Newport played Huntington Beach in 2021
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Best team to not win CIF has to be JSerra 2022 who lost to Newport in the finals of CIF-SS. Ryder Dodd, Will Schneider, Bode Brinkema, Maddox Arrlett all Juniors that year. They beat every team not named Newport and had just won the North South challenge but Pete Castillo and Ben Liechty led Newport to the most important tourney win of the season.
Although JSerra did win the CIF Regional 11-8 over Newport, no one considers that a win unless you also carry the SS title with you.
There’s been a lot of good talk here, but no one has mentioned 2013 Mater Dei, which surprises me. I remember when I heard that Harvard Westlake won thinking about what a big upset that was. I’m pretty sure Mater Dei had only lost to Cathedral that year and ended the season 29-2.
Those Mater Dei-HW mid 2010s rivalry years were great.
I believe Brunswick actually beat Jserra that year in a showcase game before the Santa Barbara invitational
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The 2022 J Serra team was certainly great, but I’m not sure a team that went on to have an undefeated season and win CIF the following year with almost the exact same roster should be considered “the best team to never win CIF”. I guess it is a question of how you define your terms, but to me “best to never win” means a group who was extremely talented, but never managed to break through and get a ring.
I also wouldn’t put the 2013 Mater Dei team that lost to Harvard Westlake in the “best to never win” category, as that Mater Dei team (featuring many guys who had been starting, or seeing significant playing time, since their freshman year, including Olympian McQuin Baron) had just won three straight previous CIF titles, including a very long unbeaten streak. Pretty sure almost every player on that Mater Dei team already had at least one CIF ring (and most had more than that).
Similarly, I wouldn’t put the 2017 Orange Lutheran team featuring seniors Hannes Daube and Ash Molthen in a “best team to never win” category, despite their shocking early exit in the CIF playoffs that year – because they’d won CIF the year before and they already had rings.
The 1998 Foothill team that lost the CIF finals in OT to Tony Azevedo’s LB Wilson team is a great example of a true “best team to never win”, as that super talented group was never able to break through and get a ring (they also lost to LB Wilson in the 1997 finals). Other contributors to this board probably have better insight, but that incredible LB Wilson run from the late 90’s – early 2000’s is probably littered with super talented runner-up teams who just couldn’t get past the Wilson juggernaut.
I’m sure the Segesman-era at Mater Dei also had a lot of really talented teams finishing as runner-up to the Monarchs during their run of championships. The LB Wilson team, featuring Max Irving/Jackson Kimball, who lost to Mater Dei in the 2012 finals is one that comes to mind (although they did win the Div. 2 title the previous season).
And this is going pretty far back, and Waterpolohistory can probably provide more insight, but in 1978, 1979, and 1980, Newport Harbor (featuring players like James Bergeson and Mike Grier), beat Sunny Hills (featuring Mike Spicer, member of the all-time Orange County water polo team) in three consecutive finals. A different era to be sure, but I’m sure there are many who would say those Sunny Hills teams deserve to be in any conversation when talking about the best team to truly have never won a ring.
Finally, I know this post is pretty Southern Section focused – I’ll leave the Northern California analysis to Jeff and others – but I would also point out that any discussion about “best teams to never win CIF” would have to include at least a mention of the 2020 COVID year, when no CIF Championship was held. In the Southern Section that year, there were four very talented teams (Huntington Beach, Santa Margarita, Mater Dei, and Newport Harbor) loaded with future college players who never got the chance to decide things in the pool. Years from now, old men will be sitting on bar stools somewhere arguing about what might have been if those teams could have had a real season.
Anyway, regardless of how you define “best team to never win”, it’s a fun exercise to remember these past teams, outstanding athletes, and bygone eras.
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Regarding the great Sunny Hills teams of the 1970s that were runner-ups to Newport Harbor, the 1975 team was very, very good. In fact, in advance of the 1975 final match, Coach Sprague was quoted in the Daily Pilot as saying his team was the best Sunny Hills team ever – but that Newport Harbor was the best prep team ever.
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