Here is a link to the Google document for this weekend’s Granite Bay Tournament:
2026 Grizzly Classic VB Schedule - Sep 18-19 - Google Sheets
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This season is quite unique in the fact that there is so much parity. Cathedral Catholic is arguably the best team, but there are about 8 other teams, IMO, that can beat anybody on any given day. Thus, it made the seeding difficult.
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agree it is wide open (except for CC). Will be interesting to see everyone at full strength as i understand sit out period ends today. can anyone confirm that is correct?
The sit-out period ending dates vary by CIF Section. The period ends today in the Southern Section. It doesn’t end until September 28 in the Central Coast Section. I don’t know the dates in the other Sections.
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Here is a link to the Google document for this weekend’s Saint Francis Invitational:
SDS sit-out period ends 9/19 for water polo.
The 2026 "America’s Finest City "Invitational:
Anyone have south coast predictions for this weekend ?
Another school dropped out of the South Coast Tournament at the last minute, so the tournament organizers have reduced the field to 28 schools and adjusted the schedule accordingly.
Never one to pass up an opportunity to be dead wrong in public, here are my predictions for this year’s South Coast Tournament. Three schools withdrew from the Tournament on late notice, so the tournament organizers have reduced the field from 32 to 28 schools. Therefore, the top four seeds (Cathedral Catholic, JSerra, Harvard-Westlake, and Newport Harbor) have first-round byes.
As Joel and others have noted, there should be a lot of parity during the 2026 high school season. I don’t expect any school to go undefeated and I won’t be surprised if there are several “upsets” this weekend.
I think four schools have a realistic chance to win the Tournament: Cathedral Catholic, JSerra, Harvard-Westlake, and Miramonte. However, Miramonte is seeded 7th and will face JSerra in the quarterfinals if both schools make it that far. This means that one of these schools can’t finish higher than 5th.
Top 17
1. Cathedral Catholic. On paper, Cathedral probably has the most talented team. However, Jett Taylor isn’t playing for Cathedral this year and I think they can be beaten by a well-coached team with strong center play and good perimeter players.
2. Harvard-Westlake. A very well-coached team with an elite center/center defender (Harry Siafaris, USC), solid goaltending, and several very good attackers. The potential semifinal game between Harvard-Westlake and JSerra or Miramonte could go either way. Harvard-Westlake will also have to play well to beat Oaks Christian or Campolindo in the quarterfinals.
3. Miramonte. This could be Miramonte’s best team since 2008 but I don’t see them going 6-0 against JSerra and Harvard-Westlake as they did last year. To make it to the semifinals, Miramonte will have to beat a good Long Beach Wilson team in the second round and JSerra in the quarterfinals. That’s a tough task. If Miramonte and JSerra meet in the quarterfinals, the game could go either way. I’m picking Miramonte because I think they have slightly better depth.
4. Santa Margarita. I predict Santa Margarita will beat Newport Harbor in the quarterfinals if center/center defender Logan McGann (USC) plays for Santa Margarita. If McGann doesn’t play or isn’t close to 100 percent, I think Newport will beat Santa Margarita.
5. JSerra. JSerra has an easier patch to the quarterfinals than Miramonte and the talent to win the Tournament. A key to JSerra’s success in this Tournament and throughout the season will be their center play.
6. Newport Harbor. Newport has a young team and I don’t see them winning the South Coast Tournament, Elite 8 Tournament, or North vs. South Challenge this year. However, they will be very difficult to beat in 2027 and 2028.
7. Oaks Christian. Oaks Christian will have to play well to beat Campolindo in the quarterfinals.
8. Bishop’s. Goalie Alistair Sterrett, a transfer from Mercer Island, isn’t playing for Bishop’s this year.
9. Campolindo. Campolindo has three “Big 4” Class-of-2027 recruits. They could “upset” Oaks Christian in the quarterfinals. Otherwise, they could finish anywhere from 9th to 12th.
10. Dos Pueblos. Dos Pueblos won last weekend’s Santa Barbara Invitational and could beat Santa Margarita in the 2nd round if Logan McGann doesn’t play.
11. Long Beach Wilson. The seeding didn’t do Long Beach Wilson any favors. Assuming both schools win their first games, Long Beach Wilson will face Miramonte in the second round. Wilson has several very good field players and a goalie with a high ceiling. Miramonte will have to play well to beat Wilson.
12. Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart doesn’t have much depth this year and will be missing a transfer student from Woodside High School, who has to sit out until September 28. However, their top three players are very good. I think playing six games in four days will catch up to Sacred Heart. They will be much stronger in the post-season tournaments when schools don’t have to play more than one game per day.
13. Corona del Mar. Corona del Mar has the talent to finish in the top 12.
14. Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach has started the season strongly, finishing 2nd in the Santa Barbara Invitational.
15. Beckman. The first-round game between Beckman and Loyola could go either way.
16. Mira Costa. Mira Costa has the talent to finish in the top 12.
17. Loyola. Loyola will try to bounce back from a disappointing 9th place finish in the Santa Barbara Invitational.
why may Santa Margarita center not be playing? coming back from injury or just taking the weekend off? why is goalie for bishops not playing this year?
Interesting that the tournament organizers didn’t use Jeff and Joel’s seeding??
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The goalie from Mercer Island has to sit out this season because of the CIF transfer rules. He should play for Bishop’s next year. As I understand it, Santa Margarita’s excellent center/center defender missed last weekend’s Villa Park Classic for precautionary reasons. I believe he’s expected to play in the South Coast Tournament.
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It’s not easy to seed a 32-school tournament (now 28), particularly this early in the season. I wouldn’t have seeded Miramonte any lower than No. 5. Otherwise, I think the tournament organizers did a good job with the seeding.
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South Coast Tournament
Friday’s quarterfinals:
Cathedral Catholic vs. Bishop’s
Newport Harbor vs. Santa Margarita
JSerra vs. Miramonte
Harvard-Westlake vs. Oaks Christian
Friday’s 9-16 games:
SHP vs. Mira Costa
Laguna Beach vs. Dos Pueblos
Loyola vs. Wilson
CdM vs. Campolindo
BIg win for MIramonte over JSERRA
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I can’t remember a better No. 7 seed.
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Score not posted yet but Cathedral was up 5-2 after 1st quarter and I can’t imagine any adjustments Bishops could make to turn that game around. Cathedral’s center is a beast
Newport 15, Santa Margarita 8
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