Prep Rally: With one week to go, a look at the top high school basketball teams

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. There’s one week left in the regular season for Southern Section basketball. Let’s examine where things stand in the highest division.

Open Division intrigue

All signs point toward Harvard-Westlake and Eastvale Roosevelt being No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Open Division boys pairings when the Southern Section releases its final pairings Saturday. Of course, both need to finish up the regular season this week. Harvard-Westlake is expected to host the Mission League tournament championship game Wednesday. Roosevelt is scheduled to face Corona Centennial on Tuesday.

Brayden Kyman of Santa Margarita made a game-winning shot against St. John Bosco.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The other teams remain in flux. The closeness of the Trinity League race for first place will play a big part in which eight teams make the Open Division. Santa Margarita had a breakthrough week with wins over St. John Bosco and JSerra, putting the Eagles in good position for a spot. Redondo Union is ranked No. 4 and has a big game Tuesday to decide the Bay League title against Mira Costa at home.

La Mirada has been very consistent and is in position to win out. Sierra Canyon’s win over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Intuit Dome on Saturday makes the Trailblazers the No. 2 seed for this week’s Mission League tournament and a likely rematch against Notre Dame on Tuesday at home. Remember the Southern Section is using computer rankings to determine its playoff divisions for the first time, so prepare for uncertainty.

In the City Section, with two weeks to go, Westchester, Cleveland and Chatsworth appear to be the three favorites in the Open Division, with the other five spots wide open. Big games this coming week have Fairfax playing Palisades and Palisades taking on Westchester. On Feb. 10, Cleveland is playing at Chatsworth. Washington Prep could be a surprise choice if it wins the Coliseum League as expected. The Generals are 11-2 when they have all their players. Here’s the report on where the City Section rests.

For girls, the top four teams in the Southern Section have been clear for months. Ontario Christian, Etiwanda, Sierra Canyon and Mater Dei have separated themselves but there are some developments. Mater Dei has lost one of its top players, Kaeli Wynn, to injury. Sierra Canyon is 22-1 but has yet to play any of the top teams, so there will be lots of intrigue if any team can prevent an Ontario Christian vs. Etiwanda rematch.

In the City Section, Hamilton continues to impress with an 18-2 record and 7-0 mark in the Western League. Birmingham is headed to the West Valley League title and likely No. 2 seed. Hamilton faces Palisades on Feb. 5.

Boys basketball

The big news Thursday was Chatsworth’s Alijah Arenas committing to USC. Here’s the report. He also became the City Section’s all-time leading scorer, according to CalHiSports.com. He has 2,614 points and counting.

The Southern Section will hold championship games Feb. 28 at the Toyota Center in Ontario and at Azusa Pacific and March 1 at the Toyota Center and Edison High.

It was an emotional senior night for Sun Valley Poly guard JD Wyatt and his father-coach, Joe Wyatt. JD ended up scoring 54 points in a win over Verdugo Hills.

Harvard-Westlake blew out Sierra Canyon by showing off more than its usual stars. Here’s a report.

The son/father duo at Crescenta Valley of Vaughn (left) and coach Shawn Zargarian.

(Crescenta Valley)

The father-son duo at Crescenta Valley of coach Shawn Zargarian and Vaughn Zargarian are making the most of their final season together. Here’s a report.

At Intuit Dome, St. John Bosco defeated Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon knocked off Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in the big games. Here’s the report.

Rancho Cucamonga will face Etiwanda on Wednesday to decide the Baseline League title.

Brentwood, led by a freshman and sophomore, won an overtime game over Windward and is in position to win the Gold Coast League title. Here’s the report.

Tounde Yessoufou of Santa Maria St. Joseph has become California’s all-time scoring leader

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Girls basketball

Hamilton High’s Jade Fort, who is averaging
who is averaging 23.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8
assists and 1.8 steals per game, brings the ball up court during a game against Palisades.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Jade Fort of Hamilton is the City Section’s best girls basketball player. Here’s a profile.

Sierra Canyon keeps rolling with a 22-1 record behind junior sensation Jerzy Robinson.

Windward came through with a big Gold Coast League victory over Brentwood. They play again Monday night at Brentwood to decide the league crown.

Etiwanda has won 25 consecutive Baseline League titles.

Ontario Christian sophomore Kaleena Smith.

(Steve Galluzzo / Los Angeles Times)

Ontario Christian is 25-1 with Kaleena Smith averaging 23.8 points.

Jade Fort is averaging 23.9 points for Hamilton, the No. 1 team in the City Section.

Here are the latest Southern Section rankings.

St. John Bosco lawsuit

St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro.

(Craig Weston)

A lawsuit filed by three former employees of St. John Bosco High alleges that highly decorated football coach Jason Negro embezzled money from the Catholic school for years and had assistant coaches pay the tuition for prized players in cash, saying the payments were from “anonymous donors.” Here’s the report.

St. John Bosco responded with a statement backing Negro and targeting the credibility of one of the three plaintiffs. Here’s the report.

Soccer

Birmingham got its revenge against El Camino Real with a 1-0 victory to tie the Royals for first place in the West Valley League. Birmingham lost to El Camino Real 3-0 earlier this season.

Loyola continues to dominate in the Mission League.

South East has been making progress to be a challenger to El Camino Real and Birmingham in the City Section.

Granada Hills girls soccer continues to rely on Ana De Los Santos. Here’s a report.

JSerra remains unbeaten in boys soccer. Here’s a report. Bishop Amat won the Del Rey League after rallying for a 3-2 win over Cathedral.

Baseball/softball

The Mission League held a media day for baseball and softball.

Here’s the report on baseball. Here’s the report on softball.

Notes . . .

Brandon Roher has resigned as football coach at Glendora after seven seasons. . . .

Junior receiver Daniel Odom of St. John Bosco has committed to Oklahoma. . . .

Dan Urbanos has resigned as football coach at La Palma Kennedy. . . .

Chris Chaddick has resigned as football coach at San Gorgonio. . . .

Southern California was well represented among the players selected for the McDonald’s All-American Game in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 1.

Named on the boys team were Alijah Arenas of Chatsworth, Nikolas Khamenia of Harvard-Westlake, Brayden Burries of Eastvale Roosevelt and Tounde Yessoufou of Santa Maria St. Joseph.

Two players from Etiwanda, Grace Knox and Aliyahna Morris, will join Mater Dei’s Addison Deal on the girls team. . . .

Jim Singiser is the new football coach at Arroyo. . . .

The Southern Section has released its girls water polo playoff pairings. Here’s the link.

From the archives: Andy Reid

Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, left, celebrates with head coach Andy Reid after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl 54 game on Feb. 2, 2020.

(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid is a graduate of Marshall High who was inducted into the City Section Hall of Fame in 2021. He graduated from Marshall in 1976.

The Chiefs are set to play the Eagles in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.

Here’s a story from 2018 on Reid’s California roots.

Recommendations

From the Washington Post, a story on the growing pains in high school wrestling for girls.

From ESPN, a story on former Oaks Christian and UCLA softball star Maya Brady joining a professional league.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on a teenage soccer player who’s also an actor.

From Frank Burlison, a look at the final four days of Southern Section basketball.

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