With the new playoff format last year, the number question we got at every practice we went to was about playoff divisions. With that in mind we’re going to track where teams stand each week in the CalPreps rankings, which are used to determine the CIF Southern Section’s playoff divisions at the end of the year.
No team will know what playoff division they’re going to be in until that last day of the year–but following the rankings gives a good ballpark. This is not an exact science since not every team in the rankings makes the playoffs, and there’s no set number of teams in Division 1–if it’s a four team bracket versus an eight team bracket (which it was in 2021) that will change how many teams are taken off the top before the 16-team brackets Division 2-14 are assembled.
We are doing these projections based on an eight-team Division 1–remember the top three Moore League teams qualify for the playoffs, while anyone else has to apply for an at-large. St. Anthony is in the Del Rey League, where they’d need to finish in the top two to get an automatic qualifier for the playoffs.
A final reminder that these are not our rankings but the rankings taken from CalPreps.com’s power rankings–these are the numbers used to assemble CIF-SS playoff Divisions at the end of the year. You can see the whole list here.
Remember, these numbers will go up and down a lot this year–wins will move them up, losses will move them down. We’ll keep you updated and break down what the weekly changes mean.
Long Beach Poly: No. 4 (+5)
The Jackrabbits are No. 4 in the State and in the Southern Section after their big road win over Mission Viejo. Poly is currently No. 4 in Division 1 whether it’s a four or eight team bracket–if a four team bracket they’d travel to St. John Bosco, if an eight team bracket they’d host Mission Viejo in a rematch of last week’s thriller. This is Poly’s highest ranking in the state in more than a decade. The three teams ahead of them are Bosco, Mater Dei, and Corona Centennial.
Millikan: No. 47 (+7)
The Rams’ big win over St. Francis has them climbing the rankings, and they’re now at 47, which would be No. 7 in Division 4. That’s a big jump from where the Rams were last year, and represents much bigger respect for Millikan from the CalPreps system. We’ll see what an out of state game in Arizona does for their ranking next week.
Jordan: No. 104 (+12)
The Panthers moved up another 12 spots, making it 22 spots up over the last two weeks as they’ve started 3-0. The Panthers are the clear-cut third-ranked team in the Moore League and will host No. 128 Irvine this Thursday in a matchup that will see them up move up even higher with a win. Currently they’d be No. 16 in Division 7.
Lakewood: No. 154 (-7)
The Lancers dropped seven spots but did leapfrog Compton into the No. 4 ranking in the Moore League. They’d be No. 2 in Division 11 if the playoffs started today.
Compton: No. 170 (-33)
Compton took a big tumble of two full divisions with their loss to Paramount, and would now be No. 2 in Division 12 if the playoffs started today.
St. Anthony: No. 195 (-32)
The Saints dropped another two full divisions after their loss against Dominguez last week–they’ll play their first game where they’re favored in the rankings this week when they take on Wilson. Currently the Saints would be No. 12 in Division 13.
Wilson: No. 261 (-2)
The Bruins would be in Division 14
Cabrillo: No. 272 (+8)
The Jaguars would be in Division 14
