SBLive/SI California Top 25 high school softball rankings: Pacifica finishes 2024 season as top team in state

Led by three first-team All-State performers, the Southern Section Division I champions finish on top

Pacifica's softball team celebrates late during a 3-0 win over Orange Lutheran for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title. / Photo: Heston Quan

Pacifica-Garden Grove finished the 2024 California high school softball season in a familiar place - on top of the state.

The Mariners started the season as the No. 1 team in the SBLive/SI California Top 25 high school softball rankings, eventually fell behind Saint Francis-Mountain View, then regained the crown thanks to a section championship victory over Orange Lutheran.

Here are the final SBLive/SI California softball rankings of the 2024 season:

Final 2024 California Top 25 softball rankings

1. Pacifica-Garden Grove (27-2, previous rank 2)

At the end of the day, the Mariners finished where they started – on top. It was an excruciating decision, particularly because Saint Francis' fall came as result of regionals, which Pacifica opted out of. On the other hand, Pacifica's championship win over Orange Lutheran avenged one of its only two losses. And the Mariners' other loss, which came against Canyon (Anaheim), came 2-1 in a tournament game that was shortened one inning due to weather.

Team photo of Pacifica of Garden Grove's CIF Southern Section Division I championship in 2024 / Photo: Heston Quan

2. Saint Francis-Mountain View (28-1, 1)

Saint Francis was so good all season that despite the upset loss to Amador Valley, we still nearly finished the Lancers at No. 1. The loss cost them a regional – and possibly, national – championship – but they still had quite a banner year, going undefeated through the regular season and a CIF-CCS Open Division title.

Saint Francis softball players exchanging high fives during the 2023 Michelle Carew Classic in Santa Ana / Photo: Heston Quan

3. Orange Lutheran (21-4, 3)

With Murrieta Mesa winning a Division I regional title, OLu's head-to-head dominance over the Rams – a 13-1 annihilation in the CIF-SS semifinals – kept Orange Lutheran's top-three ranking well intact.

Orange Lutheran's softball team shortly before the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game against Pacifica / Photo: Heston Quan

4. Murrieta Mesa (28-4, 4)

We had Murrieta Mesa as the No. 3 team in SoCal and a top-five team in the state almost all year. So there was no room for the Rams to rise after rolling past Mater Dei, Great Oak, and Del Norte (San Diego) for a SoCal Division I championship.

5. Amador Valley (19-11, NR)

It was a playoff run for the ages for the Division 1 sectional and regional champions. To put it into perspective, Hollister's sweep of the D1 titles last year was considered one of the more unlikely postseason runs in recent memory, and the Haybalers were ranked top-15 in the state coming in – whereas Amador Valley achieved the same feat ranked outside the top 40.

Amador Valley celebrates after emotional 13-11 win at Oak Ridge to claim the CIF Northern California Division 1 championship. / Photo: Chris Jackson-West Coast Preps

6. Archbishop Mitty (23-4, 5)

There's no perfect way to handle Mitty's unofficial loss to Whitney in the rankings, but since it was wiped from the record, we treated the non-result as such. The Monarchs fell 2-0 to Whitney in their regional opener before Whitney self-reported use of an ineligible player in prior games. So, the Monarchs hold tight besides getting leapt by Amador Valley.

7. Oak Ridge (23-5, 11)

After defeating Hollister in 11 innings, Oak Ridge nearly got a much-anticipated rubber match with Whitney after the league foes split four meetings this season. But Whitney had to forfeit as a result of an infraction from the section playoffs, so Oak Ridge went straight to the Division I NorCal championship. There, the Trojans had a painful ending to a tremendous season, losing 13-11 to Amador Valley in nine innings.

8. Norco (23-4, 8)

Norco managed to leapfrog Canyon despite neither team playing in the final weeks of the season. Norco was much higher in the rankings before losing to Great Oak in its playoff opener. And Great Oak then vaulted its own stock by shocking Poway in regionals, which further builds the case that its playoff upset of Norco was no fluke.

9. Canyon-Anaheim (24-5, 7)

Like many other Southern Section heavyweights, Canyon were been done for a long time before the season actually ended. The Comanches finished the year as champions of the Crestview League and Michelle Carew Classic.

10. Oaks Christian (22-5, 9)

While the Lions are expected to bring back a litany of talent in 2025, they're tasked with graduating one of the top senior cores in the state. Ilove'a Brittingham is off to Brigham Young, Rylee McCoy is off to Oregon, and Sienna Reynolds heads to Yale.

11. Los Alamitos (20-6, 10)

Los Alamitos looks to be an X-factor in 2025. The team graduates a few of its premier players, but brings back a lot of young talent with upside.

12. Whitney-Rocklin (21-3, 13)

If they didn't retroactively forfeit the win, the Wildcats' 2-0 win over Archbishop Mitty in the regional quarterfinals would've bumped them to seventh. But Whitney ended its season upon self-reporting use of an ineligible player in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, and the impressive win was scratched.

13. Clovis North (22-8, NR)

It was an up and down season for the Broncos, but what matters is that it ended far into the "up". Clovis North avenged a league title loss to Central with a shutout for a CIF-CS D1 title and made the Division I regional semifinals by shutting out Casa Grande as well before losing to Amador Valley. Like many other NorCal heavyweights, Clovis North will likely return the bulk of its core next season.

14. Casa Grande (23-3, 6)

Despite a drop of nine spots after regionals, it's a great time to be a Casa Grande fan. The Gauchos head into the offseason as North Coast Section Division 2 champions, and they have a chance to be even better in 2025 with Lila Partridge, Lauren Ketchu, and many other top players expected to return.

15. Capital Christian (26-3-1, 18)

It was another ring season for the Cougars after all. After coming up just short against Oakdale in the Sac-Joaquin Section D3 finals, Ayla Tuua and company won their third CIF championship in two seasons with a dominant NorCal Division III title run. They avenged a regular season loss to Pleasant Valley 11-1 before blanking Salinas 3-0 and Willow Glen 6-0.

16. Hollister (22-5, 14)

No CIF hardware for the Haybalers this year, but they had another tremendous season to be proud of. And that was despite getting widely written off from translating their dominant ways of 2023.

17. Sutter (30-0, 16)

The dream season is complete. After coasting to an undefeated regular season and CIF-SJS D5 title, Sutter proved it could handle heavy pressure and continue its dominance in Division III for regionals. The Huskies edged out University Prep 5-3 and College Park 3-2, but had one last blowout in them for the finals, where they routed Dixon 13-1.

18. JSerra (18-14, 17)

Whereas most of the Southern Section's best teams will be reloading or outright rebuilding in 2025, JSerra will likely take another big leap forward.

19. Poway (24-7-1, 12)

After a dreamlike May that culminated in a second consecutive Palomar North County League title and CIF-SDS Open Division championship, Poway was upended in the first round of regionals by Valley View. But the Titans did enough to raise yet more banners in 2024, and finish easily inside the top 25.

20. Etiwanda (31-5, NR)

Once the Eagles hit their stride, there was just no stopping them. One of the most improved teams in California, they ended the season on a 13-game tear as Division 3 champions of both the sectional and regional variety. And in their regional run, they were without star Alyssa Galindo. Before that, they also avenged two of their five regular season losses by beating Upland and Chino Hills in the second go-around of conference play for a Baseline League title. It's not too late to buy stock, as Etiwanda will likely bring back most of its team next year.

21. Del Norte-San Diego (25-7, NR)

There's an argument to be made that Del Norte should've finished first among San Diego Section teams despite losing to rival Poway in the section finals. Poway was upset by Valley View to open regionals, whereas Del Norte took down CIF-SS D2 finalist California (Whittier) before defeating Valley View in the semifinals. That landed the Nighthawks in the SoCal Division I title game, where they fell to heavily-favored Murrieta Mesa.

22. Great Oak (16-11-1, NR)

Here's yet another example that there's nothing quite like the CIF regional playoffs. After 19 days off from games, Southern Section quarterfinalist Great Oak drove roughly 250 miles to the house of Central Section D2 champ St. Joseph ready for battle, and the Wolfpack are in the top 25 for the first time as a result. Great Oak would fall in the semifinals to eventual champion Murrieta Mesa.

23. St. Joseph-Santa Maria (25-4-1, 15)

Regionals didn't go as planned for the Knights, who were stunned at home by Great Oak in the opener. But St. Joseph did enough this year to finish in the top 25, and most importantly, take home a CIF-CS Division 2 title.

24. La Mirada (20-6-2, 19)

The Matadores narrowly made the cut for the season-end top 25. Look for them to remain a force in 2025, with most of the team expected to return.

25. Livermore (24-6, 20)

A lot of softball fans would've liked to see the CIF-NCS Division 2 runners-up and EBAL champions in the regional playoffs, but the Cowgirls' season ended with their 2-0 finals loss to Casa Grande. Other than Minnesota-bound star Jae Cosgriff, nearly all of Livermore's team consisted of underclassmen, so watch out next season.

ON THE BUBBLE

Benicia, Riverside Poly, Central (Fresno), Oakdale, California (Whittier), West (Torrance), El Modena, Granada Hills Charter, Gahr, Valley View, Liberty (Brentwood), Tesoro, Buchanan (Clovis), Whittier Christian, Mission Viejo, Rosary Academy, Mater Dei, Millikan, Mater Dei Catholic, Gregori, Carson, College Park, Willow Glen