Central Cali’s Top 20 Team Rankings (Updated 4.0)

As we start a New Year, and all the holiday tournaments have concluded and league play is upon us, I wanted to update my Top 20 Team Rankings. League play starts for all teams this week, as well as some great non-league match-ups, There is no movement at the top spot, as the Knights of St. Joseph continue to show the Section D1 Title is theirs to lose. After that, there is a lot of movement from #2-#20, as was predicted with the amount of games played over the last week and a half. This article takes a look at the Top 20 teams in the Section for this updated list and includes the following information: team name, its key players (only for those teams new to this list), its current rankings, its ranking from last round of team rankings in parentheses, and its current record.   1. (1) St. Joseph Knights (Santa Maria) (16-2)   The Knights continue to hold strong at the #1 spot in these team rankings to start off the New Year, despite St. Joe's losing its first games of the season. The Knights traveled to the Midwest after winning the Mission Prep Christmas Classic to participate in the Kings Cotton Holiday Classic in Arkansas, where it would take 3rd place with a win over St. Michael's (TX). The Knights lost to the tournament champs Faith Family Academy (TX) in a semifinal classic that St. Joe's lost 77 to 74, which was the closest any team got to defeating the tourney champs. The Knights would start the New Year in Louisville (KY) at the Grindsession, where it would win its first game against Daviess County (KY), before falling to host team St. Xavier by one, 65-64, as senior [player_tooltip player_id='1956462' first='Julius' last='Price'] would connect on a corner 3 to give the Knights the lead by two, but after a bucket from the host team. Price would miss a transition buzzer beater by inches to end its Midwest trip going 3-2 against national competition. The Knights will start league play this week, which it should run through pretty easily, but does have some key showcase match-ups that will test St. Joe's to get ready for playoffs, with games against Section rival San Joaquin Memorial, De La Salle at their MLK Classic, and NorCal power Salesian of Richmond at the Grindsession's Crush in the Valley. [player_tooltip player_id='2436278' first='Malcolm' last='Price'] and Gunner Morinini have been sensational this season, alongside the older Price, and the length and size of Williams Sacre, [player_tooltip player_id='2436295' first='Godson' last='Eyita'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2131807' first='Abdoul' last='Bare'] have been a 3-headed interior presence that many teams struggle to compete against on the glass.     2. (3) Buchanan Bears (Clovis) (16-2)   The Bears move up one spot and come in at #2 in this updated list, as it would have a successful trip to Modesto for the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic and left with the 3rd Place trophy. The Bears would get two impressive wins at the Holiday Hoops Classic over Amador Valley in the quarterfinals and Clayton Valley Charter in the 3rd place game, and its only loss since the last round of these rankings was to Liberty of Brentwood, who would upset the host team to win the championship. The remainder of Buchanan's schedule is TRAC league opponents, so it controls its own destiny. If it wins out, I see the Bears holding on to the #2 seed and hosting playoffs games throughout until the Section Championships if it were to make it back to the title game. Although it has been a valiant team effort across the board for Buchanan, the Bears have been led by standout sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2915953' first='Rhead' last='Sweeney'] and senior power forward Brayden Harris. I do have the Bears as the projected TRAC winners this year, but the Broncos will have something to say about that, as well as the hot Clovis Cougars and Clovis West Golden Eagles, and the likes of Central East, who gave Buchanan a loss in TRAC play that kept it from winning league outright.    3. (5) Bakersfield Christian Eagles (7-8)   Moving up two spots and coming in at #3 is the Eagles of Bakersfield Christian. Since the last round of team rankings, the Eagles are coming off an impressive showing at The Classic at Damien, winning the consolation bracket in the Gold Division, the 2nd highest division at the illustrious event. After losing to Loyola in the opening round of bracket play, Bakersfield Christian would earn wins over a talented [player_tooltip player_id='2763310' first='Rancho' last='Christian'] of Temecula and Mayfair of Lakewood in the consolation game. Arguably the most significant win of the season thus far came on Day 3 of the Damien, in the consolation semifinals, against Section powerhouse and my previous #2 seed, the Panthers of San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno) 67 to 52. That is the main reason I moved the Eagles above both San Joaquin and Clovis North, along with winning the Consolation Bracket in the 2nd highest division and going 3-1. The Eagles did lose to state power Redondo Union this past Saturday, January 3rd at the annual BSN Showcase at Pacifica Christian in Newport Beach, but that loss did not hurt BCHS for this round of team rankings. The Eagles have been led by juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2646533' first='Taiwo' last='Daramola'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2194700' first='Jeremias' last='Killebrew'], and sophomore Braylen Smith, but Killebrew and Smith both were out against Redondo Union and at the moment there is no return date for either. The Eagles open up league play this week but have a tough non-league battle against last year's D3 State Champs, San Gabriel Academy, this Thursday at home and will need all its pieces to stave off SGA, who has a talented and big roster. The Eagles Mesa of Arizona at their place on MLK Monday, Bullard of Fresno on the 22nd of January, and Centennial of Bakersfield to wrap the regular season. Also, the Eagles will play Bakersfield High in league two times so there is still a lot left on the table for Bakersfield Christian, but if all of its players are ready to go, it is one of the top teams in the Section, as the win over the Panthers indicated.   4. (2) San Joaquin Memorial Panthers (Fresno) (12-3)   The Panthers move down two spots and come in at #4 in this updated list, moving out of the #2 seed for the first time this season on this list. The Panthers have had a productive holiday tournament season, going 5-3 overall, earning some quality wins over Pasadena and Crossroads of Santa Monica, both with high level, nationally ranked forwards/centers and great guard play. The Panthers start CMAC play this week, travel to Bakersfield Saturday to take on Garces Memorial for their annual match-up, as well as a trip to the coast on MLK weekend to play Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo and St. Joseph of Santa Maria, which if were to get wins over both San Joaquin would likely jump up to the #1 spot in the next round of these team rankings. The Panthers play Riordan of San Francisco at the De La Salle MLK Classic, and Lincoln of Stockton the last Saturday of the regular season. San Joaquin should win its league but Bullard seems to be the thorn in the side of SJM the last few years. [player_tooltip player_id='3072422' first='Sajjin' last='Sidhu'], [player_tooltip player_id='2830146' first='Parker' last='Spees'], [player_tooltip player_id='2932601' first='Ty' last='Schalk'], and Domo Olanrewaju have continued to lead that charge for the Panthers.   5. (4) Clovis North Broncos (Fresno) (9-8)    Rounding out the Top 5 is the Broncos of Clovis North, coming in at #5 and moving down 1 spot. The Broncos faced a tough challenge at The Classic at Damien, as it was placed in the top division, Platinum, and had to open up with Tark Classic top division champs Redondo Union and it did not go well for Clovis North, losing 110 to 56. The Broncos would go 0-4 at the Damien, with losses to Parish Opiscopal (TX), Owyhee (ID), and American Fork (UT), but these losses are not the primary reason I moved the Broncos down a spot. It comes down to common opponents played compared with those teams above Clovis North. Clovis North lost to Clayton Valley Charter at Bishop O'Dowd's Thanksgiving Classic, and Buchanan beat them at Modesto Christian's Holiday Hoop Classic. Bakersfield Christian defeated Sheldon of Sacramento, and the Broncos lost to them to open the season. Lastly, BCHS lost to Redondo Union by nearly half as many points. San Joaquin Memorial has earned some solid wins against SoCal teams like Crossroads and Pasadena, and although the Broncos have played a rigorous schedule, its best wins are against Village Christian and Bishop Montgomery, which is not a better win than the Panthers have. Therefore, that is why I moved Clovis North to #5. However, with mainly TRAC play left, outside of games against Bakersfield High and Moreau Catholic, if the Broncos run the table in league, I could see it jumping as high as the #2 seed. The TRAC does seem as competitive as it has been since I started scouting basketball in the Section nearly a decade ago, and Clovis North will have more challenges this season than in recent years. McKae Amundsen was superb at the Damien, with some huge scoring outbursts, along with [player_tooltip player_id='2977779' first='Elias' last='Gish'] who have been the two players leading this Broncos squad.   6. (7) Clovis Cougars (15-3)   The Cougars move up and spot and back into the #6 position for this updated list of team rankings. After winning their division at the Tarkanian Classic, the same division that Clovis West was in, Clovis hosted its annual Elks Tournament, which was down a bit this year in number of teams and in talented squads and players. Nevertheless, the Cougars handled business and went 4-0 with wins over Hoover of Fresno, El Capitan of Merced, Edison of Fresno, and West of Tracy with an average win of 33 points per game, doing what it needed to do given the inferior opposition. The Cougars have all TRAC game remaining for the regular season, outside of a key match-up against Centennial of Bakersfield at the annual Edison MLK Super Saturday Showcase on the 17th of this month. Before that, the Cougars have a huge test this Friday against Buchanan at the Bear's gym. This will be a true test to see where Clovis stacks up with the other TRAC teams, as it went 0-10 in league play last year but this team is different in so many ways. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2843567' first='Anthony' last='Smith'] has been leading the charge, along with Damon Jackson Jr., [player_tooltip player_id='2954272' first='Sier' last='Harbin'], Jackson Scarborough, and Kayden Lewis-Burnley.    7. (8) Clovis West Golden Eagles (Fresno) (13-6)   The Golden Eagles move up one more spot, after moving up 3 positions in the last round of team rankings, coming in at #7. The Golden Eagles participated in the Clovis Elks Tournament but faced much tougher opponents compared to Clovis, as it had two close ones against Justin Garza of Fresno and Merced, winning 72-63 and 61-59 respectively, and two other easy wins over West of Tracy and Edison of Fresno. Clovis West got a big win over Sanger at its annual Central Valley Showdown, 70-45, and are getting great play from senior lead guard Jace Kellogg, who set a single game scoring record for the Golden Eagles, going for 52 points against West of Tracy. Jamel Castro and Hunter Bradford have been impressive interior pieces that have been missing the last few seasons, and the underclassmen will be the future of the program. Clovis West has 10 TRAC games left on its schedule for the remainder of the regular season and predicting how it will end up at the end of league play is nearly impossible. I could see the Golden Eagles getting a win against Buchanan and Clovis North, possibly getting two from Clovis, two over Clovis East, and two over Central East and be right there competing for a TRAC title. But I could also see CW falling to Buchanan and Clovis North two times each and split with Clovis to be 5-5. The upside is the Golden Eagles are playing their best ball at the moment and still getting back junior sharp shooter [player_tooltip player_id='2955798' first='Spencer' last='Kubit'].    8. (9) Bakersfield Drillers (8-6)   The Drillers move up one spot and come in at #9 after a great showing at The Classic at Damien, as it would make it to the championship game of the Emerald Division (5th division) with a loss to Alameda. The Drillers would get wins over Arrowhead Christian of Redlands, Vista Murrieta, and Valencia to earn a spot in the championship game. Its successful play at the Damien is why I moved the Drillers up and over Bullard of Fresno and it will have a tough test this Tuesday, as Bakersfield drives up to Clovis North to take on the Broncos, who are looking for a win and a statement game. Tough environment but the Drillers have not ducked anyone this year. [player_tooltip player_id='2700921' first='Kade' last='Johnson'] and RJ Shehee have led the charge for the Drillers, along with quality play from Ryze Niles, Keshawn Black, Omari Brown, and Kamren Owens.    9. (6) Bullard Knights (Fresno) (12-7)   The Knights move down 3 spots and come in at #9, as it would go 2-2 at the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoops Classic, getting wins over Edison of Stockton and Downey of Modesto. The Knights lost to Enochs of Modesto in the consolation game, as well as Clayton Valley Charter in the first round of play at the Holiday Hoops Classic by over 20 points and its best wins was over Mission Prep, Atascadero, and Central East, none as big as the wins by Bakersfield High. The Knights play the remainder of its games in CMAC play, outside of a big time match-up against Bakersfield Christian on the 22nd of January. Ja'Vance Coleman Jr. has led Bullard this season, with solid play from the young guns around him.    10. (10) Centennial Golden Hawks (Bakersfield) (10-3)   The Golden Hawks round out the Top 10 and hold steady at the #10 spot from the last round of team rankings. Centennial did not play in any pre-or-post holiday tournaments this season, but did play two games to start the New Year, getting wins over Santa Paula of Oxnard and Hanford. Centennial has two quality non-league games this week against Sanger and a rematch against Bakersfield, where the Drillers won the Lloyd Williams championship game over the G-Hawks, as well as starting SYRL play against Garces Memorial on Wednesday. Centennial has a big match-up against Clovis High at Edison's MLK Super Saturday Showcase on the 17th, as well as a rematch with North Bakersfield at the BCHS MLK Showcase on the 19th. The G-Hawks will end the season with a one-off game against Bakersfield Christian, which could have huge implications depending on how each team enters that game for the D1 playoff picture. Centennial has been led by sophomores Ryan Shaw and [player_tooltip player_id='3069019' first='Drake' last='Jimenez'], senior [player_tooltip player_id='3150628' first='Acen' last='Zuniga'], and stock rising junior Gio Fomusoh.    11. (12) Tulare Union Tribe (16-1)   The Tribe have had a big holiday season of play and would get wins over Sanger and Kingsburg to win the annual Polly Tournament in Visalia. The Tribe would follow that up with a huge win over Roosevelt of Fresno, 77 to 33, and take on Edison of Fresno on Tuesday before starting WSL play the remainder of the regular season. The Tribe have been led by the dynamic duo of Bradyen Stevenson and Damaje Riley, and the only blip on its resume is a loss to Madera. Tulare Union is looking to get the top seed in the D3 playoffs, and if it can run the table it pretty much guarantees that will happen.    12. (13) Kingsburg Vikings (13-4)   The Vikings move up one spot and come in at #12, after a great showing at the Polly, including knocking off the two time defending champs North Bakersfield in the semifinals before falling to Tulare Union in the title game, 54-49. The Vikings earned solid wins over Lemoore, Redwood, and North Bakersfield at the Polly, and its loss to Tulare Union is why I put the Tribe ahead of Kingsburg. However, the Vikings suffered a tough loss to Dinuba, who is down this year, and, given Kingsburg's resume going into that game, it should have won pretty easily. However, the loss to Dinuba for me is cancelled out with the Vikings win over Clovis West at the start of the season. The head-to-head win over North is why I have the Vikings ahead of the Stars. Kingsburg has a big match-up against Fresno Christian this Tuesday, then it will finish the season out in league play. Kingsburg controls its own destiny, and in my opinion, should be a D3 Playoff team with a top 4 seed if it handles business. Jensen Hirschkorn, [player_tooltip player_id='3271513' first='Peyton' last='Swiney'], Alex Hanzak, and Izayah Perez have led the charge for the Vikings this season.   13. (11) North Bakersfield Stars (12-5)   Moving down two spots and coming in at #13 is the Stars of North High. The Stars won the 3rd place game over Sanger at the Polly, which was the last game it played to date. North lost to Kingsburg in the Polly semifinals, who would lose to Tulare Union, which is why I have these three teams ranked in the order they are in. The Stars start league play this week, and have 4 non-league games left on its schedule against Bishop Alemany, Centennial of Bakersfield, which is a rematch from the Stars tournament held in mid-December that it lost, Hanford, and Marquez. The Stars control their season and, despite this being the season that South Bakersfield was supposed to win its league, North has played well enough to challenge for a split or outright winning of the SYML. That would help for D3 playoff seeding. Ethan Saenz and younger brother Cam Saenz have been the leading catalysts this season.    14. (17) Fresno Christian Eagles (12-1)   Moving up 3 spots and coming in at #14 is Fresno Christian. The Eagles won the Mendota Holiday Classic with wins over Sanger West, McLane, and Mission Oak, and continue to stack wins. The game this week against Kingsburg is a big one for playoff implications and seeding for the Eagles, followed by other non-league games against Edison of Fresno, Taft, and Kings Christian of Lemoore. The other games remaining are league games, which it is predicted to win and get a high seed in the D5 or maybe D4 playoffs. The Eagles have been led by Leon Madec.    15. (18) Mission College Prep Royals (San Luis Obispo) (9-5)   Rounding out the Top 15 is the Royals of San Luis Obispo, who are coming off a 4-game winning streak at the South Pasadena SoCal Christmas Classic, getting wins over Gahr, Eagle Rock, Littlerock, and Poly. Mission Prep also got a win over El Diamante of Visalia before it starts league play. The Royals have non-league games against San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno, Ridgeview of Bakersfield, and Liberty of Bakersfield. The Royals have gotten sophomore transfer [player_tooltip player_id='3035416' first='Kason' last='Niko'] after his 30-day transfer sit concluded on the 30th of December, which is one of the biggest transfer additions in the Section. I predict the Royals finishing second in league play behind St. Joe's.    16. (15) South Bakersfield Spartans (12-6)   The Spartans move down one spot and come in at #16. South Bakersfield played in the Green Division at the Damien (7th division) and made it to the Consolation title game but fell short to Claremont. It would pick up wins against West Covina and Liberty of Winchester. The Spartans lost to Desert Pines (NV) at the annual BSN Showcase at Pacifica Christian. The Spartans start league this week and have a tough non-league match-up against Bakersfield High on Saturday the 10th, which could boost them up this list if it won. Cliff Willis and Gavin Christian have led the Spartans this season who are looking to get a high seed in the D3 playoffs.     17. (16) Justin Garza Guardians (Fresno) (10-6)   The Guardians move down one spot and come in at #17. The Guardians played well at the Clovis Elks Tournament, getting wins over Kerman and West of Tracy, but did lose to Merced and Clovis West, albeit a close one, 72 to 63. Garza got another big win over Central East at the Sanger Central Valley Showdown. Garza will start CMAC 2 play this week and would be my favorites to win league and get a good seeding in the D4 playoffs. If it does get moved up to D3, not sure where it would be seeded, but has the talent to make a run at D3 as well. Garza has been led by Josiah Wilson.   18. (19) Atascadero Greyhounds (13-5)   The Greyhounds move up one spot to #18 and are coming off a solid week of play in its own event, with wins over Selma, Cabrillo, Royal, before losing to Arroyo Grande. I left Atascadero ahead of AG at the moment, as it has better wins over the season, especially the win over Clovis, but I have Arroyo Grande on the bubble. The Greyhounds got a big win over Independence of Bakersfield to get ready for league play. Atascadero will battle with Mission Prep, AG, and SLO High for second place this season and have been led by senior [player_tooltip player_id='2920237' first='Shea' last='Buckley'].   19. (20) Sanger West Hornets (Fresno) (14-2)   The Hornets move up one spot and come in at #19. The Hornets have continued to stay hot and got three wins before falling to Fresno Christian in the Mendota Holiday Classic. The Hornets also got a win over Liberty Madera and will take on Dinuba to start the week, before getting into league play. Sanger West has been led by Kharon Parks and Jordan Ruffin.    20. (14) Clovis East Timberwolves (9-8)   Rounding out the Top 20 is the scrappy Timberwolves of Clovis East. Clovis East played in the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic, where it got wins over Downey of Modesto and Liberty of Bakersfield. It did lose to Clayton Valley Charter and Amador Valley, two teams that TRAC rival Buchanan beat at the same event. Clovis East is a team that no one wants to play, does it by committee this season, and will give TRAC teams a run for their money.

As we start a New Year, and all the holiday tournaments have concluded and league play is upon us, I wanted to update my Top 20 Team Rankings. League play starts for all teams this week, as well as some great non-league match-ups, There is no movement at the top spot, as the Knights of St. Joseph continue to show the Section D1 Title is theirs to lose. After that, there is a lot of movement from #2-#20, as was predicted with the amount of games played over the last week and a half. This article takes a look at the Top 20 teams in the Section for this updated list and includes the following information: team name, its key players (only for those teams new to this list), its current rankings, its ranking from last round of team rankings in parentheses, and its current record.