Five of the six CCS Championships are going to be 1 vs. 2, and the other is 1 vs. 3, which indicates the seeding committee did a good job.
The matchups:
Open: (2) St. Ignatius (20-7) vs. (1) Riordan (26-1), 8 p.m. Friday @ Leavey Center: It'll be the first all-SF Open final since the tournament began in 2013. Riordan is gunning for its third title in four years, while this will be SI's first appearance in the championship game. Riordan is obviously the heavy favorite, having beaten the Wildcats by 43 and 28 in the regular season. Only one of the first 12 Open championship games was decided by double digits, Riordan's win over Mitty in 2022. Can the Wildcats keep it close? They didn't have top defender Vince Crisp for that Feb. 18 meeting.
Division I: (3) Carlmont (16-10) vs. (1) Palo Alto (22-4), 7 p.m. Saturday @ Mission College: You've got the Vikings, who have been to eight section title games and won them all, against the Scots, who have only appeared in one section championship game, getting walloped by Bellarmine in 2009. Palo Alto is led by superstar Jorell Clark, while Carlmont has a first-year head coach in John Schrup and a balanced attack with Franklin Kuo, Camden Ngo and Jeremiah Phillips. Don't be fooled by Carlmont's record; they probably played the best nonleague schedule of anyone in the section outside of the WCAL.
Division II: (2) Westmont (19-7) vs. (1) Christopher (24-2), 7 p.m. Saturday @ Santa Clara HS: The BVAL's top two teams meet in Division II. Christopher has lost the championship game in four of the last five seasons, including each of the last three. Westmont is 2-1 in championship games, but hasn't won one since 1989 and hasn't appeared in one since 1996. The Cougars won both regular season meetings and a December meeting in the championship of Westmont's Gary Brinck Invitational. Expect good post play from Christopher's Jaxen Robinson, a Northern Arizona football commit, and Westmont's Gabe Mathiesen.
Division III: (2) Santa Cruz (17-11) vs. (1) Aptos (24-4), 1 p.m. Saturday @ Mission College: Aptos won both regular season meetings and the league tournament championship, but they were decided by a combined 10 points, including one in OT. Isaiah Ackerman scored 29 with nine rebounds in the Mariners' semifinal win over Sacred Heart Cathedral, while Santa Cruz's DeMarco Hunter had 27 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks in the Cardinals' win over Burlingame. Aptos hasn't won a section title since 1986 and last reached a championship game in 2022. Santa Cruz last won one in 2015, losing championship games in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024, though last year's team did go on to win the NorCal Division III title.
Division IV: (2) Carmel (19-6) vs. (1) King's Academy (22-4), 3 p.m. Saturday @ Santa Clara HS: The last two Division IV champs will square off. King's Academy won it in 2023, and Carmel won it last year. The Knights have a freshman sensation in Boss Mhoon, who already holds a UCSD offer, plus sharpshooters in Caedmon Dickson and Claxton Ladine. Carmel is almost entirely comprised of multi-sport athletes who already won a state football title this year, including Simeon Brown.
Division V: (2) Palma (20-6) vs. (1) Priory (20-6), 11 a.m. Saturday @ Santa Clara HS: Palma dropped to Division V this year after going co-ed, and immediately has a shot to win the title. Soren Roberts leads first-year head coach Brian Driscoll's roster. Priory bounced back this year to finish third in the WBAL and has a pair of Hungarian talents in senior guard Balazs Nyikos and junior forward Mate Paloai.
The two sites hosting games Saturday are less than 15 minutes apart, so you can bounce back and forth if you so choose. Mission College is also hosting D-V girls at 11 a.m., D-I girls at 3 p.m. and D-IV girls at 5, while Santa Clara HS has D-III girls at 1 p.m. and D-II girls at 5.
The matchups:
Open: (2) St. Ignatius (20-7) vs. (1) Riordan (26-1), 8 p.m. Friday @ Leavey Center: It'll be the first all-SF Open final since the tournament began in 2013. Riordan is gunning for its third title in four years, while this will be SI's first appearance in the championship game. Riordan is obviously the heavy favorite, having beaten the Wildcats by 43 and 28 in the regular season. Only one of the first 12 Open championship games was decided by double digits, Riordan's win over Mitty in 2022. Can the Wildcats keep it close? They didn't have top defender Vince Crisp for that Feb. 18 meeting.
Division I: (3) Carlmont (16-10) vs. (1) Palo Alto (22-4), 7 p.m. Saturday @ Mission College: You've got the Vikings, who have been to eight section title games and won them all, against the Scots, who have only appeared in one section championship game, getting walloped by Bellarmine in 2009. Palo Alto is led by superstar Jorell Clark, while Carlmont has a first-year head coach in John Schrup and a balanced attack with Franklin Kuo, Camden Ngo and Jeremiah Phillips. Don't be fooled by Carlmont's record; they probably played the best nonleague schedule of anyone in the section outside of the WCAL.
Division II: (2) Westmont (19-7) vs. (1) Christopher (24-2), 7 p.m. Saturday @ Santa Clara HS: The BVAL's top two teams meet in Division II. Christopher has lost the championship game in four of the last five seasons, including each of the last three. Westmont is 2-1 in championship games, but hasn't won one since 1989 and hasn't appeared in one since 1996. The Cougars won both regular season meetings and a December meeting in the championship of Westmont's Gary Brinck Invitational. Expect good post play from Christopher's Jaxen Robinson, a Northern Arizona football commit, and Westmont's Gabe Mathiesen.
Division III: (2) Santa Cruz (17-11) vs. (1) Aptos (24-4), 1 p.m. Saturday @ Mission College: Aptos won both regular season meetings and the league tournament championship, but they were decided by a combined 10 points, including one in OT. Isaiah Ackerman scored 29 with nine rebounds in the Mariners' semifinal win over Sacred Heart Cathedral, while Santa Cruz's DeMarco Hunter had 27 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks in the Cardinals' win over Burlingame. Aptos hasn't won a section title since 1986 and last reached a championship game in 2022. Santa Cruz last won one in 2015, losing championship games in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024, though last year's team did go on to win the NorCal Division III title.
Division IV: (2) Carmel (19-6) vs. (1) King's Academy (22-4), 3 p.m. Saturday @ Santa Clara HS: The last two Division IV champs will square off. King's Academy won it in 2023, and Carmel won it last year. The Knights have a freshman sensation in Boss Mhoon, who already holds a UCSD offer, plus sharpshooters in Caedmon Dickson and Claxton Ladine. Carmel is almost entirely comprised of multi-sport athletes who already won a state football title this year, including Simeon Brown.
Division V: (2) Palma (20-6) vs. (1) Priory (20-6), 11 a.m. Saturday @ Santa Clara HS: Palma dropped to Division V this year after going co-ed, and immediately has a shot to win the title. Soren Roberts leads first-year head coach Brian Driscoll's roster. Priory bounced back this year to finish third in the WBAL and has a pair of Hungarian talents in senior guard Balazs Nyikos and junior forward Mate Paloai.
The two sites hosting games Saturday are less than 15 minutes apart, so you can bounce back and forth if you so choose. Mission College is also hosting D-V girls at 11 a.m., D-I girls at 3 p.m. and D-IV girls at 5, while Santa Clara HS has D-III girls at 1 p.m. and D-II girls at 5.
