Preview: New teams, players at the top as boys high school basketball season begins

2025-26 High School Boys Basketball Preview

Regular season ends: Feb. 13

Championship finals: Feb. 26-28

Defending champions

Open Division: Montgomery

Division 1: St. Augustine

Division 2: Olympian

Division 3: Maranatha Christian

Division 4: Tri-City Christian

Division 5: Pacific Ridge

Division 5-AA: The Cambridge School

Player of the Year: JJ Sanchez (Montgomery)

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Preseason Top 10

Place;Team;2024-25 record;Comment;Last season’s ranking

1. Francis Parker; 19-12; Four starters return, including star Tavid Johnson; NR

2. Torrey Pines;24-7; Big and tough, with top transfers; 7

3. St. Augustine;19-15; Division 1 champs lost top player, but are still loaded; 3

4. Victory Christian;18-15; Top-flight transfer joins three returning all-leaguers;10

5. Santa Fe Christian;23-8; New coach, and great player in Dax Hall;9

6. Mission Bay;21-10; Good players with great chemistry;5

7. Cathedral Catholic;20-11; Two returning starters join strong transfers, top freshman;4

8. Carlsbad;26-7; Two starters and seven lettermen return; 2

9. Olympian;26-7; Division 2 champs have a pair of top-flight players;8

10. San Marcos;25-5; League Player of the Year returns; 6

Others: Mira Mesa (28-7), Madison (22-7), San Diego (24-6), Bonita Vista (21-9), Christian (21-6), Mission Hills (19-11), Poway (19-11), La Jolla Country Day (17-14), Rancho Buena Vista (16-14), Coronado (14-17), La Costa Canyon (13-16).

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Top tournaments

• The 16-team Regional Rumble, which features St. Augustine, Olympian, Madison and Mission Hills, tips off Saturday at Madison, Olympian and Canyon Hills.

• The 16-team Buccaneers Thanksgiving Classic at Mission Bay starts Nov. 25 and is headlined by San Marcos, Santa Fe Christian, Rancho Buena Vista and host Mission Bay.

• The eight-team Raven Classic starts Dec. 8 at Canyon Crest Academy.

• The eight-team North County Classic tips off Dec. 8 and features Mira Mesa, La Costa Canyon, La Jolla Country Day and San Marcos.

• The 35th Torrey Pines Holiday Classic is set for Dec. 26-27 and Dec. 29-30 at five sites: Torrey Pines, St. Augustine. Carlsbad, Rancho Buena Vista and El Camino. Tipoff Night is Dec. 23 at Torrey Pines and features Olympian vs. Carlsbad at 3:30 p.m., Cathedral Catholic vs. Santa Fe Christian at 5 p.m., Victory Christian vs. Mission Bay at 6:30 p.m. and Francis Parker vs. Torrey Pines at 8 p.m. National power DeMatha Catholic from Maryland headlines the National Division.

• The 8th annual Battle at the Bay is Feb. 7. Games start at 10 a.m. at Mission Bay, but the later games feature Christian vs. Mira Mesa at 3 p.m., Carlsbad vs. Cathedral Catholic at 4:30 p.m., Victory Christian vs. San Marcos at 6:30 p.m. and Torrey Pines vs. Mission Bay at 8 p.m.

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Top 10 players

• CJ Aldrich, Ranch Buena Vista, Sr.: First-team All-CIF player averaged 27.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last year. He has offers from UC San Diego, UC Irvine and Dartmouth.

• Tristan Anderson, Olympian, Jr.: Second-team All-CIF point guard averaged 17.4 points, 3.2 assists and 4.1 steals per game. Has an offer from Pepperdine.

• Tim Dorn, Mira Mesa, Sr.; The 6-foot-7 all-leaguer averaged 15.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

• Jayden Gray, Victory Christian, Sr.: Floor general is a 3-time all-league player.

• Clay Grebing, Mission Bay, Sr.: Strong 6-7 player has committed to Point Loma Nazarene.

• Lincoln Grogan, St. Augustine, Sr.; All-league player is an elite shooter with college offers.

• Dax Hall, Santa Fe Christian, Sr.: First-team All-CIF player and Coastal League Player of the Year averaged 20.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. Is being recruited by New Mexico, UC San Diego and Dartmouth.

• Tavid Johnson, Francis Parker, Jr.: First-team All-CIF player averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Has 20 college offers.

• Wyatt Tillson, La Jolla Country Day, Sr.: Second-team All-CIF shooting guard averaged 21.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

• Jalen Williams, San Marcos, Sr.: Second-team All-CIF player and league player of the year averaged 18.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

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More players to watch

Name;School;Year;Comment

Cameron Ackerman, Kearny, Jr., All-leaguer averaged 13.9 points per game.

Ace Arciaga, Otay Ranch, Sr. Averaged 10.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.

Charlie Barajas, Cathedral Catholic, Sr., A 6-6 transfer from Scripps Ranch.

Jordan Barnhart, Sage Creek, Sr., Averaged 10.3 points per game.

Zac Benitez, Granite Hills, Jr., Top-flight QB is also an outstanding basketball player.

Brady Berlucchi, La Costa Canyon, Jr., Returning starter.

Aiden Bestul, Ramona, Sr., 6-7 all-leaguer.

Jason Black, Helix, Sr., Ultimate team player.

Luke Bowen, Foothills Christian, Jr., Returning starter.

Austin Brown, Coronado, Jr., Returning starter.

Mike Brown, San Marcos, Sr., A 6-foot-5 starter who averaged 8.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

Kai Carlson, Cathedral Catholic, Sr., A 6-5 player with college offers.

Alijah Cheeks, Mission Bay, Sr., Has drawn college interest.

Zach Chen, Bishop’s, Sr., Ready for a breakout season.

Ian Diaz, El Camino, Jr., 6-4, Returning starter.

Cole Davis, Valhalla, Sr.; Tough inside player who averaged 12.2 points per game.

Lucky Davis, Mission Bay, Sr., Is drawing college interest.

Anthony Etheridge, St. Augustine, Jr., 6-5 returning starter.

Gavin Fletcher, Pacific Ridge, Jr., Guard was league player of the year.

Alex Gerhart, Scripps Ranch, Sr.; A 6-foot-8 athlete with college offers.

Caleb Gleason, Madison, Sr.; A three-year starter with college offers.

Karl Gonzales, Sweetwater, Jr., A first-team all-league player last year.

Tevaris Green, Torrey Pines, Sr., College recruit who averaged 14.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Xavier Guerrero, Montgomery, Sr., A 6-6 athlete and the best returnee from a 29-3 team.

Brian Hammerstrand, Helix, Jr., 6-5 player who missed last season with a back injury.

Jaden Hitipeuw, Santa Fe Christian, Sr., All-league guard.

DJ Humphries, Victory Christian, Sr., Two-time all-league player transfers in from Olympian.

Tyler Humphrey, Torrey Pines, Jr., A 6-6 transfer from Mt. Carmel.

Talan Jasiulis, Sweetwater, Sr., A four-year starter and two-time all-league player.

Daesean Jenkins, Monte Vista, So., Averaged 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Ajani Jones, Hoover, Sr., Point guard is the Cardinals’ only returning starter.

Kai Jones, Francis Parker, Jr., All-league guard.

Mason Jones, La Costa Canyon, Jr. A 6-7 returning starter.

Jeremiah Justice, Rancho Buena Vista, Jr., Guard is a scoring machine.

Lawrence Lam, Westview, Sr., A 6-6 returning starter.

Julian Lebel, Christian, Sr., A 6-5 all-leaguer with college offers.

Eric Lopez, Ramona, Sr., 6-8 all-league big man.

Nyno Lopez, Otay Ranch, Jr., All-leaguer averaged 11 points per game.

Iris Matanza, La Jolla Country Day, Jr., Can play inside or outside. Colleges are interested.

Ivan Marchenko, Army-Navy, Sr., A 6-7 all-leaguer who averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Daniel Mariduena, Poway, Sr., A 6-7 player and inside presence.

Jackson McCall, St. Augustine, Jr., A 6-5 transfer from San Marcos.

Lex Mejia, Orange Glen, Sr., A speedy guard.

Max Meza, Cathedral Catholic, Sr., Returning starter.

RJ Miller, Madison, Sr., League player of the year.

Arthur Minton, Kearny, So., All-leaguer averaged 14 points per game.

Ah’Mahn Oliver, Coronado, So., Returning starter.

Makai Orje, Mt. Carmel, Sr., An all-leaguer drawing small-college interest.

Diego Ortiz, Mira Mesa, Sr., Point guard was an all-leaguer.

Gabriel Ortiz, Chula Vista, Jr., Returning all-leaguer.

Chase Othick, Santa Fe Christian, Jr., All-leaguer drawing college interest.

Isaiah Owens, Victory Christian, Sr., 3-time all-leaguer.

A.D. Ownbey, Maranatha Christian, Sr., Returning all-leaguer.

Paisios Polamalu, St. Augustine, Jr., All-league guard is also a star football player.

Yanler Ramos, Army-Navy, Sr. All-leaguer averaged 18 points per gmae.

Boldyn Rimmer, Escondido Charter, Jr., Returning starter at guard.

Sei’Mir Roberson, Cathedral Catholic, Sr., Big scorer. Transfer from New York.

Grant Rodriguez, Poway, Sr., A first-team all-league player last year.

Chase Rogowski, Torrey Pines, Sr., A 6-7 athlete who carries a 4.83 GPA and is eyeing MIT and CalTech.

Lucas Rubino, Pacific Ridge, Jr., First-team all-league player.

Ronnie Scott, Christian, Sr., Returning all-leaguer.

Ethan Shaw, West Hills, Sr., 1st-team all-leaguer.

Mykah Simmons, Mission Hills, Jr., Averaged 13 points per game.

Lamar Smith, San Diego, Jr., Averaged 11.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

Coen Sponsel, Santa Fe Christian, Sr., Committed to Sarah Lawrence College.

Eli Stevens, Madison, Sr., A three-year starter and returning first-team all-league player.

Jake VanDerVorste, Mission Hills, Jr., Team MVP.

Jaylan Virgil, Torrey Pines, Jr., Transfer from Central California.

Ezekiel Walker, Francis Parker, Sr., Sat out last season.

JJ Walker, Olympian, Sr., Returning all-leaguer.

Elliott Watkins, Fallbrook, Sr., Returning all-leaguer.

Romeo Wright, Bishop’s, Sr. A 6-6 all-leaguer who is committed to Sarah Lawrence.

Briggs Young, Carlsbad, Sr., Receiving small-college offers.

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Notes

Unique backgrounds

Greg Lanthier returns to coach Mt. Carmel after two seasons at Rifle High School in Colorado. He has 448 wins at Vista, Mt. Carmel, Pioneer, Rifle, UC San Diego and Porterville College. Lanthier was a two-sport star at Mt. Carmel.

Johnny Dee, who starred at Rancho Buena Vista and is the all-time leading scorer at USD, returns to San Diego after a 10-year professional playing career in Europe. He’s a first-time coach at Santa Fe Christian.

Kenny Parham takes over at San Diego after winning more than 500 games at Saint Anthony and Bay Shore in New York. He also spent two seasons at New York Institute of Technology, an NCAA Division II program.

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Transferring in

Jaylan Virgil joins Torrey Pines from Elk Grove Laguna Creek. A 6-foot-1 junior guard, he averaged 12.9 points as a freshman on an 18-11 team, and 18.5 points last season on a 7-22 team. He has an offer from Pepperdine.

Sei’Mir Roberson joins Cathedral Catholic from New York Catholic Central. A 6-foot point guard, Roberson averaged 24.6 points per game as a freshman, 25.6 as a sophomore and 28.5 points last season as a junior. He has a college offer from Albany.

Ernest Donkoh arrives at Army-Navy from Maryland Springdale Prep. A 6-9 sophomore, Donkoh didn’t play last season after coming to the U.S. from Ghana. Long and agile, he carries 215 pounds on his tall frame.

Transferring out

Jaden Bailes has left St. Augustine for San Juan Capistrano JSerra. A first-team All-CIF player on the Saints’ Division 1 championship team, Bailes has offers from Boston University, Cal and USF.

Caleb Newton has left Mission Bay for Chatsworth DNA Prep: A 6-4 guard, Newton was a second-team All-CIF player last season.

Richie Ramirez has left San Marcos for Santa Ana Mater Dei: A 6-2 guard, Ramirez averaged 16.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists as a sophomore on a 25-5 team.