I think they did an outstanding job with the brackets this season. The new placement system needed some ironing out, but it seems like things have improved since last year.
The 2-5 Divisions having 32 teams and no byes is a vast improvement. The league AQ’s were much more meaningful, and the at-large applications were really just that. There’s some teams who stacked patsies on their non-league schedules, split with the bottom of their league, and they’re not in despite the .500 record or better. That’s an improvement; no need for a 7th division. There’s some great matchups across the first rounds of every division. Not always going to be the best water polo, but some exciting games that, hopefully, get a few more kids interested in playing.
I like this year’s line-ups as well. The only thing that can be said from a contrarian standpoint is that there are only 152 teams total in the playoffs (OD-D5). This is the lowest number since 2015, when 139 teams participated. This year’s total is 9 teams less than in 2024, when there were 161 teams. This may be the steepest one-year drop in participants ever. It exceeds the 2018 and 2013 playoffs, when the total was reduced by 7 teams compared to the previous year. Perhaps they could expand Open Division to 12 teams or Division 1 to 24 teams next year, and that would bring the total back close to the 160 mark. The more the merrier, I say!
I think it’s just right. We were getting into “everyone gets a trophy” territory, or rather, we were WELL into that. If they include more teams in the future, I would hope it’s because more schools are fielding teams.
Also, get rid of “Open”. That’s so annoying. There’s easily 24 teams that can be considered top tier, so maybe call it 1-A and 1-AA.
Congratulations to Norte Vista of Riverside, an entrant in Division 5. The school was founded in 1961. It is their first appearance in the playoffs on any level – the only “all new” school in this year’s playoffs.
Wow…Upland HS was #2 seed in D3 but is now out due to a data entry/verification error somewhere…
Pretty much all the matchups reconfigured 1 day before games…some teams that had a 20 min drive now going hours away…some thought they were traveling, now have a home game…
Looks like it was a league reporting error, and not the fault of CIF. That’s an Athletic Director not doing their job, and possibly a coach or two not doing what they’re supposed to be doing. CIF has made this system so simple, and it was obvious throughout the season that some people just can’t be bothered.
Here are my predictions for this year’s CIF Southern Section Division 1 Tournament. The schools that finish first and second will be invited to participate in the Southern California Regional Tournament.
(1.) Loyola. Buena or Dos Pueblos will give Loyola a good game in the semifinals. If Loyola and Harvard-Westlake meet in the finals, I give a very slight edge to Loyola.
(2.) Harvard-Westlake. The possible semifinal game between HW and Mater Dei will be close.
(3.) Buena. The possible quarterfinal game between Buena and Dos Pueblos will be close. It won’t surprise me if Dos Pueblos wins.
(3) Mater Dei. Mater Dei plays Downey in the first round. Downey should be seeded higher than No. 14.
(5.) Dos Pueblos. Dos Pueblos could be really good next year.
(5.} Westlake. Westlake plays Beckman at Beckman in the first round. I would have seeded Westlake ahead of Beckman. Beckman has a strong freshman class. If they play together for the next three years, Beckman could be really good in 2027 and 2028.
(5.) San Marcos
(5.) Sage Hill. The first-round game between Sage Hill and Yucaipa could go either way,
In the Division 1 quarter-finals today, Mater Dei defeated Sage Hill, 11-8. Even with the loss, this is Sage Hill’s best finish ever. They have never played in the Open (premier) Division, and they had lost three times previously in the second-level Division 1 “Sweet 16” round. It would seem this is a program to keep an eye on.
Here’s some fun facts going into the two Division 1 semi-final matches on Wednesday at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine:
Harvard-Westlake vs. Mater Dei at 3 p.m.
The only meeting this year between the two schools occurred in a non-league match at Mater Dei on Sat., Oct. 11, Mater Dei winning, 11-9.
This game marks a revival of the two schools’ epic rivalry of 2013 to 2015, when they faced each other in the premier division playoff final three years in arow. Like the upcoming game, those three championship battles were played in the Woollett pool. Their last playoff meeting was in the 2019 premier division quarter-final, Harvard winning, 11-3.
Loyola vs. Dos Pueblos at 6 p.m.
Loyola and Dos Pueblos have not played each other this year.
They have only one prior playoff meeting: 1984, 3A (now D1), first round, Loyola 13, Dos Pueblos 11. So, this is their first playoff meeting in 41 seasons!
The semi-finals for Divisions 2 through 5 were played on Tuesday. As a result, final matches on Saturday will be: Division 2: Capistrano Valley vs. Damien; Division 3: Bonita vs. Temecula Valley; Division 4: Charter Oak vs. Liberty; Division 5: Fontana vs. Baldwin Park.
NOTE: Six of the eight teams have never won a CIF title on any level. They are: Fontana (first entered playoffs in 1962), Charter Oak (1971), Capistrano Valley (1980), Baldwin Park (1991), Temecula Valley (2017) and Liberty (2022). (Bonita and Damien have previously won titles.)
Here’s the schedule for the CIF-SS division finals at Mt. SAC tomorrow:
11 a.m.
D4: Liberty vs. Charter Oak
12:30 p.m.
D1: Mater Dei vs. Loyola
2 p.m.
D2: Capistrano Valley vs. Damien
3:30 p.m.
D5: Fontana vs. Baldwin Park
5 p.m.
Open Division: Newport Harbor vs. Corona del Mar
6:30 p.m.
D3: Bonita vs. Temecula Valley
I maintain careful records of the CIF-SS playoffs in all divisions. I also keep track of results in the SoCal Regional, CIF-SDS and CIF-LACS. I have finished updating the records with 2025 results. You can find a total of 10 documents – including a PDF of my book on the history of CIF-SS Boys Water Polo, going back to 1912 – on my website here: https://waterpolohistory.com/. If you pay it a visit, be sure to look on the last few pages of each document, which includes a statistical analysis of all-time team won-loss records in the respective divisions.
One last historical tidbit – in one of the flurry of posts during this year’s playoffs, I stated that Norte Vista was the only “all new” program in this year’s tournaments. It turns out there were a total of three:
Aquinas of San Bernardino, est. 1955. They finished in the first round of Division 4.
Artesia of Lakewood, est. 1954. They finished in the first round of Division 5 (losing to Norte Vista).
Norte Vista of Riverside, est. 1961. They finished in the quarter-finals of Division 5.
Congratulations to these programs. It was a long time in the making for their first appearances. Good luck to them for a return entry in the near future!
It was a delight to follow the playoffs with you all in 2025. Talk to you next August!