State Division Softball Rankings

As the various playoffs get going across the state – or are about to end in the CIF Northern Section and for small schools in the Sac-Joaquin – here’s a look at those teams that have the best chances to finish high in the Cal-Hi Sports five-division state rankings. Teams slotted in No. 1 positions are all from the CIF Southern Section, but if history serves as an example several of these teams may lose in the playoffs and would give a few non-CIFSS teams a chance to finish on top.

Note: These divisions do not match divisional alignments in sections with Open Divisions and in sections with more than one playoff division. Our state rankings by division for many years have been done in five divisions and we’ll continue that again for the final weeks of this season.

Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. Next week’s divisional rankings and those for the rest of the season (including the final) will be for Gold Club members only. If you’re not a member, it’s easy to sign up and you can check it out for just $9.99 for three months. For details, CLICK HERE.

(After results of Wednesday, May 18)
(Section playoff games being played on Thursday, May 19 are not included)
*Indicates season complete.
**Indicates forfeits not included in team’s record.

DIVISION I
1. Lutheran (Orange) 26-3
2. Los Alamitos 23-2
3. Etiwanda 28-2
4. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 25-3-1
5. Norco 23-5
6. Sheldon (Sacramento) 25-2
7. Huntington Beach 20-6
8. Foothill (Pleasanton) 18-2
9. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 22-7
10. Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 19-4
11. San Benito (Hollister) 23-3
12. Buchanan (Clovis) 23-5
13. Pacifica (Garden Grove) 19-5
14. Valencia 17-9
15. Lakewood 23-4
Teams On The Bubble: Castro Valley 18-4, Clovis 25-5, Great Oak (Temecula) 15-6, Heritage (Brentwood) 15-3, M.L. King (Riverside) 19-8**, Poway 18-9, Ramona 25-3, Saugus 19-8, Torrey Pines (San Diego) 23-4, Vacaville 16-5-1, Woodcreek (Roseville) 17-5.
Notes & Highlights: The top 10 in this division are all currently placed in the State Top 20 overall rankings. Cathedral Catholic could have been in Division II or Division III, but was in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division last year and will be in that section’s Open Division this season. No. 13 Pacifica has already lost in the CIFSS D1 playoffs in a Thursday upset that came in just before this post was finalized. The Mariners lost to Kennedy of La Palma.

DIVISION II
1. La Habra 26-1
2. Mission Viejo 22-4
3. Pioneer (San Jose) 23-2
4. Alhambra (Martinez) 19-2
5. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 27-1-1
6. Valley View (Moreno Valley) 21-1
7. South Hills (West Covina) 20-7
8. Foothill (Palo Cedro) 28-1
9. Rocklin 20-4
10. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 17-4
Teams On The Bubble: Del Campo (Fair Oaks) 17-5, Escondido 22-7, Madera 23-7, Montgomery (Santa Rosa) 20-5, Mountain View 17-6, Newark Memorial (Newark) 19-4, Oxnard 21-5, Roseville 19-6-1.
Notes & Highlights: The top six teams in this division are all in the State Top 20 with La Habra, Mission Viejo, Oaks Christian and Valley View also coming into the CIFSS D2 playoffs as the top four seeds. The most interesting team is this group, though, may be Foothill of the CIF Northern Section. That team will actually be done on Saturday of this weekend. The Cougars’ only loss has been to Pleasant Valley of Chico (later avenged) and they have a win over CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 No. 2 seed Woodcreek of Roseville.

DIVISION III
1. Grand Terrace 23-1
2. Oakdale 19-1
3. East Union (Manteca) 21-1
4. Bishop Amat (La Puente) 20-4
5. Gahr (Cerritos) 22-5-2
6. North (Torrance) 25-6-1
7. Benicia 19-5
8. Bear River (Lake of the Pines) 25-2
9. Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) 19-3
10. Torrance 21-9
Teams On The Bubble: Alemany (Mission Hills) 19-8, Buena (Ventura) 18-5, Burroughs (Burbank) 21-4, Casa Roble (Orangevale) 18-7, Ceres 18-4, Garden Grove 19-7-1, Grossmont (La Mesa) 19-10, Hillsdale (San Mateo) 20-7, Lassen (Susanville) 28-6-1, Liberty (Madera Ranchos) 24-4, Lompoc 18-7, Pinole Valley (Pinole) 16-1-1.
Notes & Highlights: Grand Terrace, Oakdale and East Union are the three teams from this division that are in the State Top 20 overall rankings. Bishop Amat and Gahr will be two of the top challengers to Grand Terrace in the CIFSS D3 playoffs. East Union and Oakdale, meanwhile, are the top two seeds in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs with Benicia checking in at No. 3. Gahr and North Torrance have actually played three times and have battled to a win, a loss and tie for each ledger. North is not in the CIFSS D3 playoffs, but instead is the top seed for the CIFSS in D4. Bear River, by the way, is seeded No. 1 in the SJS in D4. Both the SJS and SS in D4 are going to be D3 for our state rankings.

DIVISION IV
1. Paraclete (Lancaster) 23-0
2. Linfield Christian (Temecula) 23-1
3. Port of Los Angeles (San Pedro) 27-4
4. Selma 22-4
5. Savanna (Anaheim) 26-2-1
6. Half Moon Bay 20-4
7. St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 18-6
8. Bishop’s (La Jolla) 21-5
9. Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 19-3
10. Carmel 20-3
Teams On The Bubble: Fortuna 17-4-1, Louisville (Woodland Hills) 17-7, Ripon 18-3, San Dimas 16-8, St. Anthony (Long Beach) 17-5, Mission Oak (Tulare) 20-5-1, Sutter 21-7.
Notes & Highlights: Crazy dominant Paraclete is an easy pick to be the top team in this division. The Spirits are going for the title in the CIFSS D6 playoffs. St. Bonaventure is the top seed in D5, but we’re putting both D5 and D6 as D4 for our state rankings. Linfield Christian is actually in a higher division, but we’re not putting the Lions any higher than D4 due to their traditional size. Port of L.A. also is in a higher section playoff, actually in D1 for the L.A. City Section. It just wouldn’t be fair to put the Polar Bears in D1 in our rankings with all of the other powerhouse D1 large schools.

DIVISION V
1. Rolling Hills Prep (San Pedro) 15-3-1
2. Millennium (Tracy) 25-1
3. Mariposa County (Mariposa) 22-2-1
4. Caruthers 19-3-3
5. Calvin Christian (Escondido) 16-3
6. Cloverdale 17-3
7. Academy Careers & Exploration (Helendale) 16-3
8. East Nicolaus (Nicolaus) 20-7
9. University Prep (Victorville) 16-6
10. High Tech (San Diego) 19-5
Teams On The Bubble: Faith Baptist (Canoga Park) 12-10-1, Fall River (McArthur) 20-2, Foothill Tech (Ventura) 14-8, Firebaugh 20-7, King’s Academy (Sunnyvale) 14-4*, Mt. Shasta 14-5-1, View Park (Los Angeles) 15-1.
Notes & Highlights: This was a tough division to rank, but there are some more than decent small school teams in the CIFSS D7 bracket, which is the bracket in which Rolling Hills Prep is top seed. Millennium and Mariposa County, by the way, are playing each other on Saturday in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D6 championship. The winner could have a good chance and ending No. 1 in this division. Mariposa County was No. 2 in D5 behind Riverdale in last year’s final state rankings.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports