Boys hoops season underway for local teams

San Diego Section basketball teams paused their regular season schedules in deference to Monday’s Martin Luther King holiday. Selected games did take place but with special meaning.

Games took place from the morning hours to the evening hours during the federal holiday.
Mater Dei Catholic High School hosted three games on Monday: novice, junior varsity and varsity in a trio of non-league games against Rancho Bernardo.

The event comes one month before the San Diego Section playoffs tip off.

Where do South County teams stand in terms of finding success in the postseason?

Starting off, the top eight teams in the Division I rankings advance to the Open Division playoffs, leaving the remaining 16 teams in the 24-team division to play for the Division I championship.

As of Monday, the eight Open Division quarterfinalists included No. 1 Santa Fe Christian (18-2), No. 2 Victory Christian Academy (16-4), No. 3 La Costa Canyon (16-5), No. 4 Mission Bay (13-7), No. 5 San Marcos (13-5), No. 6. Francis Parker (10-9), No. 7 Mira Mesa (15-5) and No. 8 Olympian (16-4).

The top four teams following in the rankings include No. 9 Cathedral Catholic (13-7), No. 10 Madison (14-5), No. 11. Torrey Pines (9-10) and No. 12 St. Augustine (9-10). Other squads looking to move up to fill the elite playoff bracket include No. 13 Bonita Vista (13-6), No. 14. Carlsbad (8-12), No. 15 Montgomery (14-5), No. 16. Christian (12-8), No. 17 Mission Hills (13-7), 18 La Jolla Country Day (9-10), 19. Rancho Buena Vista (11-10), No. 20 San Diego (10-12), No. 21 Sage Creek (8-12), No. 22 Del Norte (9-10), No. 23 University City (6-14) and No. 24 El Camino (7-12).

Bonita Vista would occupy the No. 5 seed in the revised 16-team Division I playoffs while Montgomery would be seeded seventh.

Montgomery defeated Carlsbad, 53-45, to win last year’s Open Division title while St. Augustine topped Victory Christian Academy, 59-42, for the Division I banner.

The Division II, Division III and Division IV playoff fields also include 16 teams each while the Division V and Division V-AA divisions feature 12 teams.

National City’s San Diego Academy (7-5) is ranked No. 3 in the Division V-AA grouping while Mater Dei Catholic (9-6) is ranked sixth among Division II teams.

Hilltop (13-7) is ranked eighth among Division V teams, immediately followed by No. 9 Chula Vista Learning Community Charter (7-6). High Tech High Chua Vista (10-7) is No. 9 in Division IV.

Other teams currently above the playoff cut in their respective divisions include No. 10 Otay Ranch (6-13) in Division III, No. 11 Sweetwater (8-7) in Division IV, No. 13 Southwest (13-6) in Division II, No. 13 Mar Vista (7-13) and No. 15 Chula Vista (7-13) in Division IV and No. 16 Castle Park (5-12) in Division V.

Olympian defeated Mira Mesa, 54-46, in last year’s Division II final while Maranatha Christian edged Southwest San Diego, 47-44, for the Division III title. Tri-City Christian defeated Del lago Academy, 53-49, to win the Division IV title while Pacific Ridge defeated Chula Vista, 46-38, in the Division V final.

The Cambridge School defeated Southern California Yeshiva, 50-36, to capture the Division V-AA championship.League champions automatically qualify for the section playoffs. League play has already tipped off in the six-team Metro-Pacific League with Mar Vista taking an early 2-0 lead, followed by Hilltop (1-1), San Ysidro (1-1), Chula Vista (1-1), Sweetwater (1-1) and Castle Park (0-2).

The Mariners tipped off league play with a 57-50 win at Chula Vista on Jan. 14 and stopped visiting Sweetwater, 68-60, on Jan. 16 behind 24 points from senior Jahaziel Catano, 18 points from senior Brandon Gomez and 15 points from sophomore Braylon “Cheetah” Shumate.

Mar Vista sank the Red Devils with 50 rebounds: 15 by Gomez and 11 each by Catano and senior Elisha Story.

San Ysidro defeated Hilltop, 50-41, on Jan. 14 while Hilltop defeated Castle Park, 60-38, on Jan. 16.

Senior Gael Hernandez poured in 17 points while sophomore Osvaldo Hernandez dropped in 14 points in the win over Hilltop.

Senior Roman Miramontes led Hilltop with 19 points in the win over the Trojans while junior Dejanie Best added 16 points. Miramontes also had 11 rebounds.

Miramontes had 13 points in the loss to San Ysidro.

Sweetwater defeated Castle Park, 66-27, on Jan. 14 while Chula Vista defeated San Ysidro, 46-35, on Jan. 16.

Small schools
High Tech Chula Vista is out to a 2-0 start in the Frontier Summit League with a 2-0 record following wins over High Tech Mesa (49-47 on Jan. 13) and O’Farrell Charter (70-48 on Jan. 15). Senior Kyle Ilagen poured in 19 points while senior Ramzie Cabal dropped in 11 points and junior Matt Bennett added 10 points in the win over HTH Mesa.

SDA is off to a 2-0 start in the Frontier-Patriot League with victories against High Tech North County (52-47 on Jan. 13) and Bayfront Charter (55-53 on Jan. 15).

In the win over High Tech North County, Avita had 18 points and senior Josue Flores had 17 points while three players scored in double digits against Bayfront Charter: freshman Julian Briano (13 points), Avita (12 points) and junior Caleb Lindquist (10 points).

Top performers
•Scoring leaders on Southwest include senior Noah Soltero (23.8 ppg) and senior Elisha Traylor (10.1 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on Mar Vista include Catano (20.9 ppg) and Shumate (14.9 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on Montgomery include senior D.K. Montgomery (20.5 ppg) and senior Xavier Guerrero (9.2 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on Bonita Vista include junior J.J. Stokes (19.6 ppg), senior Adam Mitchell (11.1 ppg) and senior Josh Hansen (10.3 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on Olympian include junior Tristan Anderson (19.5 ppg), senior Jordan Walker (18.3 ppg) and senior Mathew Huertas (11.6 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on High Tech Chula Vista include Ilagen (17.3 ppg) and Cabal (9;4 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on Victory Christian Academy include senior Sammell “D.J.” Humphries (15.8 ppg), sophomore Troy Tominna (15,4 ppg) and senor Jayden Gray (13.9 ppg).

•Scoring leaders for San Ysidro include senior Gael Hernandez (15.3 ppg) and sophomore Osvaldo Hernandez (10.9 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on Otay Ranch include senior Syrus Webb (13.9) and junior Chris Esquibel (9.0 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on Ocean View Christian Academy include sophomore Jude Drullard (13.2 ppg) and junior Eli Desmond (6.4 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on Hilltop include senior Roman Miramontes (12.3 ppg) and senior Isma Hasani (8.7 ppg).

•Scoring leaders on San Diego Academy include senior Story Avita (10.7 ppg) and junior Rudy Nieto (8.5 ppg).

Hall of Fame game
Sweetwater High School will host its annual alumni Hall of Fame basketball game, the Michael LeMaster Memorial Classic, on Saturday, Jan. 31. The Red Devils will host Morse High School in a boys basketball game at 6 p.m.

A girls game against Crawford precedes that at 4:30 p.m.

The event is named after LeMaster, who tied in an explosion in Afghanistan in September 2012. The 1984 SuHi graduate served in the Marines for more than 20 years.

2026 Hall of Fame Inductees include Jessica Bautista (Class of 2011), April Cadua (Class of 2011) Mendel Nafarrete (Class of 1991), Matt Simmons (Class of 1987) and Tiom Slavinsky (Class of 1979).

Bautista and Cadua both played on the Sweetwater girls basketball team.

Nafarrette served as a point guard on the on 1990 CIF team that finished 34-2, undefeated in San Diego County. He went on to play at the Naval Academy and now served as program manager for Student Welfare and Attendance Services for the Sweetwater Union High School District.

Simmons, a four-year varsity starter and all-league selection for three years, played college basketball at Cal Poly and Humboldt State.
Slavinsky, another all-league performer, attended SDSU where he played football for two years.

San Diego Section Boys Basketball Rankings

Top 50 Teams
(Through Jan. 18)

1. Santa Fe Christian 18-2
2. Victory Christian Academy 16-4
3. La Costa Canyon 16-5
4. Mission Bay 13-7
5. San Marcos 13-5
6. Francis Parker 10-9
7. Mira Mesa 15-5
8. Olympian 16-4
9. Cathedral Catholic 13-7
10. Madison 14-5
11. Torrey Pines 9-10
12. St. Augustine 9-10
13. Rancho Bernardo 12-7
14. Bonita Vista 13-6
15. Carlsbad 8-12
16. Montgomery 14-5
17. Christian 12-8
18. Poway 13-7
19. Mission Hills 13-7
20. Westview 14-5
21. La Jolla Country Day 9-10
22. Scripps Ranch 11-10
23. Patrick Henry 14-6
24. Mater Dei Catholic 9-6
25. Pacific Ridge 15-4
26. Rancho Buena Vista 11-10
27. Morse 17-1
28. Helix 11-10
29. Army-Navy Academy 12-7
30. San Diego 10-12
31. Pt. Loma 11-7
32. Steele Canyon 12-8
33. Coronado 11-9
34. Ramona 13-7
35. Bishop’s 13-5
36. Del Norte 9-10
37. Maranatha Christian 8-11
38. West Hills 14-6
39. Southwest 13-6
40. Canyon Hills 10-7
41. Tri-City Christian 5-7
42. Clairemont 13-6
43. Monte Vista 12-9
44. Valhalla 14-5
45. Kearny 12-6
46. Mt. Miguel 11-10
47. Mt. Carmel 8-11
48. Lincoln 9-11
49. Preuss UCSD 14-7
50. University City 6-14
    Others: 39. Southwest 13-6, 58. Otay Ranch 6-13, 63. High Tech High Chula Vista 10-7, 65. Eastlake 4-16, 70. Sweetwater 8-7, 74. Hilltop 13-7, 77. Mar Vista 7-13, 81. Chula Vista 7-13, 83. San Ysidro 3-13, 88. Castle Park 5-12, 98. Ocean View Christian Academy 2-7

Division I Rankings

1. Santa Fe Christian 18-2, 2. Victory Christian Academy 16-4, 3. La Costa Canyon 16-4, 4. Mission Bay 13-7, 5. San Marcos 13-5, 6. Francis Parker 10-9, 7. Mira Mesa 15-5, 8. Olympian 16-4, 9. Cathedral Catholic 13-7, 10. Madison 14-5, 11. Torrey Pines 9-10, 12. St. Augustine 9-10, 13. Bonita Vista 13-6, 14. Carlsbad 8-12, 15. Montgomery 14-5, 16. Christian 12-8, 17. Mission Hills 11-9, 18. La Jolla Country Day 9-10, 19. Rancho Buena Vista 11-10, 20, San Diego 10-12, 21. Sage Creek 8-12, 22. Del Norte 9-10, 23. University City 6-14, 24. El Camino 7-12

Division II Rankings

1. Rancho Bernardo 12-7, 2. Poway 13-7, 3. Westview 14-5, 4. Scripps Ranch 11-10, 5. Patrick Henry 14-6, 6. Mater Dei Catholic 9-6, 7. Helix 11-10, 8. Pt. Loma 11-7, 9. Steele Canyon 12-8, 10. Coronado 11-9, 11. Bishop’s 13-5, 12. Maranatha Christian 8-11, 13. Southwest 13-6, 14. Monte Vista 12-9, 15. Mt. Miguel 11-10, 16, Lincoln 9-11, 17. Hoover 7-10, 18. La Jolla 5-15, 19. Eastlake 4-15, 20. Vincent Memorial 4-8, 21. Vista 1-18

Division III Rankings

1. Army-Navy Academy 12-7, 2. Calexico 14-4, 3. Ramona 13-7, 4. Brawley 14-4, 5. Del Lago Academy, 6. Canyon Hills 10-7, 7. Tri-City Christian 5-7, 8. Imperial 9-6, 9. Mt. Carmel 8-11, 10. Otay Ranch 6-13, 11. Fallbrook 8-10, 12. Canyon Crest Academy 7-12, 13. Crawford 6-11, 14. Oceanside 6-13, 15. Central Union 6-7, 16. St. Joseph Academy 9-10, 17. Escondido Charter 5-14, 18. Granite Hills 7-12, 19. San Ysidro 3-13, 20. Foothills Christian 1-17, 21. Calipatria 1-11

Division IV Rankings

1. Pacific Ridge 15-4, 2. Morse 17-1, 3. West Hills 14-6, 4. Clairemont 13-6, 5. Valhalla 14-5, 6. Kearny 12-6, 7. High Tech High San Diego 9-9, 8. Santana 11-8, 9. High Tech High Chula Vista 10-7, 10. San Dieguito Academy 8-10, 11. Sweetwater 8-7, 12. Mission Vista 7-10, 13. Mar Vista 7-13, 14. El Capitan 5-14, 15. Chula Vista 7-13, 16. Cambridge School 6-6, 17. O’Farrell Charter 4-18, 18. Escondido 4-13, 19. Orange Glen 4-18, 20. High Tech mesa 0-10, 21. Valley Center 0-18

Division V Rankings

1. Preuss UCSD 14-7, 2. High Tech High North County 12-2, 3. San Diego Jewish Academy 10-3, 4. Grossmont 8-8, 5. Coastal Academy 8-4, 6. Palo Verde Valley 11-10, 7. El Cajon Valley 9-7, 8. Hilltop 13-7, 9. CVLCC 7-6, 10. San Pasqual 6-11, 11. Logan Memorial 10-9, 12. Southwest El Centro 7-12, 13. Holtville 6-15, 14. Classical Academy 5-16, 15. Mountain Empire 6-5, 16. Castle Park 5-12, 17. Guajome Park Academy 4-8, 18. Bayfront Charter 2-10, 19. Health Sciences 1-6, 20. Gompers Prep Academy 0-10

Division V-AA Rankings

1. Liberty Charter 10-4, 2. Warner 14-3, 3. San Diego Academy 7-5, 4. Calvin Christian, 5. Horizon Prep 15-4, 6. Southern California Yeshiva 6-6. 7. Monarch 4-5, 8. Escondido Adventist Academy 4-8, 9. Rock Academy 3-11, 10. SET 3-10, 11. Bonsall 5-10, 12. Calexico Mission 1-6, 13. Cristo Rey 1-6, 14. Ocean View Christian Academy 2-7, 15. Bostonia Global 0-5, 16. West Shores 1-6, 17. Borrego Spring 2-9, 18. Julian 0-11

San Diego Section Girls Basketball Rankings

Division I Rankings

1. Francis Parker 12-5, 2, Mater Dei Catholic 15-1, 3. Mission Hills 10-7, 4. Cathedral Catholic 13-5, 5. La Jolla Country Day 11-8, 6. Westview 11-6, 7. Grossmont 14-4, 8. Imperial 14-5, 9. Rancho Bernardo 16-4, 10. El Capitan 16-5, 11. Victory Christian Academy 6-11, 12. Torrey Pines 10-10, 13. Montgomery 12-7, 14. Scripps Ranch 12-8, 15. Carlsbad 8-13, 16. Otay Ranch 14-5, 17. Bishop’s 9-8, 18. Oceanside 8-5, 19. Rancho Buena Vista 10-8, 20. Fallbrook 10-9, 21. San Marcos 6-11, 22. Morse 12-9, 23. Poway 4-14, 24. Vincent Memorial

Division II Rankings

1. La Costa Canyon 15-4, 2. San Diego 13-7, 3. Christian 12-4, 4. Lincoln 4-9, 5. Central Union 10-7, 6. Mt. Carmel 9-9, 7. Bonita Vista 10-6, 8. Sage Creek 10-12, 9. Del Norte 8-11, 10. Olympian 8-11, 11. Helix 5-12, 12. Escondido Charter 8-9, 13. Mira Mesa 11-9, 14. Steele Canyon 10-10, 15. University City 7-12, 16. San Dieguito Academy 5-9, 17. La Jolla 4-16, 18. St. Joseph Academy 3-15, 19. Granite Hills 4-14, 20. West Hills 4-15, 21. Hoover 5-15
2. 
   Division III rankings
3. Patrick Henry 19-2, 2. Escondido 10-5, 3. Canyon Hills 17-3, 4. Our Lady of Peace 15-4, 5. Calexico 14-5, 6. High Tech San Diego 10-5, 7. Vista 9-9. 8. Santa Fe Christian 11-5, 9. Eastlake 9-9. 10.Valley Center 11-6, 11. Mission Vista 9-8, 12. Palo Verde Valley 8-5, 13. El Cajon Valley 8-9, 14. Crawford 8-11, 15. Tri-City Christian 3-4, 16. Mt. Miguel 7-10, 17. Madison 5-8, 18. Pacific Ridge 3-13, 19. Horizon Prep 6-6, 20. Classical Academy 3-12, 21. Brawley 0-12

Division IV rankings

1. Hilltop 14-4, 2. Kearny 9-7, 3. El Camino 7-9, 4. Escondido Adventist Academy 10-6, 5. Cambridge School 10-2, 6. Pt. Loma 10-9, 7. Coronado 6-8, 8. Santana 9-10, 9. Holtville 9-7, 10. Chula Vista 10-8, 11. Canyon Crest Academy 7-10, 12. Southwest 6-9, 13. O’Farrell Charter 8-9, 14. Del Lago Academy 10-7, 15. Warner 8-4, 16. Rock Academy 5-6, 17. Valhalla 1-12, 18. Ramona 2-13, 19. Monte Vista 0-12, 20. SET 1-9, 21. Maranatha Christian 0-12

Division V rankings

1. San Pasqual 13-4, 2. Logan Memorial 14-6, 3. Coastal Academy 11-2, 4. Castle Park 11-3, 5. Southwest 7-7, 6. Mar Vista 4-9, 7. High Tech Chula Vista 2-5, 8. High Tech Mesa 1-4, 9. San Ysidro 6-10, 10. Orange Glen 4-10, 11. Mission Bay 3-13, 12. Mountain Empire 4-9, 13. Sweetwater 0-12, 14. Preuss UCSD 3-6, 15. Clairemont 2-9, 16. Guajome Park Academy 2-10, 17. Bayfront Charter 2-8, 18. Gompers Pewp Academy 0-8

Division V-AA rankings

1. Liberty Charter 11-0, 2. Foothills Christian 11-5, 3. San Diego Academy 5-4, 4. West Shores 4-3, 5. Calipatria 2-9, 6. Bonsall 5-5, 7. Ocean View Christian Academy 2-7, 8. High Tech North County 1-10, 9. CVLCC 3-8, 10. Borrego Springs 1-6, 11. Calexico Mission 0-7

San Diego Section 2025-26 Power Rankings

Boys Soccer

Division I leaders: 1. Del Norte 8-0-0, 2. Torrey Pines 9-3-1, 3. St. Augustine 6-4-1. 4, La Costa Canyon 7-4-2, 5. Mission Hills 4-3-2, 6. Calexico 8-5-4, 7. Eastlake 7-3-2. 8. Southwest 9-2-3, 9. Helix 5-4-0, 10. Scripps Ranch 5-2-5. Others: 14. Hilltop 3-7-4

Division II leaders: 1. Central Union 17-0-2, 2. Bonita Vista 3-1-1, 3. San Marcos 11-2-2, 4. Cathedral Catholic 6-3-2, 5. University City 7-3-3, 6. Mater Dei Catholic 8-2-4, 7. Mission Bay 6-2-2, 8. Escondido 7-2-3, 9. Canyon Crest Academy 5-4-2, 10. Escondido Charter 6-5-4. Others: 16. Otay Ranch 8-4-4

Division III leaders: 1. Fallbrook 4-3-3, 2, Mt. Carmel 5-0-5, 3. Grossmont 9-1-1, 4. El Camino 5-4-3, 5. Granite Hills 5-7-2, 6. Gompers Prep 5-3-2, 7. Hoover 10-5-5, 8. Olympian 6-6-3, 9. Coronado 6-4-1, 10. Chula Vista 5-6-3. Others: 12. San Ysidro 6-6-2, 13. Sweetwater 10-6-2

Division IV leaders: 1. Montgomery 6-2-3, 2, Sage Creek 10-1-1, 3. Francis Parker 3-5-2, 4. Holtville 3-2-0, 5. Ramona 9-6-0, 6. La Jolla 6-1-2, 7. Del Lago Academy 6-4-2, 8. Mission Vista 4-8-1, 9. Bishop’s 4-2-2, 10. Mira Mesa 6-5-1. Others: 18. Castle Park 0-9-2

Division V leaders: 1. Mountain Empire 5-4-2, 2. Bayfront Charter 8-5-3, 3. Palo Verde Valley 5-6-1, 4. High Tech Chula Vista 6-5-0, 5. El Capitan 6-7-2, 7. Mt. Miguel 5-7-2, 8. Coastal Academy 3-8-0, 9. Lincoln 6-5-3, 10. El Cajon Valley 2-9-1. Others: Mar Vista 0-5-1

Division V-AA leaders: 1, CVLCC 11-1-3, 2. Foothills Christian 12-0-0, 3. High Tech North County 8-6-0, 4. Ocean View Christian Academy 5-5-1, 5. Liberty Charter 7-3-0, 6. Cristo Rey 3-2-1, 7. Calvin Christian 4-6-1, 8. Borrego Springs 3-8-1, 9. Bostonia Global 2-5-0, 10. Army-Navy Academy 2-9-1. Others: 15. Victory Christian 1-4-1

Girls Soccer

Division I leaders: 1. Patrick Henry 7-2-1, 2. Torrey Pines 8-0-3, 3. Mater Dei Catholic 12-0-0, 4. San Marcos 7-2-3, 5. Mt. Carmel 8-0-4, 6. Cathedral Catholic 8-3-2, 7. Coronado 6-3-0, 8. La Costa Canyon 6-3-1, 9. Pt. Loma 7-1-2, 10. Mission Hills 6-5-1. Others: 12. Eastlake 6-6-1, 17. Bonita Vista 3-6-1

Division II leaders: 1. Del Norte 5-2-2, 2. Mission Bay 8-2-0, 3. Rancho Bernardo 7-6-1, 4. El Camino 6-2-1, 5. Santa Fe Christian 10-0-1, 6. Otay Ranch 6-4-2, 7. La Jolla 6-4-0, 8. Fallbrook 6-4-1, 9. West Hills 7-3-3, 10. Valhalla 7-3-2. Others: 15. Olympian 5-5-1

Division III leaders: 1. 1. Bishop’s 6-2-1, 2. Monte Vista 8-1-2, 3. Ramona 9-3-3, 4. Hilltop 7-4-1, 5. Escondido Charter 4-6-0, 6. Montgomery 6-6-1, 7. Foothills Christian 5-5-1, 8. Christian 3-4-3, 9. University City 5-3-4, 10. Grossmont 3-8-4. Others: 17. CVLCC 1-3-1, 19. Sweetwater 3-5-1, Southwest 3-8-6

Division IV leaders: 1. Mission Vista 8-1-0, 2. Clairemont 8-2-1, 3. Oceanside 5-3-3, 4. Brawley 10-4-3, 5. O’Farrell Charter 6-0-3, 6. Imperial 9-6-1, 7. Lincoln 6-2-0, 8. Madison 7-5-0, 9. Mt. Miguel 9-2-1, 10. Morse 5-5-0. Others: 13. San Ysidro 3-7-2, 18. Mar Vista 1-10-4

Division V leaders: 1. Chula Vista 7-6-1, 2. Logan Memorial 6-2-1, 3. Coastal Academy 3-3-1, 4. Castle Park 2-6-1, 5. Holtville 5-8-1, 6. Preuss UCSD 3-3-1, 7. El Cajon Valley 4-6-0, 8. Gompers Prep Academy 3-5-1, 9. Bayfront Charter 1-11-1, 10. Palo Verde Valley 3-3-2. Others: 12. High Tech Chula Vista 0-6-1

Division V-AA leaders: 1. Cavin Christian 9-1-0, 2. River Valley 7-1-2, 3. Liberty Charter 5-5-3, 4. Vincent Memorial 5-3-2, 5. Mountain Empire 3-3-1, 6. High Tech Mesa 1-4-0, 7. San Diego Jewish Academy 1-1-2, 8. Rock Academy 4-2-0, 9. High Tech North County 2-6-0, 10. West Shores 1-7-1