Preseason Girls BB Ranks (1-15)

We continue to roll out our preseason winter basketball content on CalHiSports.com and we’re doing that today with our annual preseason girls basketball state rankings. Etiwanda has already won two straight CIF Open Division state titles and is loaded for a shot at number three. The Eagles don’t have to look far — about 15 miles — to perhaps find their closest challenger at Ontario Christian. We still want to see Ontario Christian win some games, however, before putting that team as high as second in the state. One of them could be Saturday vs Etiwanda.

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For a look at the teams we’ve ranked from No. 16 to No. 40, plus more on the bubble, CLICK HERE.

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For last season’s girls’ basketball preseason rankings, we talked about how transfers and incoming freshmen, who seem to be getting better each year when it comes to top players emerging, were having a greater effect on how to set these preseason rankings.

For this coming season, that situation continues to have a huge impact, and particularly determining not only the top teams, but all the way down the line. There are so many transfers, newcomers emerging, a school dropping sports, plus other mitigating factors that make it pretty much impossible to cover all the bases.

It’s not possible to contact 50-60 coaches that could potentially make one of the 40 spots to see who is still there and who has transferred, so we did the best we could with the high and medium transfers, and the Girls of Summer Rankings gave insight into some newcomers since that’s what we focused on. If we missed something, it will all shake out as the season unfolds, and more information is available after several games have been played.

There are those who would like to anoint teams to the top spots, but that’s not how we do things at Cal-Hi Sports and haven’t done it that way for 45 years of doing boys/girls state rankings.

To get to the top spots in our system, you must earn it and not just be anointed, but remember these are just preseason ranks and by the time the major tournaments have concluded this pecking order may very well change, and by the time March comes it could change even more.

One of the things that hasn’t changed is the dominance of the CIF Southern Section as there are six from that section in the top seven spots and seven of the top 10.

The CIF is scheduled to crown its 2024-25 state champions on March 14-15, 2025 at Golden One Center in Sacramento.

2024-25 CAL-HI SPORTS PRESEASON
GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE RANKINGS

(This is the 44th consecutive season that CalHiSports.com will provide state rankings for the girls; just one season less than the boys)
(Last year’s final rating in parentheses with 2023-24 won-loss record)
(Cal-Hi Sports co-founder and editor Mark Tennis contributed to these rankings)

1. (1) Etiwanda 32-3

There are those who would like to anoint others into the top spot for the preseason rankings, but to get to the top you have to either beat the top team, which can’t happen in the preseason, or the team in the catbird seat has to have lost so much talent to graduation that they can’t possibly be considered for No. 1 in the next preseason rankings. Etiwanda lost current USC freshman and Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year Kennedy Smith, who also won freshman, sophomore and junior honors as the state’s top player in her class, and Mykelle Richards graduated and is at Long Beach State, but head coach Stan Delus has a ton of talent that returns.

Without question the top two returners are recent Cal-committed senior point guard Aliyahna “Puff” Morris and senior forward Grace Knox. Morris, the reigning State Junior of the Year, who also was the State Freshman and State Sophomore of the Year, solidified her junior honors with her performance in the 60-48 win over Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) in the 2023 CIF Open Division state championship where she took control from the opening tip-off and finished with a game-high 20 points (two-three-pointers) with six rebounds, five assists and three steals. This past season Morris had per game averages of 16.1 points, 5.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, similar to the 17.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game she averaged in winning State Sophomore of the Year. Despite Smith winning Ms. Basketball and Morris winning the state juniors award, many analysts felt Knox, a 6-foot-3 transfer from Nevada who missed over a year due to injury prior to last season, was the best player on the Eagles roster at the end of the season. She wasn’t one of the leading scorers in the state championship win, but in the CIF Southern Section Open Division 65-44 championship victory over Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), and the 54-51 victory in the rematch for the CIF Southern Regional Open title, Knox led the way in both games with a double-double 19 points and 12 rebounds in the Southern Section title game, and 17 points in the SoCal championship. Knox, who after narrowing her college choices to LSU, Tennessee, Texas and USC, finally decided on LSU. Last season she averaged 17.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game last season. She was a close runner-up to Morris for State Junior of the Year meaning Eagles head coach Stan Delus has the top two incoming seniors in the state on the roster.

Another returner who was a solid contributor is junior Arynn Finley. Last season she averaged 9.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and had 10 points in the SoCal title game victory over Sierra Canyon. An addition is sophomore transfer Chasity Rice. She averaged 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds last season at Mater Dei of Santa Ana.

Despite being unable to play in the Nike TOC, Delus has put together a formidable non-league schedule that should test his Eagles. They opened with San Diego Francis Parker at the Harvard-Westlake Invitational in Studio City on Tuesday of this week. By Saturday, the Eagles could already have a game played against local rival and preseason No. 4 Ontario Christian. From there, Etiwanda heads to the Nike Hoopfest in Dallas, Texas, and then the Eagles go to Hawaii for the Nike Iolani Classic. Over the holidays, they head to San Diego for the SoCal Holiday Classic. In early January, the Eagles are in Concord for the Sabrina Ionescu SI20 Classic and then they come back to SoCal the next day for the Kiernan Klassic Showcase where they face Porterville Monache. The following week the Eagles head to Washington D.C for the St. James MLK Classic and then two days later they’re in Boston for the Hoophall Classic for an ESPN televised game with an Incarnate Word Academy of St. Louis, Missouri that was 31-0 last season and finished No. 13 in the final national computer rankings behind an Etiwanda squad that finished as the top team in the nation. Whether or not Delus and his girls can duplicate their 2023 season and become the only team to win three straight CIF Open Division state championships remains to be seen, but at this point the top spot in the Golden State girls basketball for the 2024-25 preseason rankings stays in the Inland Empire at Etiwanda.

2. (2) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 30-1

For the same reasons the Etiwanda team that took down Mitty 60-48 in the 2023 CIF Open Division state title game gets to go on top of the heap, the Monarchs fall in behind them in the bridesmaid’s spot just like last season ended. The Mitty team that faced Etiwanda wasn’t the same team that came into the Open title game not only No. 1 in the Cal-Hi Sports rankings but No. 1 in the nation, a spot it held from the time the Monarchs downed previous No. 1 Long Island Lutheran at the Nike TOC to claim the top spot. The reason they weren’t the same team is current Connecticut freshman Morgan Cheli was nowhere near the same player that led Mitty to a victory over Long Island Lutheran. Cheli was coming off nearly six weeks of not playing due to a hamstring injury and while she was able to contribute in wins over Folsom and Fresno Clovis West in the NorCal Open semis and title game, Etiwanda is in a difference universe than those two and they totally shut her down in the state championship. Despite the fact Cheli is gone as is Belle Bramer (Lehigh), who was also dinged up and in her third game back against Etiwanda, plus Elana Weisman (Bucknell), head coach Sue Phillips returns a very talented team that could be a match to last year’s squad.

The top returner is 2023 State Sophomore of the Year McKenna Woliczko who was the State Freshman of the Year two years ago. The 6-foot-2 forward was a finalist for Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year last season, and the way she has performed since the end of last season, including making a huge impression for USA Basketball in the summer, makes her a legitimate candidate and likely a certain Ms. Basketball finalist this season. Sierra Canyon star Jerzy Robinson has been higher than Woliczko in national recruiting rankings, but by the end of the season, and with Cheli and others hobbled, it was Woliczko that led Mitty into the Open state title game where despite Etiwanda using a very physical defense to move her out of the block, she still was able to register a team-high double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds with six assists and three steals. Early on it was Woliczko as well when she was named MVP of the Vincent Cannizzaro Division (top division) at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona. Woliczko had 22 points and nine rebounds in the game Mitty took down Long Island Lutheran, which ironically was close to her season averages of 22.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Besides being one of the top girls basketball players in the state Woliczko is just as good at softball, and because of her two-sport prowess she was named the 2023 Cal-Hi Sports Sophomore Girls Athlete of the Year just like in 2022 when she won the freshman honors.

Joining Woliczko as the other top returners are Emma Cook and Tee McCarthy. Cook is a 5-foot-10 junior wing who currently has several mid-major offers and McCarthy, a sophomore point guard who started during Cheli’s absence and impressed as a freshman. She already has a handful of offers, including Cal. The biggest addition to the arsenal of Phillips, who will enter the season as the No. 4 all-time winningest coach in the state with 819 career wins, is Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) transfer Devin Cosgriff. The 5-foot-10 junior wing is a 4-Star top 50 recruit per ESPN with 20 major college offers who averaged 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and shot 35 percent on three-pointers. Another addition is sophomore guard Ze’Ni Patterson, a transfer from Brentwood Heritage who has several D1 offers and was the MVP of the Bay Valley Athletic League after averaging 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.2 steals last season. A key addition is 6-foot-2 freshman forward Maliya Hunter. She already has offers from Cal and Santa Clara. Two junior returners that Phillips feels will be solid contributors and have possibilities at the next level are Abi James and Sofia Teresi.

Mitty will open at at the La Jolla Country Day Sweet 16 on December 4 and then the Nike TOC in mid-December. A game that should say a lot about the state of the rankings will be on January 4 when the Monarchs take on Ontario Christian at the Sabrina Ionescu SI20 Showcase at Concord Carondelet. It doesn’t get any easier as from there they will head to the Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts where on back-to-back days just before MLK Day they face national powers Sidwell Friends of Washington D.C. and Morris Catholic of New Jersey.

A distinction the Mitty faithful will meet with a grimace is with the Monarchs’ loss to Etiwanda, they become the first team since the CIF went to an Open Division in 2013 to lose three straight title games. That’s the bad news, but the good news is Mitty is still far and away the top team in Northern California and despite not winning an Open Division championship it has made it to the title game four times and the Monarchs still hold the record with 15 appearances in state championships and are fourth with six titles. Despite the disappointment, Phillips remained optimistic at the end of last season. “Someday I believe we will win an Open championship,” she said wistfully. Will this be the year?

3. (3) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 31-3

Between both Etiwanda and Archbishop Mitty combined, they lost some of the most talented players in the nation to graduation, but in reality it may be Sierra Canyon and head coach Alicia Komaki that lost just as much with the departure of Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year finalist Mackenly Randolph and Izela Arenas, both of whom are now freshmen at Louisville. Those two combined for 35.4 points, 15.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4.0 steals per game, plus four other seniors graduated, but the one player that based on her performances from last season, and could be a total game changer for Komaki this season is junior Jerzy Robinson.

Despite being edged out for the top honor, the 6-foot Robinson could very well have been the State Sophomore of the Year, and she had the numbers to prove it after averaging a double-double 21.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season. In her final game last season, a 54-51 loss to Etiwanda in the CIF Southern Regional Open championship, Robinson had 17 points and 15 rebounds. The ESPN 5-Star recruit, who has already signed an NIL deal with Nike, followed up her selection as the youngest MVP ever when she earned that honor at the 2023 FIBA U16 Americas Championship, with the MVP honors of the 2024 FIBA U-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup for world champion United States. With Randolph and Arenas gone, even more of the heavy lifting will fall on the shoulders of Robinson, but she will have some help.

A player to look for is 6-foot-4 junior post Emilia Krstevski. The U17 Canadian National Team member averaged 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. In the 54-51 loss to Etiwanda in the CIF Southern Regional Open Division championship Krstevski posted a double-double 14 points and 14 rebounds with four blocks. A newcomer that impressed when we saw her as an incoming eighth-grader and should be a solid addition for Komaki is incoming 6-foot-2 freshman Rosie Oladokun, the younger sister of 6-foot-9 post and 2023 Sierra Canyon graduate Jimmy Oladokun. She’s long and athletic but can handle the ball and even shoots the three-pointer. Oladokun has the potential be one of the new top inside players in California. Joining her and Krstevski in the front court is transfer Payton Montgomery. The 6-foot-1 power forward/post comes over from Mission League rival Chaminade of West Hils where she led the team in scoring and rebounding at 16.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. There are three other returning contributors and four role players that round out the Trailblazers’ roster.

With Robinson up top and controlling the flow, and the three inside players down low, Komaki may have a team that can once again challenge for supremacy in Southern California and a CIF Open Division title and add to the two the program captured in 2019 and 2022 to go with the two D4 titles in 2014 and 2015 and a D5 state championship in 2013.

4. (4) Ontario Christian 28-5

The major buzz around Southern California girls basketball involves Ontario Christian and the fact that many analysts and media feel the Knights’ girls should be starting out ahead of teams we have them behind. Yes, they have Cal-Hi Sports State Freshman of the Year and scoring machine Kaleena Smith back, and they add Sydney “Bean” Douglas, a 6-foot-6 freshman who many if not all the recruiting experts are calling the best player in the incoming freshman class in the nation, plus another top freshman recruit, 6-foot wing/forward Tatianna Griffin, will be joining the varsity mix after lighting it up as a middle-schooler at Ontario Christian.

Douglas can do it all, including shooting the three-pointer. She already has around 30 offers including many top programs. Her father is 6-foot-7 Rome Douglas, who played football at USC and professionally. Her mother, Maylana Martin, is 6-foot-3 and was the 1996 Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year in her senior year at Perris before starring at UCLA and later in the WNBA. There has never been a mother and daughter who have both won Ms. Basketball honors. The possibility now exists, but that’s a long was off. One of many reasons Douglas decided on Ontario Christian is because Smith and Griffin are two of her best friends and she wanted to play with them. Griffin isn’t quite as high up in the recruiting process as Douglas but she makes the ESPNW Top 25 prospects from the class of 2028, has college interest, and the coaches we talked to in Southern California love her game and upside.

As for Smith, she’s threatening to put herself into the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book in a whole bunch of spots before she’s done, and the flashy combo guard has a pretty good start in her first season with two entries. Smith finished her freshman season with a 34.6 points per game average and 1,153 total points, including making 41 percent of 437 three-points attempts to finish with 179 treys. The 1,153 points ranks in the top 10 on the Most Points (Season) list in the Record Book and is the second most ever by a freshman to the 1,216 points of 2023 Ontario Christian graduate Chloe Briggs. Smith finished No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section, No. 2 in the state and No. 5 in the nation for reported leading scorers for per game average, but the 1,153 points was the top mark in the state and No. 2 in the nation. The points total is the first record book entry and the second entry is on her three-pointers and even more impressive. The 179 made treys led the state and is the No. 2 reported mark in the nation and is the most ever on the Most Three-Point Field Goals Made (Season) list in the record book and breaks the record of 169 in 38 games by Danielle Viglione of Del Campo (Fair Oaks) in the 1992 season. To say Smith is the leading candidate for State Sophomore of the Year might be a bit of an understatement.

The No. 2 and No. 3 scorers from last year and the two top rebounders have graduated, but a returner to look for is 6-foot-1 sophomore Legacy Benjamin. She averaged 7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals last year.

Another twist to the Ontario Christian saga is the Knights welcome a new coach. Shortly after former coach Matt Tumambing announced on Instagram that he was leaving the program, it was announced that former assistant Aundre Cummings has been named the new head coach. Cummings is the stepfather of Smith.

Whether or not the outside/inside combination of Smith and Douglas is going to be able to take Ontario Christian to the top of the heap in California girls basketball remains to be seen. We will get a quick look at it because both the Knights and Etiwanda are in the same tourney this week to start the season and very likely will be playing each other this weekend. Because of that, Cummings and his Knights girls start out in the spot they finished last season for the preseason rankings, but it could very well change. Early on, they face national power Texas Duncanville at the Hoopfest in Dallas, next Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) could be a test before the Knights head to the Nike TOC in Phoenix. A real test that will certainly effect the California pecking order will come on January 4 when Ontario Christian faces off with Archbishop Mitty at the Sabrina Ionescu SI20 Showcase.

5. (5) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 24-7

When Addie Deal went down after suffering a season-ending injury in game 13 last season, a 60-58 loss to Ontario Christian, in many respects it dashed the Mater Dei faithful’s hopes of a possible deep run in the playoffs. The Monarchs were 10-2 at that point with their only losses coming at the Nike TOC. They would finish the season with a 2-1 record in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs, and then they won their first round game in the state CIF Southern Regional Open Division playoffs, but the final game was a bit bittersweet.

Granted, the only way Kevin Kiernan probably would retire was with a win and his Monarchs winning a state championship, and obviously they didn’t. So, Kiernan’s final game as the Mater Dei head coach was a 76-58 loss to Etiwanda. The sweet part was with a 71-47 opening round win over Mission Hills (San Marcos), Kiernan, the all-time girls basketball wins leader in the state according to the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book, was able to go out with an even 900 career wins.

Now comes the Jody Wynn era. Wynn, a native of Orange County and a member of three straight state championships from 1991-1993 at Brea-Olinda of Brea when she played under her maiden last name of Anton, brings a lot of experience to a job where she will be coaching her daughter, 6-foot-1 junior wing Kaeli Wynn, as well as two of Kiernan’s daughters, senior forward Devyn Kiernan, and sophomore guard Kaidyn Kiernan. After graduating from USC, Wynn spent time as an assistant from 1996 to 2009 at Pepperdine and USC before getting the head coaching job at Long Beach State from 2009-2017 and then from 2017-2021 at Washington. She inherits a team that loses current Duke freshman Jenessa Cotton, Emily Shaw and Chastidy Rice, who transferred to Etiwanda. The trio combined for 35.6 points last season. However, with Iowa-committed Deal, who is reportedly at full strength, and before the injury averaged 16.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals, and Kaeli Wynn (14.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg) as the core of the team, plus other returners and newcomers, this version of the Monarchs should be as good as last season, and perhaps better.

A third starter who could have a breakout season is Grand Canyon University-committed senior guard Amaya Williams who averaged 7.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Other returners include sophomore guard Harmony Golightly and 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Stella Hoss. Two impact newcomers are 6-foot-2 senior forward Nohe’Alani Stores, who sat out last season and moved from the Bay Area, and Amiah Lewis, a junior point guard who transferred from Sonora (La Habra) and averaged 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals last season. Rounding out an 8-deep squad is junior defensive specialist Rachel Goran.

Mater Dei opens on November 26 in Hawaii against Honolulu Moanalua and stays for the Iolani Tournament. The Monarchs face Fairmont Prep and Sage Hill in December before heading to the Nike TOC and then the West Coast Jamboree. From there, they come home for the Kiernan Klassic.

6. (11) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 23-5

After winning the 2023 Division I title and its seventh CIF state championship, the Bishop Montgomery girls move up five spots from their final ranking last season that was two spots higher than their No. 13 ranking prior to winning the state title. Last season, the Knights also finished ahead of several Open Division teams and in these preseason rankings they are ahead of even more 2023 Open Division teams.

The reason for the big jump is who third-year head coach and former Knights star Rheina Ale returns. In fact, in a coach’s poll to help determine seeding for the West Coast Jamboree, Bishop Montgomery was ahead of Mater Dei. The top returner is Jordin Blackmon. The Rice-committed 5-11 senior wing doesn’t get the fanfare of some of the other big stars in Southern California but without question she is among the top players in the entire state. Blackmon averaged 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season. Two other returners to look for are junior guard Sophia Dignadice (11.0 ppg, 2.2 apg) and sophomore Armanyie Reed (9.3 ppg, 4.1 apg), plus sophomore point guard Kali Pascual is back after a knee injury sidelined her last season. Adding some punch will be Inglewood St. Mary’s Academy transfer G’Layah Salazar. As a sophomore last season, she averaged 10.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

Bishop Montgomery faces Windward (Los Angeles) at the end of November and then will head to Hawaii for games against Honolulu’s Kamehameha Kaplama and Maryknoll before returning the following week for a showdown with Ontario Christian, and then Fairmont Prep before heading to Northern California for the Jamboree. Ale is certainly not dodging anyone in her preseason scheduling.

7. (6) Sage Hill (Newport Beach) 25-5

Despite losing four seniors who are now playing in college, head coach Kerwin Walters and his Lightning only drop one spot from their final ranking from last season based on a few reasons. First is that of their five losses, two were to Sierra Canyon, two were to Mater Dei and the fifth loss was a season-ending 71-67 to Ontario Christian in the CIF Southern Regional Open Division playoffs against a host Knights’ team the Lightning had defeated 70-61 in early season tournament action, meaning all were to teams ranked ahead of them in the final rankings and now as well. The second reason is who they return and who’s coming in.

Sophomore point guard Amalia Holquin (12.4 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.4 rpg) was one of the top freshmen in the state last year and her numbers should improve and should do a lot to fill the void. Junior 5-foot-11 post Alyssa Cuff (6.3 ppg) returns as does sophomore 6-foot-1 wing Kamdyn Klamberg and her 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, plus 5-foot-10 sophomore wing Audrey Reynolds, who will return from knee surgery in mid-December. The Lightning have two freshmen with size, 6-foot wing Addison Uphoff and 6-foot-2 post Eve Flower, and a freshman shooting guard Leah O’Toner. Walters also picks up 6-foot-1 senior post/wing Isabella Rose, a 6-foot-1 transfer from Irvine Northwood. The last reason is the Lightning are No. 2 in the OC Register preseason pecking order. Sage Hill opens with upstart Windward and in mid-December they square off with Mater Dei. Brentwood is also on the schedule as is Moreno Valley.

8. (7) Clovis West (Fresno) 31-3

After Clovis West lost to Archbishop Mitty in the 2023 NorCal playoffs, the Golden Eagles flipped with Sage Hill for the final expanded rankings. They are still behind that team to start this season and should continue to shine in the CIF Central Section where they have won 12 straight Division I championships.

Losing Boston College-committed flashy point guard Athena Tomlinson and her near 20 points per game average will be hard to replace. However, head coach Craig Campbell, who comes into the season as the No. 6 all-time winningest coach in the state according to the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book with 735 career wins (including 240 wins in Nevada), returns a ton of talent in his 11 returners. The top three are senior guard/forward Riley Walls, who is considering several offers including Fresno State and averaged 9.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 2.4 assists last season, Cal State Monterey Bay-committed senior guard Keegan Medeiros (10.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg), and 6-foot-3 senior power forward Alexis Swillis, a UNLV-commit, who should be at full strength after missing most of last season with eligibility and injury issues. Junior guard Malohni Warren and sophomore guard Ramie Chatman round out the starting five. And according to Campbell, both are scholarship caliber players. Campbell is also looking for solid contributions from senior post Jordyn Ybarra, plus he has two impact freshmen, shooting guard Sydney Swillis and guard McKenna Curry.

Some analysts and coaches queried felt Clovis West could be higher, but we want to wait and see how things play out with Swillis now playing and Tomlinson gone. Campbell has scheduled three out of state tournaments in December and early January in Tampa, Salem (Oregon) and Denver, plus the Golden Eagles will host their own Nike Central Valley Showdown.

9. (9) Folsom 26-6

Despite losing current Cal freshman and Sacramento Bee Girls Player of the Year Kamryn Mafua, and current Idaho freshman Ella Uriarte, who combined for 24.6 points and 11.6 rebounds last season, Folsom has a load of talent and starts out in the same spot as it finished in the final expanded rankings last season, only as the top team in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section despite a loss to St. Mary’s in the section D1 title game.

It’s not just who head coach Lynn Wolking returns, but 5-foot-9 senior guard Ava Rawlins, who was considered one of the top freshmen in Northern California three years ago, is back at full strength and has committed to UC Santa Barbara. Besides Rawlins, there are seven other returners with six who are seniors, and according to Wolking, all will contribute. University of Pacific-committed senior Sophia Minderman (11.9 ppg) and Air Force-bound senior Dixie McClanahan (7.2 ppg) are two of them. A big Wolking feels will contribute is 6-foot-3 sophomore Avery Masters. “Our success will depend on our health as we’re heavily reliant on seniors, and you don’t just lose Kamryn Mafua and Ella Uriarte.” Folsom will be in the Dorothy Speck tourney at Davis High, and then hosts the Folsom-Vista del Lago Winter Classic before heading to Florida for the Tampa Bay Christmas invitational.

10. (14) Brentwood (Los Angeles) 27-9

Due to a close loss to Orangewood Academy of Garden Grove, which incidentally has dropped sports this year, so it won’t be in the rankings after finishing No. 23 in the final expanded rankings last year, Brentwood only received the No. 7 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Based on our rankings, we had Brentwood as the No. 2 and not No. 7, and as we predicted head coach Charles Solomon and his Eagles soared into the SoCal title game and gave top seed and Bishop Montgomery all it could handle before falling in a 71-68 loss. Like the Bishop Montgomery team that tripped them in the SoCal D1 title game, Brentwood loses a couple of seniors and one of its leading scorers, but it’s who they return that gets them a four-spot bump from their finish in the final rankings last year. In fact, Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times had Brentwood ahead of Bishop Montgomery in his preseason predictions.

The top returner is recent UC San Diego-committed 5-foot-9 senior Lev Feiman. She averaged 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.7 steals per game and she shot 34 percent on three pointers. Feinman had 23 points in the Bishop Montgomery title-game loss. The other top returner is senior guard Payton Sugar. She averaged 10.9 points and 3.3 rebounds last season and connected on 99 three-pointers. The Eagles have seven other returners who averaged over 3.0 per game, and Solomon says his post player, 6-foot-1 junior Logan Scott, the niece of former St. Bernard’s (Playa del Rey), Stanford and WNBA standout Olympia Scott, has really developed. Brentwood opens with Corona Centennial but in early December the Eagles face Bishop Montgomery.

11. (18) McClatchy (Sacramento) 26-7

In the final rankings last season we had said with the players head coach Jeff Ota had returning we should look for the Lions to challenge Folsom for supremacy in the Sacramento metro area next season. The Lions also picked up an impact transfer. While we gave them a huge bump for the preseason, Ota is saying injuries are affecting his early season depth.

The top returner is Washington-bound 6-foot-1 senior standout Nina Cain, who is likely a front runner for the Sacramento Bee Player of the Year. Last season, she averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. When she missed several games due to concussion protocols the Lions took some losses that dropped them to the No. 16 in the CIF Northern Regional D1 playoffs but not in the rankings so when they went into top-seeded Pinewood and won it was not a total shocker. McClatchy later made it to the semifinals before falling by eight to Carondelet. CSU Northridge-committed 5-foot-10 wing Norret Lewis is also back after averaging 14 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. Two other returners that Ota sees as contributors are junior guard Laila Stancil-Williams and sophomore Mikayla Reyes-Ly. A big addition and another reason for the bump up is the addition of junior guard Breyana Kimmons. She was at Folsom last season and averaged 7.7 points. McClatchy will be at the La Jolla Country Day Sweet 16 and the Christian Brothers tournament in December.

12. (21) Moreno Valley 30-6

We thought about starting head coach Larry Wright and his Vikings higher since they had no seniors on last year’s team that despite only being seeded No. 11 in the CIF Southern Regional Division I playoffs due to a loss as the top seed in the CIF Southern Section 2AA championship to Long Beach St. Anthony. They went on to beat seeded teams ahead of them, Corona Centennial and Lake Balboa Birmingham, and then they gave Brentwood a tussle before falling 69-66 in the semifinals. The Vikings were as high as No. 13 last season so we thought until things shake out they at least deserve that spot plus a one-spot bump as the No. 3 team from the Inland Empire. Junior combo guard and leading scorer Bella Medina (17.4 ppg, 58 three-pointers), senior guard Leiayiah Mills (14.3 ppg, 57 three-pointers), her sister and 6-foot sophomore wing Alaysha Mills (13.4ppg, 7.8 rpg, 36 three-pointers), who got high marks in the Girls of Summer Rankings, plus seniors Niyah Thomas (7.1 ppg) and McKenzie Gilman (6.3 ppg), all return plus others. They open with the Mission Hills team that is two spots below them but by the end of the first week in December they will have faced Sage Hill and Mater Dei, so we’ll see right away what they’re made of.

13. (15) Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) 24-7

The CIF Northern Regional Division I champions and state runner-up buried themselves with a 23-point late first half deficit to Bishop Montgomery but fought back to only lose by 12. Two of the top three scorers for head coach Malik McCord, one of only two coaches from the Northern Region to win an Open Division state championship, are gone, and junior standout Devin Cosgriff has transferred to Archbishop Mitty, but McCord is excited about his team and feels they can be a high NorCal D1 team again or possibly Open Division. Last year’s leading scorer, junior guard Jayla Stokes (15.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 34 percent on three-pointers), is the top returner. Sophomore true point guard Myella Chapman also has taken her game to another level with a ton of offers according to McCord. Senior 6-foot-2 Madison Gordon has height and length and just signed with Tulane. Junior 5-foot-10 guard Emily Haw is much improved and senior guard Simdi Chuku got some solid marks in the Girls of Summer rankings. Sophomore guard Ella Bibbins is a 3-level scorer and defender. The big piece of the puzzle is the possible return of junior guard Lizzy Quinteros. She went down with a knee injury in the fourth quarter of the second game of last season, a win over McClatchy. She averaged 22 points for the first two games and McCord had said at the time and still does feel she is the best player on the Dragons. Early on, O’Dowd faces Corona Centennial and Stockton St. Mary’s in tournament action.

14. (16) Carondelet (Concord) 28-7*

We seriously considered moving up the CIF Northern Regional Division I runner-up and jumping the Cougars into the CIF North Coast Section top spot. Instead, the jump past two other CIF North Coast Section teams that were in the NorCal Open Division into the No. 2 spot in the section directly behind the Bishop O’Dowd team that bested them by a point in the NCS championship is where they’ll start. Head coach Kelly Sopak has a core of very solid returners. The two top returners are the junior duo of 5-foot-11 wing Layla Dixon and 5-foot-8 combo guard Sophia Ross. Dixon already reportedly has offers from Lehigh, Nevada, Portland State, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego and San Francisco. She averaged a team-high 12.5 points and 7.2 rebounds. Ross already reportedly has offers from Cal Poly SLO, UC Santa Barbara and San Francisco. A player Sopak feels could have a breakout season and already has offers from Pacific and Cal Poly SLO is 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Celeste Alvarez. The Cougars are at the She Got Game Invitational in Texas, the Nike TOC and they host the SI20 Sabrina Ionescu Showcase.

15. (13) Mission Hills (San Marcos) 23-9

We realize the defending CIF San Diego Section Open champions lost just about all the firepower, but head coach Christopher Kroesch is a college level coach and he seems to fill the gaps every year to stay near the top of the CIF San Diego Section, and that’s where they start for the preseason rankings. Not only does Kroesch know how to coach up and coming players, but he’s also added two transfers. Junior sharpshooting guard H.C. Harding comes west from Dallas suburb Coppell, Texas where she converted 172 three-pointers in her first two seasons. Another transfer that Kroesch feels has D1 potential is sophomore guard Bayanai Cordova. She transfers from Chula Vista Bonita Vista where last season she was second in scoring with 14.2 points per game (28 three-pointers), plus 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.0 assists per contest. Another budding sophomore according to Kroesch is guard Maleena Nava. The Grizzlies open tournament play with Corona Centennial and then up-and-coming Moreno Valley. They also have a tournament matchup just after Christmas with nationally ranked Sidwell Friends of Washington D.C

For a look at the teams we’ve ranked from No. 16 to No. 40, plus 20 more on the bubble, CLICK HERE.

Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend