Girls California Live 2025 is a wrap.

For all the breakout performances of teams and players who are set to explode in the 2025-26 season, there were some familiar faces dominating at the very top.

And of course, "the very top" starts with Archbishop Mitty, which was ranked 12th in the nation to finish last season and returns its entire core. The Monarchs finished 4-0 at Cali Live and were the clear top team there despite missing their top player – who's arguably the best in high school basketball – 5-star senior forward McKenna Woliczko. She's been out since early January with a torn ACL, at which point Mitty was 9-0 and the consensus No. 1 team in the country, and her teammates showed everyone watching last weekend why they were still a national power in her absence.

Unsurprisingly, junior guard Ze'ni Patterson and sophomore post Maliya Hunter stole the show – during which both received offers from Arizona State – and were flanked by senior wings Devin Cosgriff, Emma Cook, and Abigail James plus junior point guard Tiera McCarthy. They blew out reigning CIF-San Diego Section champion Mission Hills, Piedmont, and Oregon powerhouse West Linn before cruising past another big name in Oregon, previously-unbeaten South Medford. After their collective effort to stay afloat nationally and repeat as Northern California champion a few months ago, no reminder was needed that the Onarchs open the season as the most dangerous team in the country pending a healthy return from Woliczko. But they still gave us one.

Archbishop Mitty is not only top-heavy with elite talent, but incredibly deep as well. So deep that its junior varsity team went 4-0 in a varsity bracket against solid competition – Moreau Catholic, Alemany, Christian Brothers, and Rocklin, the last of which the JV Monarchs beat in a blowout. It's hard to say exactly how good they'd be as a varsity team based solely on this performance, but they'd definitely be better than most varsity teams in California or anywhere. Based strictly on conjecture, it's hard to imagine they wouldn't be in at least the 80th percentile of high school varsity basketball.

Incredible championship 🏀 2024-25 season. Nike TOC Champs, @WCALSports Title, Central Coast Section & NorCal Open Division Champs. 🏆#goMonarchs 💪🦁👑 pic.twitter.com/wtQpAKwWUc

— Mitty WBB (@mitty_wbb) March 17, 2025

There was another perennial NorCal contender that went 4-0 in the Open (toughest) bracket and had its JV team go 4-0 in the BABCA bracket, and that was St. Mary's (Stockton). After winning the CIF-Sac Joaquin Section in 2023-24, St. Mary's had a bit of a reloading year in 2024-25 – you know you have a high standard when making the Division I regional finals/state semifinals is a reloading year – but 2025-26 will be yet another dominant one for the Rams if Cali Live was any indication.

Like the (varsity) Monarchs, the Rams' varsity unit not only went 4-0 but won every game by double-digits. All their games came against other renowned NorCal programs who've all won at least one CIF title in the last few years – Central (Fresno), Caruthers, Cardinal Newman, and Salesian.

St. Mary's' leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker Evelini Smith is back as a senior, and the versatile 6-foot-4 frontcourt prospect had a lot to do with the Rams' standout performance. Other top returners include senior guard Amani Rafiq, sophomore guard Mia Jamias, and junior wing Ava Perez. With that said, one of the biggest reasons St. Mary's looks better than it did a season ago is the addition of two of the state's most promising incoming freshmen, Anaya Hardy and Dylan Horton.

First game seen today at Girls California Live 2025 in Roseville was between NorCal top teams St Mary’s Stockton and Caruthers. Rams won 53-38. Freshmen Anaya Hardy & Dylan Horton going to be difference makers next season. ⁦@HaroldAbend⁩ ⁦@girlscalilive⁩ pic.twitter.com/njpeoWmyNe

— Cal-Hi Sports (@CalHiSports) June 13, 2025

Another NorCal juggernaut that dazzled was San Ramon Valley – as expected. The reigning CIF-NCS Open Division champion got three Open bracket games in and made them count, winning 61-40 against Mission Hills, 52-38 over Salesian, and 65-43 against Ventura.

In what many expected to be a reloading year, San Ramon Valley had in many regards its strongest year ever in 2024-25, which seems to be an annual tradition. After going 27-4, the Wolves were ranked as high as seventh in California, and they're returning their best players – guards Ella Gunderson, Alyssa Rudd, Kaitlyn Mills, Hanna Bowes, and Carly Stern. It would not be a surprise to see them break into the nationally-ranked tier of girls basketball programs, a feat which is fully attainable even if they remain "just" No. 7 in California.

Also going 4-0 and representing NorCal well was Priory, which is coming off one of its strongest years in, at minimum, recent history. The Panthers went 23-6 and finished third in the CIF-Central Coast Section without any player averaging 10 PPG, and they looked ready to build on that last weekend despite graduating a few key players. Only Bishop O'Dowd played them close, and of their other three wins (Victory Christian Academy, Rosary Academy, and Valley Christian of San Jose), two were blowouts.

Ugreat Daniels was the their top statistical producer and inside-the-arc scorer last season and a First Team All-Metro honoree, and the athletic six-foot guard was already considered one of the state's top candidates to break out further next season before impressing at Cali Live. More impact returners are Sasha Johnson, Adelaide Chan, Jordyn Moss, and Gabby Wickham.

In addition to Mitty's JV team and Priory (played two Open games and two BABCA games), another nine teams went 4-0.

La Salle, Vanden, and Oak Ridge each won all of their games by double-digits against competition, most notably Vanden. The Vikings' closest games were 47-28 over Bishop Montgomery and 64-44 over Folsom. Talk about making a statement.

Lincoln (Stockton) has most of its squad back after making the CIF-SJS quarterfinals, and after narrowly out-dueling Faith Christian in its opener, it more or less cruised to 4-0 afterwards.

Acalanes went 4-0 after graduating one of the state's premier senior cores, mostly by double-digits except for a three-point win over Monterey Trail.

Flintridge Prep looked ready to build on last season's CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoff birth, going 4-0 and pulling out some close wins. The Wolves return nearly their whole team led by one of SoCal's top wings, a prolific playmaker in senior Maddie Smith.

One team that turned heads with its 4-0 performance was Heritage (Brentwood), which returns a laundry list of key players after a 16-11 campaign that included a CIF-NCS D2 playoff birth without a players averaging as much as eight points. The Patriots made quick work of Morro Bay and Atwater before taking Grant and Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep down in close games. Just like that, they're one of the North Coast Section's more intriguing teams heading into next season.

Woodcreek went 4-0 by starting with three lopsided wins and then edging out none other than San Ramon Valley's B-team by two points for first place in the pool.

And Grossmont, which won a CIF SoCal Division IV regional title in 2023-24 followed by a CIF-SDS Open Division selection in 2024-25, wins the award for pulling out the most close wins of the weekend. The Foothillers started with a seven-point win over Liberty Ranch and then won by a combined seven points against Cosumnes Oaks, Lincoln (Lincoln), and Village Christian. 

Lastly, in the Roseville bracket, Pittsburg, Del Oro, and San Diego all went 4-0 by grinding out some close games.

Keep your eyes out for more wrap-up content from Girls California Live 2025, including more on teams and players that stood out.