss and freshmen Nelly Strong and Legend Tyler.
7. RANCHO CHRISTIAN (26-9 – 7th)
No need to drop for a 20-point loss to higher-ranked Corona Centennial. 2025-26 was a raging success for Rancho Christian, which kept it pushing in the right direction despite graduating possibly the best player in program history the previous summer. The Eagles are now tasked with graduating two more outstanding seniors in Ebony Taylor-Smith and Alyson Boyd but are presumably just beginning the Addison Archer era. Archer, a projected national recruit in the Class of 2029, finished her freshman year averaging 26.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.9 steals per game shooting a whopping 62% from the field.
8. OAK PARK (22-10 – 8th)
After what might’ve been the strongest season in program history, Oak Park will have some holes to fill with Karisma Flores (UC Santa Barbara) and Diana Sorrondo (Southern Utah) off to play D-1 ball, but things are still looking up for the Eagles. They should still have one of the state’s top groups of guards if Maya Deshautelle, Ava Rogerson, Maya Urteaga, and Natasha Bommareddy all return in 2026-27.
9. JSERRA (21-9 – 9th)
It’d be easy to forget after the season they just had that just about JSerra’s entire roster consisted of non-seniors. 6-foot-2 wings Vivian Grenald and Kayla Rice are expected to spearhead one of California’s top upperclassman-heavy contenders a season from now. Shay Talleur and Rosie Santos were named All-Trinity League this season as juniors as well.
10. FAIRMONT PREP (17-15 – 10th)
Fairmont Prep will go from having a big-name senior core to being led by sophomores a season from now. The Huskies will be hard-pressed to state in the statewide top 25, but freshman post Aaliyah Mack is one of the top building blocks around that the Huskies’ could go forward with.
11. SAINT JOSEPH-LAKEWOOD (21-8 – 11th)
The Jesters appear to be a wildcard heading into 2026-27. 4-star combo guard and UAB signee Bella Harmon is one of the state’s most irreplaceable players, but Saint Joseph hardly had any other seniors during this marquee season.
12. LA SALLE (30-5 – 12th)
Few teams have been able to graduate star players and continue improving as well as La Salle over the last several years. The Lancers say goodbye to Casey Higgins (CSU-LA) and Julianne Tan but should have a host of key returners next season such as Aislin Tamez-Torres, Riley Higgins, and Emily Fong.
13. REDONDO UNION (17-12 – 13th)
2025-26 signified a return to the CIF-SS Open Division for Redondo led by a tremendous senior class. The Sea Hawks now grapple with the losses of seniors Abby Zimmerman and Ava Gomez, among others, but return quite a bit of less established talent with a high ceiling going into next season.
14. MORENO VALLEY (20-13 – 14th)
Alaysha Mills has been getting it done on a big stage for Moreno Valley for so long that it’s easy to forget she still has another year left of high school ball. She’ll be the only statistically productive Viking back in 2026-27, however, with Bella Medina, Jamiyah Pearson, Crystal Serrano, and Hasina Williams all graduating.
15. VALENCIA-VALENCIA (28-6 – 15th)
Cara McKell, the program’s all-time leading scorer, is off to play at Westmont. She’s a huge loss for the CIF-SS D1 finalist, but the rest of this season’s core – Kamilla Basyrova, Keira McLaughlin, Sophia Sarkar, and Alexis Epie – is expected to be back for Valencia in 2026-27, and that means another big year for the Vikings.
16. VENTURA (26-5 – 16th)
Ventura didn’t have many seniors on the floor in 2025-26, but Kailee Staniland accounted for 23.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.4 steals a game shooting 133-314 (42%) from three, and she’s off to Point Loma Nazarene. Expect the Cougars to remain strong with dominant forward Brinley Anderson back as a senior accompanied by rising juniors Emma Anter and Sofia Martinez.
17. BRENTWOOD (23-7 – 17th)
With Logan Scott graduating, Brentwood is tasked with replacing one of California’s top rebounders and rim protectors in 2026-27, but the Eagles will yet again be stockpiled at guard. Kelsey Sugar, Reena White, Jessica Liu, Mikaella Kawahito, and Lei Tomatsu all have another season or two left at the high school level.
18. WINDWARD (18-13 – 18th)
With 5-star sophomore Amel Cook out all year and Princeton commit Angelina Habis playing less than half the season, Windward was rarely even close to full strength in 2025-26. If the Wildcats can keep the squad together and stay healthy next season, they’ll be one of the better teams in not only the section or state but in fact the whole country between Cook, Habis, 4-star junior Charis Rainey, Alexie Wehrle, Shiloh Johnson, and a deep cast of promising underclassmen.
19. VILLA PARK (23-8 – 19th)
2026-27 will probably be a rebuilding campaign for the Spartans, who were mostly led by seniors this season, but they project to have two more years with Lauren Wolfe. She was second on the team as a sophomore with 12.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on a team-high 46% FG.
20. SANTA MARGARITA (18-11 – 20th)
What will Santa Margarita look like in 2026-27? The Eagles graduate star guard Madi Lam and posts Janaya Williams and Jennea Holmes but project to have two All-Trinity League returners in forwards Elle Palmer and Grace Anderson.
21. ESPERANZA (19-10 – 21st)
Esperanza is tasked with reloading next season with star twins Charlotte and Alexa Muller graduating along with Ellie Frazier, but quickly reloading has been a strength of the Aztecs for many years now. They have a promising group of Class of 2028 guards with Avery Kame (11.7 points, 3.7 assists), Emily Min, and Kiryn Sharma expected to return.
22. FLINTRIDGE PREP (23-4 – 22nd)
Maddie Smith is off to play for Yale and Flintridge Prep will miss two more seniors in Akemi Fu and Pressley Huie. The Wolves look like a wildcard going into 2026-27 with about half of their core expected to be back, featuring Megan Quoch, Addison Lee, Hailey Louie, and Mackenzie Bates.
23. TROY (22-9 – 23rd)
The first year of Troy’s rebuild was up-and-down as expected, but the Warriors finished 2025-26 as a clear top-25 team in the Southern Section and will return most of their team next winter. Freeway League MVP Mei-Ling Perry is off to Princeton, but Troy projects to bring back four all-league selections in Lexi Joko, Aoki Perry, Kaidyn Kiernan, and Rilynn Robinson and at least one more impact player in Riley Almendarez.
24. RIALTO (23-4 – 24th)
The Knights will probably struggle to stay ranked in 2026-27 with 25-PPG scorer Jackie Polk graduating along with their second and third-leading scorers, Destiny Rabino and Zanarah Livingston, resepctively. But their future is bright with some promising talent in their freshman and sophomore classes, including Jovana Salas, Zani Belvin, and Ingrid Banos.
25. ORANGE LUTHERAN (19-9 – 25th)
Guaranteed to pop off in 2026-27 if its whole core returns. OLu was effectively comprised of only underclassmen this season and should have four All-Trinity League returners between Kayla Watanabe, Olivia Taleon, Kynley Calvert, and Jocelyn Thompson.