CIF Southern Section High School Baseball Playoff Brackets, Divisions 1-9

Happy Mother's Day?

The CIF Southern Section released it's baseball playoff pairings on Friday afternoon instead of Saturday afternoon, which frees up the weekend to celebrate mothers national wide. But it also gives teams an extra day to prepare, especially the Division 1 teams which will start playing earlier than all the other divisions (2-9).

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Division 1 will start pool play on Tuesday, May 12.

The extra day is huge for the Division 1 teams. It’s one thing to practice, it’s another to practice knowing who your opponent is.

“The extra day to prepare is huge, no doubt,” Harvard-Westlake coach Jared Halpert said.

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If the pairings were to be released Saturday afternoon, it would leave most teams with one practice on Monday to prepare because it’s against CIF rules to do any team activities on a Sunday.

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Halpert feels like first-year CIF assistant commissioner in charge of baseball, Joe Hoggatt, had a lot to do with the early release.

“The feel Joe has for the baseball community and what the coaches want is amazing. I think this early release has something to do with Joe. This extra time is valuable, he knows that. This is the best baseball in America. Credit to Joe,” Halpert said.

NEW D1 POOL PLAY FORMAT

Here are the 16 teams that make up the Division 1 playoffs and the matchups in the first round of pool play for Tuesday, May 12.

POOL A: Maranatha at Norco, Ayala at Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks
POOL B: Etiwanda at Corona, Santiago/Corona at Orange Lutheran
POOL C: Oaks Christian at Sierra Canyon, Cypress at St. John Bosco
POOL D: Huntington Beach at Temecula Valley, La Mirada at Harvard-Westlake

Pool play guarantees each team at least two games. After the first round of pool play, the teams that are 1-0 play each other. The teams that are 0-1 play each other.

Teams that go 0-2 are disqualified. Teams that go 2-0 advance to the quarterfinal, knockout stage. Teams that go 1-1 will play each other in a third game to advance. Two teams from each pool move on.

NOTE: In Division 1 pool play, the team that's played the least amount of home games gets to host (the next game). If it's the same, it's a coin flip, which is similar to subsequent divisions.

PLAYOFF BRACKETS

Divisions 2, 4, 6, and 8 will start on Thursday. Divisions 3, 5, 7, and 9 will start Friday.

BREAKDOWN OF EACH DIVISION, 2025 CHAMPIONS

DIVISION 1 (16-Team Bracket, 16 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. Norco (24-3), Big VIII League Champion
2. Harvard-Westlake (23-5), Mission League Champion
3. Sierra Canyon (23-5), Mission League Runner-Up
4. Lutheran/ Orange (22-5), Trinity League Runner-Up
AT-LARGE ENTRY: None
2025 FINAL: St. John Bosco 3, Santa Margarita 2.

DIVISION 2 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. Villa Park (19-8-1), Crestview League Runner-Up
2. Westlake (18-8), Marmonte League Runner-Up
3. Servite (15-13), Trinity League No. 3 Entry
4. Gahr (17-10-1), Gateway League Runner-Up
AT-LARGE ENTRY: Chaminade (Misson), 17-11; Loyola (Mission), 15-12-1;
Santa Margarita (Trinity), 15-13.
2025 FINAL: West Ranch 2, Mater Dei 1.

DIVISION 3 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. Mira Costa (16-12), Bay League No. 3 Entry
2. Arcadia (18-10), Pacific League Runner-Up
3. Agoura (15-13), Marmonte League At-Large Entry
4. St. Francis (14-13-1), Mission League At-Large Entry
AT-LARGE ENTRY: Corona del Mar (Sunset), 14-13.
2025 FINAL: Glendora 2, San Dimas 0.

DIVISION 4 (32-Team Bracket, 31 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. San Marino (20-8), Rio Hondo League No. 3 Entry
2. Moorpark (19-9), Coastal Canyon League No. 3 Entry
3. Marina (13-15), Sunset League No. 3 Entry
4. Canyon/ Anaheim (14-14), Freeway League Runner-Up
AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Upland (Baseline), 14-12-2; Claremont (Palomares), 17-9.
2025 FINAL: Ganesha 8, Dos Pueblos 2.

DIVISION 5 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. Citrus Valley (13-14), Citrus Belt League No. 3 Entry
2. St. Bernard (15-12), Del Rey League Runner-Up
3. Wilson/ Long Beach (16-12), Moore League Runner-Up
4. Santa Barbara (14-14), Channel League At-Large Entry
AT-LARGE ENTRY: Moreno Valley (Ivy), 14-12; Kaiser (Sunkist), 15-13.
2025 FINAL: Elsinore 2, St. Anthony 0.

DIVISION 6 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. California (15-13), Del Rio League No. 3 Entry
2. Crossroads (17-6), Gold Coast League Champion
3. Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary (18-9), Camino Real League At-Large Entry
4. El Rancho (16-12), Del Rio League At-Large Entry
AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Troy (North Hills), 17-11.
2025 FINAL: Estancia 4, Marshall 3.

DIVISION 7 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. New Roads (18-9), Coastal League Champion
2. Norwalk (14-7), Mid-Cities League No. 3 Entry
3. Hemet (17-11), Inland Valley League No. 3 Entry
4. Victor Valley (12-11), Desert Sky League Runner-Up
AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Campbell Hall (Gold Coast), 15-11;
Golden Valley/ Santa Clarita (Foothill), 13-12; Viewpoint (Gold Coast), 17-10.
2025 FINAL: Mary Star 8, Notre Dame/ Riverside 7.

DIVISION 8 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. Los Amigos (17-5), Orange League Champion
2. Schurr (11-16), Almont League No. 3 Entry
3. Duarte (10-11), Montview League Runner-Up
4. Oxford Academy (9-19), 605 League Runner-Up
AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Rio Hondo Prep (Prep), 9-9-1; Chadwick (Prep), 11-10;
Compton (Moore), 14-11.
2025 FINAL: Fillmore 7, Pioneer 6.

DIVISION 9 (32-Team Bracket, 31 Entries)
SEEDED TEAMS:
1. Dunn (11-7), Frontier League Runner-Up
2. St. Pius X – St. Matthias Academy (14-14), Santa Fe League No. 3 Entry
3. Rolling Hills Prep (7-11), Coastal League Runner-Up
4. Yucca Valley (7-9), Desert Valley League Runner-Up
AT-LARGE ENTRIES: St. Monica Academy (Heritage), 9-6; Pacifica Christian/ Santa Monica
(Liberty), 15-13.
2025 FINAL: Nuview Bridge 3, Mountain View 2.

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