The regular season for high school baseball ends Wednesday, the CIF Southern Section playoff brackets come out Monday and playoff games begin May 15.
The CIF-SS will have nine playoff divisions, one more than last season and two more than it had in 2023. All divisions will have 32 teams.
For the first time, computer ratings will determine where teams are placed and seeded in the divisions. The ratings are from the Massey Reporting system that the Southern Section is using for baseball and many other sports.
Teams are automatic qualifiers for the baseball playoffs if they are the top two finishers in a four-team league, the top three finishers in five- and six-team leagues and if they are among the top four teams in seven- and eight-team leagues.
A team that did not finish high enough in its league standings to be an automatic qualifier can petition for an at-large berth if it has an overall record of .500 or better. The CIF Southern Section playoff bulletin states that “an at-large team MUST be .500-or-better to qualify for the playoffs regardless of their power rating.”
That means some good Orange County teams are not going to be in the playoffs. That includes JSerra, the No. 8 team in this week’s Orange County Top 25 and the No. 35 team in the CIF-SS rankings of all 457 high school baseball teams in the Southern Section.
JSerra second baseman Cole Strane tags Santa Margarita runner Gavin Spiridonoff as he’s caught in a pickle while trying to steal a base during a Trinity League game between the two teams on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
JSerra did not finish among the top three in the Trinity League and has an overall record of 10-15 – well below the .500-or-better criteria for an at-large berth.
The Massey Ratings system places much weight on strength of schedule, and few teams in CIF-SS played a schedule as challenging as JSerra’s. That is why JSerra is rated as high as it is.
A look at a few of the Orange County leagues and their playoff representatives …
Trinity League: The three automatic qualifiers are, in order of league finish, St. John Bosco (22-4 overall, 14-1 in league), Orange Lutheran (21-6, 10-5) and Santa Margarita (15-12, 7-8). Servite (14-13, 5-10) is eligible for an at-large berth.
Sunset League: It is a seven-team league, so the Sunset has four automatic qualifiers: county No. 1 Huntington Beach (22-4, 15-2 going into Tuesday’s game), Newport Harbor (22-6, 14-4); Los Alamitos (17-9-2, 10-8) and Fountain Valley (15-11, 9-8).
Crestview League: The league’s automatic qualifiers are Cypress (17-10, 8-3 with one league game remaining), Villa Park (21-6, 7-4 with one league game remaining) and El Dorado (20-7. 6-5). Foothill (16-11, 5-7), which was 4-1 in league at one point, is eligible for an at-large berth.
Sea View League: San Clemente (18-9, 10-2) ran away with the league championship. The league’s other four teams tied for second: Beckman (15-13, 5-7), El Toro (14-14, 5-7), Mission Viejo (13-15, 5-7) and San Juan Hills (14-13, 5-7). Tiebreakers have El Toro and Beckman as the league’s other two automatic qualifiers. San Juan Hills is eligible for an at-large berth; Mission Viejo is not.
Orange League: Bolsa Grande (15-6, 10-2) and Saddleback (13-10-1, 8-4) finished 1-2 in the league. Saddleback is in the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Magnolia (8-11, 6-6) and Santiago (6-13, 6-6) tied for third place in the five-team league. Santiago is the league’s final automatic qualifier because Santiago beat Magnolia twice in their three league encounters.
Grove League: Loara (17-2, 12-0) and La Quinta (14-7, 8-4) finished 1-2. Los Amigos (8-12, 5-7) and Rancho Alamitos (10-11, 5-7) tied for third in the five-team league. Rancho Alamitos won two of its three league games against Los Amigos, so Rancho Alamitos is the league’s final automatic qualifier.
Originally Published: May 6, 2025 at 2:40 PM PDT