When the San Diego Section unveiled its elite Open Division playoffs a decade or so ago, it remained a dream for most Metro Conference teams.
Not anymore.
Check the rankings and both Victory Christian Academy (second) and Olympian (eighth) are on course to qualify for the top playoff division in boys basketball this year while Mater Dei Catholic (fourth) is vying for an elite finish as well in the girls basketball bracket.
On the soccer side, Mater Dei Catholic (16-0-0) entered the week with the No. 2 ranking in girls soccer while Eastlake (8-4-3) was No. 8 in boys soccer.
Open Division hopefuls also include Bonita Vista (6-7-1, ninth) in girls soccer, Victory Christian Academy (8-14, 10th) in girls basketball and Bonita Vista (17-8, 14th) in boys basketball.
VCA’s boys hoops team improved to 20-4 overall, 3-0 in Metro-Mesa League play, after dealing visiting Bonita Vista a 78-61 defeat on Wednesday. The Knights tipped off league play Jan. 28 with a 69-50 win at Olympian and topped visiting Montgomery, 76-61, on Jan. 30.
Olympian defeated host Bonita Vista, 77-62, on Jan. 30 while the Barons edged Montgomery, 64-62, on Jan. 28.
Sophomore Troy Tominna keyed VCA with 19 points in the win over Olympian while senior Jayden Gray (13 points), senior D.J. Humphries (12 points) and senior Isaiah Owens (11 points) also scored in double-digits. Gray sank three three-point field goals while Humphries had six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Gray led the team with eight assists and three steals.
Junior Tristan Anderson keyed Olympian with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while senior Jordan Walker had 13 points.
Humphries, a transfer from Olympian, poured in 20 points in the win over Montgomery while Gray (16 points), Tominna (11 points), sophomore Khalil Curry (10 points) and Owens (10 points) made it five Knights in double-digit scoring. VCA amassed 48 rebounds: 12 by Owens, nine by senior Chato Garcia and eight each by Tominna and Curry.
Senior D.K. Montgomery led the Aztecs with 20 points while junior Jayden Hawkins dropped in 10 points. Montgomery had four treys in the game while Hawkins had three long-range bombs. Sophomore Nico Villa grabbed seven rebounds while Montgomery had five steals.
Tominna had 25 points on Wednesday while Gray had 15 points and Humphries and Owens each sank 12 points as the Knights once again finished the game with multiple players in double-digit scoring.
On the season, Tominna keys VCA with a 16.0 scoring average, followed by Humphries at 15.5, Gray art 13.7 and Owens at 12.9
Owens leads the team with 6,5 rebounds per game, followed by Tominna and Humphries at 4.1 rpg each, and Garcia at 3.7 rpg. Humphries is the team’s assist leader at 6.0 per game while Gray is next up at 4.3 per game and Garcia at 4.0 per game.
Humphries is also the team leader in steals (3.7 per game).
Opponents face a mine field when playing the Knights this season.
“We lost in the Division I final last year and the guys took the loss hard,” VCA coach Will Gray said. “They’ve worked hard during the offseason in their individual games, and collectively, to do what was best for the team.”
So far, the game plan has worked with the return of key players and key additions. But the Knights clearly haven’t satisfied their hunger for redemption yet.
“Our goal is to win the Division I Open Division championship,” Will Gray said. “We felt coming into the season that we were going to have good team this year, a senior-heavy team. We felt we could one of the best teams in San Diego this year.”
Victory Christian clearly finds itself among the section’s heavy hitters in 2025-26.
Montgomery won last year’s Open Division hoops title after a runner-up finish the prior year.
Olympian has won two CIF championships back-to-back: Division III in 2024 and Division II last year.
With six seniors on this year’s roster, there may be an urgency on the Knights part to get the job done this season. Victory Christian hosts Olympian on Friday on Senior Night with a chance to take a big step toward wrapping up the league title with a win.
“It’s going to be a dogfight,” the VSA coach said about this year’s Open Division playoffs. “This year you can say it’s up for anybody to win. In the past couple years, people could say they had a favorite coming in, not this year.”
So, why not the Knights?
The Eagles, who beat host Montgomery, 75-50, on Wednesday, are looking to excel in their final games this season, whether in the Open Division or Division I. Anderson leads Olympian in scoring at 19.0 ppg this season, followed by Walker (18.4 ppg) and senior Mathew Huertas (10.0 ppg). Anderson (5.4 per game) and senior Xavier King (5.0 per game) are the team’s rebounding leaders while Anderson tops the Eagles in both assists per game (4.2) and steals per game (4.6).
As for soccer, Mater Dei Catholic’s girls team is led by sophomore Alessia Villalpando with 27 goals and six assists, junior Lydia Chavez with eight goals and three assists and senior Keira Baranski with five goals and seven assists.
The Lady Crusaders have out-scored opponents 57-2, including Wednesday’s tight 1-0 win over visiting Bonita Vista. Villalpando score the game-winner off a pass from freshman Sophia Ruvalcaba. Sophomore Camila Campos made six saves to record the shutout win.
Mater Dei Catholic plays at Eastlake (8-8-1) on Friday.
Senior jake Naiman had led Eastlake’s boys teams with six goals and three assists through nine games.
Metro Conference Standings
Boys Basketball
Metro-Mesa League
Victory Christian Academy 3-0, 20-4
Olympian 2-1, 20-5
Bonita Vista 1-2, 17-8
Montgomery 0-3, 16-8
Metro-South Bay League
Mater Dei Catholic 2-1, 11-12
Southwest 2-1, 16-9
Otay Ranch 2-1, 8-16
Eastlake 0-3, 5-20
Metro-Pacific League
Mar Vista 7-0, 12-13
Sweetwater 5-2, 13-10
Hilltop 4-3, 16-9
San Ysidro 3-4, 5-18
Castle Park 1-6, 6-17
Chula Vista 1-6, 7-18
Girls Basketball
Metro-Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic 3-0, 20-2
Victory Christian Academy 2-1, 8-14
Montgomery 1-2, 14-10
Otay Ranch 0-3, 14-9
Metro-South Bay League
Hilltop 5-1, 18-4
Eastlake 5-1, 13-11
Bonita Vista 3-2, 13-8
Olympian 1-4, 9-16
Southwest 0-6, 6-13
Metro-Pacific League
Chula Vista 5-0, 13-9
Mar Vista 3-3, 6-12
San Ysidro 2-2, 9-13
Castle Park 2-3, 13-6
Sweetwater 1-5, 1-16
San Diego Section 2025-26 Basketball Rankings
Boys Division I
- Santa Fe Christian 22-2, 2. Victory Christian Academy 19-4, 3. San Marcos 18-5, 4. Mira Mesa 17-6, 5. La Costa Canyon 18-6, 6. Francis Parker 14-9, 7. Mission Bay 16-8, 8. Olympian 18-5, 9. Cathedral Catholic 15-9, 10. Torrey Pines 12-11, 11. St. Augustine 13-11, 12. Carlsbad 11-12, 13. Madison 17-7, 14. Bonita Vista 17-7, 15. Christian 15-8, 16. Mission Hills 14-10, 17. Montgomery 16-7, 18. La Jolla Country Day 11-12, 19. Rancho Buena Vista 11-13, 20. Sage Creek 8-15, 21. Del Norte 10-13, 22. San Diego 10-15, 23. El Camino 11-12, 24. University City 6-18
Boys Division II
- Rancho Bernardo 14-10, 2. Poway 15-9, 3. Scripps Ranch 13-11, 4. Helix 15-10, 5. Westview 15-9, 6. Patrick Henry 16-8, 7. Bishop’s 15-8, 8. Mater Dei Catholic 10-11, 9. Steele Canyon 14-10, 10. Pt. Loma 13-9, 11. Marathana Christian 8-16, 12. Coronado 12-12, 13. Monte Vista 14-10, 14. Southwest 14-9, 15. Lincoln 11-12, 16. Mt. Miguel 12-13, 17. La Jolla 5-19, 18. Eastlake 5-19, 19. Hoover 7-15, 20. Vincent Memorial 4-12, 21. Vista 2-21
Boys Division III
- Army-Navy Academy 16-8, 2. Calexico 17-4, 3. Del Lago Academy 18-4, 4. Tri-City Christian 8-9, 5. Ramona 16-8, 6. Canyon Hills 13-8, 7. Brawley 17-5, 8. Mt. Carmel 13-11, 9. Imperial 13-7, 10. Crawford 11-11, 11. Otay Ranch 8-15, 12. Fallbrook 11-11, 13. Canyon Crest Academy 10-14, 14. Central Union 8-9, 15. Escondido Charter 6-17, 16. St. Joseph Academy 9-13, 17. Oceanside 6-17, 18. Granite Hills 7-15, 19. San Ysidro 4-18, 20. Foothills Christian 1-21, 21. Calipatria 2-15
Boys Division IV
- Pacific Ridge 17-6, 2. Morse 20-3, 3. West Hills 17-7, 4. Clairemont 17-7, 5. Kearny 14-8, 6. Santana 15-8, 7. Valhalla 16-8, 8. High Tech High San Diego 11-13, 9. High Tech High Chula Vista 12-8, 10. Sweetwater 13-9, 11. San Dieguito Academy 10-14, 12. Mar Vista 11-13, 13. Mission Vista 9-12, 14. El Capitan 5-18, 15. O’Farrell Charter 6-19, 16. Chula Vista 7-17, 17. Cambridge School 6-9, 18. Escondido 4-17, 19. Orange Glen 6-19, 20. High Tech Mesa 0-13, 21. Valley Center 1-22
Boys Division V- Preuss UCSD 18-7, 2. San Diego Jewish Academy 13-4, 3. Coastal Academy 13-4, 4. Grossmont 11-9, 5. High Tech North County 15-3, 6. Palo Verde Valley 14-11, 7. El Cajon Valley 10-11, 8. Hilltop 15-9, 9. San Pasqual 8-14, 10. CVLCC 10-7, 11. Logan Memorial 11-11, 12. Classical Academy 8-17, 13. Holtville 8-18, 14. Southwest El Centro 7-17, 15. Mountain Empire 8-7, 16. Bayfront Charter 4-12, 17. Health Sciences 3-6, 18. Castle Park 6-16, 19. Guajome Park Academy 5-12, 20. Gompers Prep Academy 1-14
Boys Division V-AA
- Liberty Charter 14-5, 2. Warner 18-4, 3. Calvin Christian 12-7, 4. San Diego Academy 9-9, 5. Horizon Prep 19-5, 6. Southern California Yeshiva 6-7, 7. Monarch 8-6, 8. San Pasqual Academy 3-2, 9. Escondido Adventist Academy 6-12, 10. Rock Academy 4-13, 11. Bonsall 7-12, 12. SET 4-12, 13. Calexico Mission 4-7, 14. Ocean View Christian Academy 3-11, 15. West Shores 2-8, 16. Borrego Springs 3-11, 17. Cristo Rey 1-10, 18. Bostonia Global 0-8, 19. Julian 0-16
Girls Division I
- Francis Parker 15-7, 2. Mission Hills 15-9, 3. Cathedral Catholic 18-5, 4. Mater Dei Catholic 19-2, 5. La Jolla country Day 14-10, 6. Grossmont 16-4, 7. Westview 14-8, 8. Rancho Bernardo 19-5, 9. Imperial 17-6, 10. Victory Christian Academy 8-13, 11. El Capitan 19-6, 12. Torrey Pines 13-12, 13. Carlsbad 11-13, 14. Bishop’s 11-10, 15. Montgomery 13-10, 16. Scripps Ranch 13-12, 17. Oceanside 12-7, 18. Otay Ranch 14-8, 19. San Marcos 8-14, 20. Fallbrook 13-11, 21. Rancho Buena Vista 10-11, 22. Morse 13-12, 23. Poway 4-18, 24. Vincent Memorial 2-12
Girls Division II
- La Costa Canyon 19-4, 2. Lincoln 7-11, 3. San Diego 16-8, 4. Christian 14-7, 5. Central Union 15-7, 6. Mt. Carmel 12-11, 7. Bonita Vista 12-8, 8. Del Norte 9-14, 9. Sage Creek 10-15, 10. University City 11-12, 11. Helix 5-14, 12. Olympian 9-15, 13. Steele Canyon 14-10, 14. Escondido Charter 8-14, 15. Mira Mesa 11-12, 16. San Dieguito Academy 7-12, 17. La Jolla 6-18, 18. St. Joseph Academy 5-16, 19. Granite Hills 5-16, 20. West Hills 5-17, 21. Hoover 6-17
Girls Division III
- Patrick Henry 21-3, 2. Escondido 15-5, 3. Canyon Hills 19-4, 4. Our Lady of Peace 17-6, 5. High Tech High San Diego 17-5, 6. Calexico 17-5, 7. Eastlake 13-10, 8. Vista 12-10, 9. Santa Fe Christian 15-8, 10. Mission Vista 11-10, 11. Palo Verde Valley 11-7, 12. Valley Center 14-9, 13. El Cajon Valley 11-12, 14. Tri-City Christian 6-5, 15. Mt. Miguel 10-11, 16. Crawford 8-15, 17. Pacific Ridge 6-15, 18. Madison 6-15, 19. Horizon Prep 8-8, 20. Classical Academy 4-15, 21. Brawley 1-17
Girls Division IV
- Hilltop 17-4, 2. Escondido Adventist Academy 16-6, 3. Kearny 12-9, 4. Cambridge School 14-2, 5. El Camino 8-12, 6. Pt. Loma 12-10, 7. Santana 12-11, 8. Coronado 7-10, 9. Holtville 12-8, 10. Chula Vista 13-9, 11. Warner 12-4, 12. O’Farrell Charter 9-10, 13. Southwest 6-12, 14. Canyon Crest Academy 7-14, 15. Rock Academy 6-7, 16. Del Lago Academy 10-10, 17. Ramona 2-17, 18. Valhalla 1-17, 19. Monte Vista 1-15, 20. SET 1-13, 21. Maranatha Christian 1-15
Girls Division V
- San Pasqual 16-6, 2. Logan memorial 17-7, 3. Coastal Academy 14-4, 4. Southwest El Centro 8-12, 5. Castle Park 12-6, 6. High Tech Mesa 7-5, 7. Mar Vista 6-11, 8. High Tech High Chula Vista 5-7, 9. Orange Glen 7-11, 10. Mission Bay 6-16, 11. San Ysidro 9-13, 12. Preuss UCSD 5-7, 13. Mountain Empire 4-13, 14. Sweetwater 0-15, 15. Clairemont 2-12, 16. Guajome Park Academy 4-13, 17. Bayfront Charter 3-10, 18. Gompers Prep Academy 1-11
Girls Division V-AA
- Liberty Charter 15-0, 2. Foothills Christian 12-6, 3. San Diego Academy 8-7, 4. Calipatria 4-12, 5. West Shores 5-5, 6. Bonsall 5-9, 7. High Tech north County 3-12, 8. Ocean View Christian Academy 3-10, 9. CVLCC 3-11, 10. Borrego Springs 2-8, 11. Calexico Mission 3-6, 12. San Diego Jewish Academy 0-8
San Diego Section Power Rankings
Boys Soccer
Division I: 1. Del Norte 11-1, 2. St. Augustine 9-5-1, 3. Torrey Pines 13-3-1, 4. La Costa Canyon 9-5-2, 5. San Pasqual 8-8-2, 6. Mission hills 8-7-3, 7. Helix 7-5-0, 8. Eastlake 8-4-3, 9. San Dieguito Academy 4-8-4, 10. Westview 5-6-3, 11. Scripps Ranch 6-3-7, 12. Southwest 9-4-4, 13. Calexico 10-7-4, 14. Pt. Loma 2-6-6, 15. Rancho Buena Vista 5-9-4, 16. Hilltop 3-8-6, 17. Monte Vista 4-10-3, 18. Pacific Ridge 5-5-4, 19. San Diego 2-9-4, 20. Oceanside 5-3-6
Division II: 1. San Marcos 15-2-2, 2. Central Union 21-0-2, 3. Bonita Vista 3-1-1, 4. Cathedral Catholic 8-6-2, 5. Mission Bay 9-2-3, 6. Mater Dei Catholic 8-2-7, 7. University City 9-5-3, 8. La Jolla Country Day 8-5-3, 9. Canyon Crest Academy 8-5-2, 10. Orange Glen 10-2-3, 11. Patrick Henry 8-3-5, 12. Vista 6-5-3, 13. Carlsbad 7-5-5, 14. Otay Ranch 9-4-6, 15. Santana 6-5-3, 16. Escondido 8-4-4, 17. Escondido Charter 8-7-4, 18. Poway 4-9-5, 19. Rancho Bernardo 5-9-2, 20. Kearny 3-7-4, 21. Steele Canyon 2-8-2
Division III: 1. Mt. Carmel 8-1-5, 2. Grossmont 13-1-1, 3. Fallbrook 5-4-5, 4. Hoover 14-5-6, 5. Olympian 7-6-5, 6. El Camino 5-7-4, 7. Gompers Prep 7-4-2, 8. Coronado 6-7-1, 9. Granite Hills 6-9-2, 10. San Ysidro 7-8-2, 11. West Hills 7-5-3, 12. Imperial 13-7-1, 13. Classical Academy 2-8-5, 14. Sweetwater 10-7-4, 15. Canyon Hills 8-7-2, 16. Valhalla 6-8-1, 17. Chula Vista 7-6-4, 18. Maranatha Christian 3-10-1, 19. Preuss UCSD 2-8-2, 20. Clairemont 2-11-2, 21. Brawley NA
Division IV: 1. Bishop’s 8-2-2, 2. Sage Creek 11-2-3, 3. La Jolla 7-2-3, 4. Montgomery 8-3-3, 5. Ramona 10-9-0, 6. Francis Parker 6-6-2, 7. Del Lago Academy 7-6-2, 8. Southwest El Centro 10-10-0, 9. Mira Mesa 9-6-1, 10. Valley Center 2-10-5, 11. San Diego Jewish Academy 7-3-1, 12. Mission Vista 4-11-2, 13. Christian 7-1-4, 14. Crawford 6-8-3, 15. Holtville 5-10-1, 16. Madison 7-7-1, 17. Vincent Memorial 3-4-0, 18. Castle Park 2-10-3, 19. Guajome Park Academy 5-7-3, 20. Santa Fe Christian 1-12-0, 21. St. Joseph Academy 3-7-3
Division V: 1. Bayfront Charter 10-6-4, 2. Mountain Empire 9-5-2, 3. El Capitan 7-10-2, 4. Mt. Miguel 6-10-2, 5. High Tech High San Diego 4-6-2, 6. Logan Memorial 5-7-4, 7. High tech High Chula Vista 8-7-1, 8. Lincoln 7-6-5, 9. Coastal Academy 5-12-0, 10. El Cajon Valley 2-13-1, 11. High Tech High Mesa 3-7-1, 12. Mar Visrta 0-9-1, 13. Morse 2-11-1, 14. O’Farrell Charter 1-11-3, 15. Palo Verde 7-6-1, 126. Health Sciences NA
Division V-AA: 1. Chula Vista Learning Community Charter 14-2-3, 2. Foothills Christian 13-0-1, 3. High Tech North County 9-7-0, 4. Ocean View Christian Academy 8-5-2, 5. Calvin Christian 6-7-1, 6. Victory Christian Academy 6-7-2, 7. Bostonia Global 5-6-0, 8. Borrego Springs 6-9-1, 9. Cristo Rey 6-4-1, 10. Army-Navy Academy 3-10-3, 11. Liberty Charter 7-8-0, 12. West Shores 4-9-1, 13. River Valley 4-7-1, 14. Calipatria 1-9-0, 15. King Chavez 1-10-1, 16. Bonsall 2-14-0, 17. Julian 0-12-0
Girls Soccer
Division I: 1. Patrick Henry 10-2-1, 2. Mater Dei Catholic 15-0-0, 3. San Marcos 10-3-3, 4. Cathedral Catholic 12-5-2, 5. Torrey Pines 11-2-3, 6. Mt. Carmel 10-2-4, 7. La Costa Canyon 7-4-2, 8. Pt. Loma 9-3-2, 9. Bonita Vista 6-6-1, 10. Westview 4-3-7, 11. Coronado 7-6-0, 12. Mission Hills 6-7-1, 13. Our lady of Peace 5-7-3, 14. Carlsbad 8-3-4, 15. Eastlake 8-8-1, 16. Poway 7-6-2, 17. San Dieguito Academy 6-8-2, 18. Rancho Buena Vista 6-7-1, 19. Granite Hills 4-11-2, 20. Francis Parker 5-8-3
Division II: 1. Del Norte 8-3-3, 2. La Jolla 10-4-0, 3. Mission Bay 10-3-0, 4. Santa Fe Christian 12-1-1, 5. Rancho Bernardo 10-6-2, 6. El Camino 9-2-2, 7. Otay Ranch 7-7-2, 8. Helix 8-6-3, 9. Fallbrook 8-5-2, 10. West Hills 10-4-4, 11. Steele Canyon 6-7-2, 12. Scripps Ranch 6-7-3, 13. Valhalla 7-4-5, 14. Olympian 5-11-1, 15. San Diego 4-10-0, 16. Canyon Crest Academy 4-8-3, 17. Classical Academy 4-10-4, 18. Mira Mesa 5-11-0, 19. El Capitan 5-8-3, 20. Central Union 6-11-2, 21. Pacific Ridge 1-11-0
Division III: 1. Hilltop 10-4-1, 2. Bishop’s 9-2-1, 3. Ramona 8-7-1, 4. Montgomery 8-7-1, 5. University City 9-4-4, 6. Christian 7-4-3, 7. Escondido Charter 6-7-1, 8. Monte Vista 9-2-3, 9. Grossmont 5-9-5, 10. Sage Creek 5-6-4, 11. Foothills Christian 5-7-1, 12. La Jolla Country Day 5-5-2, 13. Valley Center 7-6-1, 14. Santana 3-8-1, 15. CVLCC 6-4-2, 16. Canyon Hills 4-10-1, 17. San Pasqual 4-7-3, 18. Sweetwater 4-8-1, 19. Southwest 3-12-6, 20. Tri-City Christian 0-6-0, 21. Calexico 9-13-2
Division IV: 1. Mission Vista 8-1-0, 2. Brawley 12-4-5, 3. Clairemont 11-3-1, 4. O’Farrell Charter 10-0-3, 5. Mt. Miguel 12-2-, 6. Imperial 11-7-2, 7. Oceanside 5-6-4, 8. Lincoln 9-3-0, 9. Orange Glen 8-2-1, 10. Hoover 9-9-1, 11. Madison 8-9-0, 12. Kearny 10-6-2, 13. Morse 7-7-0, 14. San Ysidro 7-7-2, 15. Vista 4-8-1, 16. Del Lago Academy 4-7-2, 17. Maranatha Christian 2-9-3, 18. Southwest El Centro 2-14-3, 19. High Tech High San Diego 1-13-1, 20. Escondido 1-9-3, 21. Mar Vista 1-12-5
Division V: 1. Coastal Academy 8-4-1, 2. Logan Memorial 9-6-1, 3. Chula Vista 9-7-1, 4. Holtville 9-9-1, 5. Preuss UCSD 6-4-1, 6. El Cajon Valley 4-10-0, 7. Castle Park 3-12-2, 8. Gompers Prep 4-8-1, 9. Bayfront Charter 2-13-2, 10. High Tech High Chula Vista 0-9-1, 11. Crawford 0-13-1, 12. Guajome park Academy 0-13-1, 13. Palo Verde Valley 6-4-3, 14. Health Sciences NA
Division V-AA: 1. Calvin Christian 11-3-0, 2. River Valley 10-1-2, 3. Liberty Charter 7-7-3, 4. Vincent Memorial 5-3-2, 5. Mountain Empire 3-3-1, 6. High Tech High Mesa 3-7-0, 7. High Tech North County 2-5-0, 8. San Diego Jewish Academy 2-6-3, 9. Rock Academy 5-5-1, 10. West Shores 2-8-1, 11. Julian 1-7-0, 12. Borrego Springs 3-11-0, 13. Bostonia Global 0-5-0
