Bay Area News Group season-ending Top 20
(Mercury News & East Bay Times))
No. 1 SALESIAN (31-2)
Previous ranking: 1
How it finished: Beat Archbishop Riordan 49-44 in CIF NorCal Open title game, lost to Harvard-Westlake 50-45 in Open state final.
No. 2 ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN (25-5)
Previous ranking: 2
How it finished: Beat Clovis North 69-57 in NorCal Open semifinal, lost to Salesian 49-44 in regional final.
No. 3 SAN RAMON VALLEY (29-8)
Previous ranking: 4
How it finished: Beat Granada 58-55 in NorCal Division I final, lost to St. John Bosco 78-62 in D-I state final.
No. 4 DE LA SALLE (25-6)
Previous ranking: 3
How it finished: Lost to Modesto Christian 51-40 in NorCal Open Division quarterfinal
No. 5 GRANADA (26-5)
Previous ranking: 6
How it finished: Beat Clovis West 70-53 in NorCal Division I semifinals, lost to San Ramon Valley 58-55 in title game.
No. 6 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (23-8)
Previous ranking: 5
How it finished: Lost to San Ramon Valley 52-49 in NorCal Division I semifinals.
No. 7 OAKLAND TECH (30-5)
Previous ranking: 14
How it finished: Beat Centennial-Bakersfield 79-55 in Division II state title game.
No. 8 ST. IGNATIUS (21-8)
Previous ranking: 7
How it finished: Lost to Granada 68-66 in NorCal Division I quarterfinal.
No. 9 SERRA (20-9)
Previous ranking: 8
How it finished: Lost to Clovis West 68-64 in NorCal Division I quarterfinal.
No. 10 CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER (23-10)
Previous ranking: 9
How it finished: Lost to Archbishop Mitty 48-37 in NorCal Division I quarterfinal.
No. 11 OAKLAND (25-9)
Previous ranking: 18
How it finished: Lost to Oakland Tech 73-66 in NorCal Division II final.
No. 12 SACRED HEART PREP (21-7)
Previous ranking: 10
How it finished: Lost to Clayton Valley Charter 63-50 in NorCal Division I first-round game.
No. 13 DOUGHERTY VALLEY (21-11)
Previous ranking: 11
How it finished: Lost to Archbishop Mitty 75-54 in NorCal Division I first-round game.
No. 14 DUBLIN (24-10)
Previous ranking: 12
How it finished: Lost to Clovis West 79-57 in NorCal Division I first-round game.
No. 15 LIBERTY (25-4)
Previous ranking: 16
How it finished: Lost to Dublin 58-55 in NCS Division I semifinal
No. 16 MONTE VISTA (22-8)
Previous ranking: 17
How it finished: Lost to Dougherty Valley 50-49 in NCS Division I quarterfinal.
No. 17 BRANHAM (23-5)
Previous ranking: 13
How it finished: Lost to Clovis East 78-69 in NorCal Division II first-round game.
No. 18 BISHOP O’DOWD (20-10)
Previous ranking: 15
How it finished: Lost to Bellarmine 62-60 in NorCal Division II quarterfinals.
No. 19 YGNACIO VALLEY (26-9)
Previous ranking: 20
How it finished: Lost to Santa Cruz 57-40 in NorCal Division III semifinals.
No. 20 BENICIA (22-11)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
How it finished: Lost to Jesuit 54-53 in NorCal Division II first-round game.
WAY-TOO-EARLY TOP FIVE FOR 2024-25
No. 1 ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN
Early word: With first-team all-WCAL selections Andrew Hilman and Jasir Rencher among a returning group that also includes Nes Emeneke, the San Francisco school will be in the hunt again for league, section, regional and possibly state titles.
No. 2 SALESIAN
Early word: Salesian is no doubt losing key pieces from this season’s NorCal Open champs. But the Pride will have a strong base back as rotation players Alvin Loving, Elias Obenyah, Isaiah Davis and Carlton Perrilliat are among the returners.
No. 3 DE LA SALLE
Early word: De La Salle has been knocking on the door of capturing the North Coast Section Open Division title, losing in the final each of the past three seasons. With star Alec Blair back for one more season, the Spartans figure to be in contention again.
No. 4 SAN RAMON VALLEY
Early word: With Luke Isaak, Mason Thomas and Elliot Conley back in 2024-25, San Ramon Valley clearly won’t need a complete rebuild after winning its league tournament and the NorCal Division I championship this season.
No. 5 OAKLAND TECH
Early word: ArDarius Grayson received MVP honors in the Oakland Athletic League and led his team to the Division II state championship this winter, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds in the final. He will be back next season.
Editor’s note: Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The rankings were compiled by BANG’s Darren Sabedra and Joseph Dycus.