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. 13 (+1)
The Jackrabbits’ blowout win over Clovis didn’t move them up much since the Cougars are an out-of-section team that’s not highly ranked. Currently Poly would be No. 5 in Division 2. A win over No. 9 Serra this week would likely see bigger upward movement for Poly. As an example of how highly-ranked the Trinity League is, Serra is still No. 9 despite losing to O Lu last week, one of two 0-1 teams currently ranked ahead of Poly (Servite is the other).
Millikan: No. 36 (+5)
The Rams’ blowout win moved them up five spots and they’d now be No. 12 in Division 3. Just like Poly, a decisive victory didn’t mean a lot of upward movement because the Rams’ opponent last week (Santa Ana) wasn’t highly ranked (they’re No. 79). This week Millikan plays No. 76 Cathedral.
Jordan: No. 126 (-14)
Here’s where it starts being understandable that coaches pull their hair out regarding the CalPreps rankings. Jordan won 30-22 last week and went down 14 spots. Why? Because Kennedy is ranked No. 240. The Panthers play No. 117 PVP this week and could move up with another win. Currently they’d be No. 6 in Division 8.
St. Anthony: No. 133 (-7)
Jordan moved down 14 spots with a win, St. Anthony only moved down seven spots with a loss–because the Saints played likely City Section champion San Pedro. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the rankings are all about strength of schedule, almost more than wins/losses sometimes. St. Anthony would be No. 13 in Division 8.
Compton: No. 145 (+1)
Compton would be No. 9 in Division 9
Lakewood: No. 177 (-17)
Lakewood would be No. 9 in Division 11
Wilson: No. 249 (-1)
The Bruins would be in Division 14
Cabrillo: No. 321 (+10)
The Jaguars would be in Division 14
