BOYS: RIORDAN IS TOP DOG
To no one’s surprise, Archbishop Riordan earned the section’s top seed in the Open Division. The Crusaders not only won every West Catholic Athletic League game, they did it in historic fashion. Riordan went a perfect 14-0 and defeated league opponents by an average of 38 points. Riordan’s dominance has certainly put them in the conversation as one of the best high school basketball teams to come out of the Bay Area. The San Francisco school is stacked at every position. Texas A&M commit Jasir Rencher leads Riordan along with four-star junior point guard Andrew Hilman and high-flying shooting guard Ryder Bush. Big men Nes Emeneke and JP Pihtovs are forces in the middle on both ends. Santa Cruz transfer Kirby Seals and senior forward John Tofi provide the Crusaders with strong perimeter and inside defense. Riordan will be familiar with this year’s Open Division bracket. Six of the division’s eight teams came from the WCAL. At this point, the question is not whether or not Riordan will win the Open Division, but by how much?
– Nathan Canilao
BOYS: WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE OTHER DIVISIONS
The South Bay’s top public schools are assorted throughout the Division I bracket. Top-seeded Palo Alto leads the Division I group, followed by No. 2 Los Gatos and No. 4 Mountain View. Led by senior Jorell Clark, Palo Alto finished the regular season 20-4 and came in second in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division. No. 5 Leigh, No. 6 Santa Teresa and No. 7 Homestead all have explosive offenses that could pull off an upset in the later rounds. … Christopher comes into the Division II playoffs as the top seed after finishing 22-2. If seeds hold, the Cougars will face league foe and No. 2 Westmont in the finals. Christopher had two competitive games against the Warriors this season. … Division IV has the potential to be the most exciting playoff bracket out of the bunch. The King’s Academy (20-4) was awarded the top seed after winning the West Bay Athletic League title. The Knights are led by freshman sensation Boss Mhoon, scoring big man Claxton Ladine and shifty guard Xavier Barnett. No. 4 Sacred Heart Prep, No. 3 Half Moon Bay and No. 2 Carmel all have potential to make a run to the Division IV title.
– Nathan Canilao
BOYS BUZZER-BEATERS
Menlo-Atherton (18-6) and Milpitas (21-3) were the only public schools to make the Open Division. M-A won the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division and had an impressive win over Valley Christian, which is also in the Open. Milpitas surprised many after winning the SCVAL De Anza Division. The Trojans are led by senior power forward Isaac Sisay and junior guard Dylan Nguyen. … Despite winning just seven games, St. Francis was awarded the No. 4 seed in Division II. The Lancers struggled this year and will have a tough slate should they move on to the semifinals. If seeds hold, the Mountain View school will play top-seeded Christopher. … Top-seeded Priory will be the favorite to win the Division V bracket. The Panthers finished the regular season 18-6, which included wins over King’s Academy and Menlo School. Small Summit Shasta is also Division V. The Daly City school quietly had a great year, finishing the regular season 21-3. Should seeds hold and the Black Bears win their quarterfinal matchup, they will play Palma in the semifinals.
– Nathan Canilao
GIRLS OPEN DIVISION: CAN PINEWOOD KNOCK OFF MITTY?
True to their nickname, the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs have lorded over girls basketball in the Central Coast Section for years. Typically, the drama is limited, and speculation moves to which teams Mitty will face off against in the CIF NorCal bracket or the state championship.
That has changed this year. Without superstar junior forward McKenna Woliczko, who suffered a torn ACL in January and is out for the season, the Monarchs are more vulnerable than usual.
Could Pinewood swoop in and usurp the throne? The Los Altos Hills-based program has been excellent over the years but has struggled to keep up with Mitty’s firepower.
The Monarchs’ deep stockpile of excellent players has kept them competitive, but without Woliczko, they are not the same team. Pinewood, at 20-3, shares nearly the same record as Mitty (21-3).
The Los Altos Hills-based Panthers defeated Mitty for the CCS title in the spring of 2021, ending a run of five consecutive section titles for the Monarchs. Could history repeat itself in 2025?
– Christian Babcock
OPEN DIVISION: EXPLAINING POOL PLAY
The CCS Open Division is not a one-and-done proposition for either boys or girls basketball.
CCS, which lifted the proposal from the CIF’s Southern Section, instituted pool play in the Open bracket in 2022. The premise is logical enough: each team automatically makes the CIF NorCal bracket, so they are all guaranteed at least three games to keep themselves in shape for the regional tournament.
In practice, though, it’s an odd setup. The eight Open Division teams are divided into two four-team pods – Pool A and Pool B.
The winner of each pod, determined via round-robin play, advances to the Open championship game. But what if two or more teams in the same pool are tied?
That’s where it really gets complicated. The first tiebreaker is simple enough – head-to-head result.
If that doesn’t settle it, the team with the lowest combined seed points from games they won in pool play advances out of pool.
This puts a lot of pressure on the highest seeds (Nos. 1 and 2), as by nature, the teams they face within their pod are always ranked lower.
The good news? These things often settle themselves – after all, the highest-seeded teams are generally a cut above.
And if they don’t? All of the Open teams will get another shot at it in NorCal play, which follows a standard bracket setup.
– Christian Babcock
GIRLS BUZZER-BEATERS
No. 1 Los Gatos (16-8) is poised for a deep run in the Division I tournament. The Wildcats were an Open Division team in 2024 and could have been again this year. Instead, they’ll have an excellent shot to chase a CCS title. The Wildcats are led by senior center Nicole Steiner, who recorded the first triple-double in school history earlier this year. Senior Ashley Childers provides another strong presence in the frontcourt. … The Open Division is all private schools. Six of eight hail from the West Catholic Athletic League, while Pinewood and Priory come from the West Bay Athletic League … Bay Area teams occupy the top seed in all six CCS brackets: No. 1 Mitty (21-3) in the Open, No. 1 Los Gatos in Division I, No. 1 Hillsdale (20-4) in Division II, No. 1 Notre Dame-San Jose (10-9) in Division III, No. 1 Menlo School (14-8) in Division IV and No. 1 Castilleja (18-3) in Division V. … Girls basketball action will be ongoing over the next week. All brackets begin play on Friday. All except the Open play Saturday, and all six divisions will hold games next Tuesday and Thursday. All six CCS divisional tournaments will culminate in championship games held next Friday and Saturday.
– Christian Babcock