Trent Perry, head coach Dave Rebibo and Robert Hinton are shown at the conclusion of their CIF Open Division state title press conference. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.
Harvard-Westlake officially added to the all-time list of State Teams of the Year that goes back more than 120 years. It’s the second straight selection, but doing that is not unusual at all in historical terms. Doing it without any transfers, however, we think has only been done two other times since first official CIF state finals in 1980.
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(Managing editor Ronnie Flores contributed to this article)
It is incredibly difficult for any team to win the title in the highest division of the CIF state basketball championships, but in historical terms in the last 25 years it’s actually more unique for a team to win the state’s top crown that is not part of a repeat or a three-peat and in one case a four-peat.
Harvard-Westlake of Studio City won its second straight CIF Open Division state title last Saturday night in Sacramento with a 50-45 win over Salesian of Richmond and now the Wolverines also have become the latest team to repeat as State Team of the Year. The all-time list of No. 1 teams goes back more than 120 years based on Cal-Hi Sports research.
There were no CIF state championships in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID, but the State Team of the Year honor earned in 2020 by Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth and the one from 2021 by Centennial of Corona were part of a three-peat and a repeat, respectively. The Trailblazers were selected in 2020 after they won the SoCal Open Division title with no state championship game as the pandemic broke out in a huge way during that March week of 2020. They had won CIF Open titles also in 2018 and 2019. The Huskies won the CIF Southern Section Open Division title in the 2021 spring season, but didn’t go to the SoCal regional playoffs that year. With the normal schedule back in March of 2022, they went all the way to the CIF Open state title.
Four years before Sierra Canyon’s three-year run, Mater Dei of Santa Ana finished on top of the state for four straight seasons from 2011 to 2014 under legendary head coach Gary McKnight. There also were repeats from Westchester of Los Angeles twice in the 2000s, for 2009-2010 and 2004-05, along with a repeat from Artesia of Lakewood for 2006-2007 when future Hall of Famer James Harden was starring for the Pioneers.
Wolverines’ head coach David Rebibo made it a point during the team’s post-game press conference at the Golden 1 Center that his group of seniors did something very special to win two straight Open Division titles with no transfers.
We decided on Monday while adding Harvard-Westlake 2024 to the all-time list to check out other schools that have repeated with no transfers. It’s a small list of only two others since the first CIF state championships held in 1980 — Westchester of Los Angeles for 2009-10 and we think Crenshaw of Los Angeles for 1985-86.
Both of those previously mentioned teams from Centennial and Sierra Canyon had transfers. So did Mater Dei in its run of four in a row. Artesia’s teams with Harden had transfer center Renardo Sidney and that Westchester group of 2004-05 had at least one transfer we found as well.
Going back further than that, at least one transfer was found at Dominguez of Compton (1999-2000), Crenshaw of Los Angeles (1993-94) and St. Joseph of Alameda (1991-92). We don’t think Crenshaw of 1985-86 had a transfer, although sophomore Stevie Thompson played JayVees in 1983-84 after playing one game of varsity ball at St. Anthony of Long Beach as a freshman. Last year’s Harvard-Westlake group did include Hart of Newhall transfer Brady Dunlap, but the senior group this year didn’t. Even so, it’s very rare and that was coach Rebibo’s point.
Harvard-Westlake also has now been State Team of the Year three times. It’s previous No. 1 finish was in 1997 under previous head coach Greg Hilliard. That team, led by twin towers Jason and Jarron Collins, won the CIF D3 state title and was selected over D1 state champion Crenshaw and D2 state champion Dominguez.
Cal-Hi Sports Boys Basketball
State Teams of the Year All-Time List
2024 – Studio City Harvard-Westlake (33-3)
2023 – Studio City Harvard-Westlake (33-2)
2022 – Corona Centennial (33-1)
2021 – Corona Centennial (21-2)
2020 – Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (30-4)
2019 – Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (32-3)
2018 – Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (27-4)
2017 – Torrance Bishop Montgomery (31-2)
2016 – Chino Hills (35-0)
2015 – Oakland Bishop O’Dowd (28-4)
2014 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (35-0)
2013 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (34-2)
2012 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (34-2)
2011 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (32-3)
2010 – Los Angeles Westchester (32-3)
2009 – Los Angeles Westchester (35-2)
2008 – Oakland McClymonds (32-0)
2007 – Lakewood Artesia (33-2)
2006 – Lakewood Artesia (32-1)
2005 – Los Angeles Westchester (25-3)
2004 – Los Angeles Westchester (23-2)
2003 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (34-2)
2002 – Los Angeles Westchester (32-2)
2001 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (33-2)
2000 – Compton Dominguez (35-2)
1999 – Compton Dominguez (32-3)
1998 – Los Angeles Westchester (29-3)
1997 – Studio City Harvard-Westlake (35-1)
1996 – Compton Dominguez (34-2)
1995 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (36-1)
1994 – Los Angeles Crenshaw (29-2)
1993 – Los Angeles Crenshaw (26-2)
1992 – Alameda St. Joseph (32-3)
1991 – Alameda St. Joseph (31-3)
1990 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (34-1)
1989 – Los Angeles Crenshaw (25-2)
1988 – Los Angeles Manual Arts (27-3)
1987 – Santa Ana Mater Dei (31-1)
1986 – Los Angeles Crenshaw (25-2)
1985 – Los Angeles Crenshaw (24-0)
1984 – Long Beach Poly (31-2)
1983 – Los Angeles Crenshaw (27-2)
1982 – Carson (26-2)
1981 – Long Beach Poly (26-2)
1980 – Inglewood (29-0)
1979 – Los Angeles Verbum Dei (28-1)
1978 – Pasadena (26-2)
1977 – Oakland Fremont (25-1)
1976 – Long Beach Poly (30-1)
1975 – Elk Grove (27-5)
1974 – Los Angeles Verbum Dei (30-2)
1973 – Los Angeles Verbum Dei (29-2)
1972 – Los Angeles Verbum Dei (30-1)
1971 – Los Angeles Verbum Dei (29-2)
1970 – Berkeley (32-0)
1969 – Compton (30-0)
1968 – Compton (32-0)
1967 – Los Angeles Fremont (16-2)
1966 – Los Angeles Jordan (18-0)
1965 – Long Beach Poly (29-3)
1964 – Long Beach Poly (32-1)
1963 – Oakland McClymonds (19-3)
1962 – Oakland McClymonds (23-0)
1961 – Compton (28-3)
1960 – Oakland McClymonds (22-0)
1959 – Oakland McClymonds (22-0)
1958 – Oakland McClymonds (21-0)
1957 – San Francisco Poly (28-1)
1956 – El Cerrito (31-1)
1955 – Alhambra (27-2)
1954 – San Francisco St. Ignatius (26-2)
1953 – Los Angeles Loyola (34-2)
1952 – Compton (32-0)
1951 – Los Angeles Jefferson (27-0)
1950 – Chico (15-3)
1949 – Los Angeles Washington (21-0)
1948 – San Francisco Lincoln (29-2)
1947 – Los Angeles Mt. Carmel (34-2)
1946 – Stockton (20-2)
1945 – San Diego Hoover (16-1)
1944 – Alameda (15-1)
1943 – San Francisco St. Ignatius (14-0)
1942 – Palo Alto (18-0)
1941 – Glendale Hoover (21-1)
1940 – Long Beach Poly (22-2)
1939 – San Francisco Lowell (17-3)
1938 – Whittier (24-3)
1937 – San Francisco Lowell (17-3)
1936 – San Diego (14-1)
1935 – Santa Barbara (14-1)
1934 – Santa Barbara (16-1)
1933 – Stockton (16-2)
1932 – San Francisco Lowell (18-3)
1931 – Whittier (25-1)
1930 – Palo Alto (13-0)
1929 – Palo Alto (15-0)
Note: List continues back to 1903 in Cal-Hi Sports Record Book & Almanac. All selections prior to 1975 made retroactively based on research by our founder, the late Nelson Tennis.
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
