Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. 2026 has arrived, which means league play starts getting serious in high school basketball with a number of huge games scheduled for Friday night.
The matchups
Christian Collins is all smiles after leading St. John Bosco to its own tournament championship.
(Nick Koza)
The Trinity League starts this week, and no game is bigger than Santa Margarita (19-2) hosting St. John Bosco (11-4) on Friday night in a game matching the preseason league title favorites.
Santa Margarita has been doing what everyone expected — taking advantage of its experience with four returning starters. The Eagles already own two wins over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, a Mission League power. St. John Bosco has relied on Christian Collins but suffered defeats to some very good teams in recent weeks.
The Mission League begins with a key Friday matchup of defending champion Harvard-Westlake (17-2) playing at Crespi (13-5). Both schools need a win to challenge league favorite Sierra Canyon, which plays host to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. Former Sierra Canyon women’s star JuJu Watkins will have her jersey retired at halftime.
In the Gold Coast League, Brentwood (18-1) is playing at Crossroads on Friday in the first meeting since Shalen Sheppard transferred from Brentwood to Crossroads.
In the Marmonte League, unbeaten Thousand Oaks (16-0) plays host to Oaks Christian (15-3) on Friday.
In the Del Rey League, St. Bernard is playing at St. Anthony in an early league match that could establish a league favorite.
In the Gateway League, the top two teams face off on Friday, with La Mirada hosting Mayfair. In the Baseline League, 17-1 Etiwanda plays host to 15-4 Damien on Thursday in a matchup of the league’s top two teams. On Tuesday in the Sunset League, the two favorites, Los Alamitos and Corona del Mar, meet at Los Alamitos.
Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.
City Section
Tajh Ariza (right) and Malachi Harris of Westchester celebrate after winning the City Section Open Division title last season. Westchester is 2-8 this season.
(Nick Koza)
City Section basketball is in a precarious place. The talent level has diminished. The history of great teams and great players is in decline.
Here’s a look at the troubles facing the City Section and what can be done to change the trend.
Girls basketball
Etiwanda coach Stan Delus.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Ontario Christian (18-0) and Etiwanda (13-2) continue their march to the Southern Southern Open Division playoffs. Sierra Canyon (13-1) is right behind.
Mater Dei (12-4) is still adjusting to season-ending injury to Kaeli Wynn, but received a 28-point performance from Harmony Golightly in a win over Nevada Democracy Prep.
Sage Hill, with a new coach, is 14-4. Kamdyn Klamberg had a 31-point performance last week.
Villa Park is 15-3. Olivia Sturdivant and Lauren Wolfe are both averaging 13 points a game. JSerra is 14-2 and ranked No. 2 in the first Southern Section power rankings. JSerra faces Corona Centennial in a big nonleague game Monday.
In the City Section, Westchester, King/Drew, Birmingham and Granada Hills are emerging as the top teams. Junior Savannah Myles has been leading Westchester, which is 13-0 overall and 3-0 in the Western League.
Transfer tracker
Quarterback Jaden Jefferson of Cathedral is leaving for Corona Centennial.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
It’s time. The high school football transfer tracker for 2026 is up and running. Here’s the link.
The big transfers confirmed last week were Cathedral quarterback Jaden Jefferson and Cathedral receiver Quentin Hale announcing they would be transferring to Corona Centennial.
January is a big month for football transfers because it’s the start of the spring semester. As usual, quarterbacks are leading the way in switching schools.
Looking ahead to 2026
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s JJ Harel is ready for a big 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Predictions for 2026 include lots of unique NIL deals, some baseball standouts and football stars. Here’s my crystal ball forecast.
Soccer
Anderson Carranza has 10 goals for Cleveland’s soccer team.
(Cleveland HS)
City Section boys soccer gets serious this week with the start of West Valley League play. El Camino Real, the defending champion, faces tough games against Cleveland on Wednesday and Birmingham on Friday. Here’s a report.
Rivals Mira Costa (6-2-1) and Palos Verdes (13-2) face off Tuesday at Mira Costa. Mira Costa won the Nike SoCal Holiday Classic last week in Oceanside. Former Palisades player Noah Szeder had two goals in the championship game.
In girls soccer, Santa Margarita has won its first 10 games, including a 3-0 win over Bishop Amat on Saturday. The Eagles have recorded six shutouts and given up just two goals.
Mater Dei is 9-1-3 but suffered its first defeat Saturday, losing to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 1-0.
Harvard-Westlake is 5-1-3 with its only loss to Mater Dei.
Notes . . .
Lance Mitchell is the new football coach at St. Francis. He was head coach at Muir. . . .
Johnathan Coutee is the new football coach at Murrieta Mesa. . . .
Nick Torres, 32, a Lakewood High graduate, was named 2025 MVP of the Mexican League in baseball and signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. . . .
Former Long Beach Poly football coach Justin Utupo said he has won an appeal and will be able to coach again in the district in three years. Previously he was banned lifetime. . . .
Westlake football coach Rick Clausen, who took over an 0-10 team and led them to a 10-1 record, has been selected the Rams’ Don Shula award coach of the year. Also honored was Mike Moon of Oxnard Pacifica. . . .
In a big girls water polo match, Mater Dei suffered its first defeat when defending Southern Section champion Oaks Christian beat the Monarchs 11-7. The Santa Barbara tournament is this weekend.
From the archives: Amon-Ra St. Brown
Amon-Ra St. Brown during his Mater Dei days in 2015.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
After 17 NFL games this season, former Mater Dei and USC receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions ranks among the top receivers. He finished with 106 receptions for 1,262 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Remember he’s one of three football-playing brothers and is multilingual being fluent in German.
Here’s a look at two St. Brown brothers from their Mater Dei days in 2015.
Here’s a story from 2016 giving a sneak peek at what Amon-Ra might be capable of.
Recommendations
From the Daily Pilot, a story on Bailey Turner of Huntington Beach becoming a world junior champion in surfing.
From NBCPalmSprings, a story on the death of a teenager golfer who fought to the end dealing with cancer.
From MaxPreps, a story on the 100 most influential people in the history of high school football.
Tweets you might have missed
Until next time….
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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