May Madness arrives as high school sports season enters final month
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May Madness has arrived for high school sports. It’s the final month of the 2024-25 season, with lots of spring championships to be won and preparation for the fall football season under way.
Let’s examine the calendar and potential news to be made.
Swimming
The Southern Section finals are Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College with the City Section finals the same day at L.A. Valley College. The state championships are May 15-17 at Clovis West.
All eyes will be on four-year Santa Margarita standout Teagan O’Dell before she heads off to California to begin her college career with the Golden Bears. She has dominated in Division 1 and is hoping to break more records while leading her team to a sixth straight girls’ state championship.
Lacrosse
Palisades won the boys’ and girls’ City Section championships this past week. The Southern Section will hold its girls’ finals on May 16 at El Modena and the boys’ finals on May 17 at El Modena.
Loyola is seeded No. 1 in boys and Mira Costa is No. 1 in girls.
Baseball
Corona is 26-2 and atop the Southern Section power rankings. Playoff seedings will be announced on May 12 and the championship games will be played May 30 and 31 at Cal State Fullerton and Blair Field in Long Beach. Division 1 will have its strongest 32-team bracket ever. Regional championships are June 7.
It’s a last chance to see Corona pitcher Seth Hernandez before he goes No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 in baseball’s amateur draft this summer. He has 88 strikeouts and three walks in 42 1/3 innings. The Panthers also have another likely top-10 selection in shortstop Billy Carlson.
The City Section championships are set for May 24 at Dodger Stadium. Playoff pairings are announced on May 10. Either Birmingham or El Camino Real will be the No. 1 seed as they battle it out for the West Valley League championship with a two-game series this week. Venice is 24-2 and looking good for a top-four seed.
The Open Division playoffs change from 12 teams to eight teams and playoff games scheduled for May 14 and May 20 make it possible for a team to use a single pitcher to get to Dodger Stadium. “It’s not who has the best team but who has the best pitcher,” Birmingham coach Matt Mowry said of the scheduling.
Softball
Norco, Rosary and Orange Lutheran look like the teams to beat in Southern Section softball. Pairings come out on May 12. The finals are May 30-31 in Irvine.
With the absence of a dominant pitcher, the hitters have a chance to lead their team to a championship, and few have been better than Orange Lutheran’s Kai Minor, an Oklahoma commit.
In the City Section, who wouldn’t want to see a third straight final between Granada Hills and Carson? Last season Carson won on a 14th-inning walk-off home run. The final will be played May 31 at a college field to be announced. San Pedro has won the Marine League title over Carson, so beware of the Pirates.
Volleyball
Mira Costa is the No. 1 seed in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs that conclude May 16-17 at Cerritos College. The regional playoffs are the following week, then the state championships May 31 at Santiago Canyon College.
The City Section championships will be held May 17 at Birmingham. Venice received the No. 1 seed on Thursday for the Open Division tournament.
Tennis
Palisades won its 16th consecutive City Section boys’ tennis championship for legendary coach Bud Kling, who has won 53 combined boys’ and girls’ titles. Imagine where he finds room to store all the championship plaques.
Irvine University and Beckman are the favorites to win a Southern Section Open Division title. The finals are May 16 at the University of Redlands.
Football
This month schools are ending spring practices by holding college showcases and playing seven-on-seven competitions against other schools.
One of the most intriguing should take place Tuesday at Sierra Canyon, where Newbury Park and quarterback Brady Smigiel will be facing the Trailblazers’ talented secondary, led by USC commit Madden Riordan.
Long Beach Millikan is hosting the first big seven-on-seven event on May 17 that will feature 20 teams.
This month, the National Federation of State High School Assns. will release its first national rules for girls’ flag football. It will have a big influence in California, with special teams used for the first time (punting) and defenses allowed to rush from one yard back of the line of scrimmage instead of seven last year. Coaches say that will lead to fewer touchdowns and fewer long passes.
Track
The Southern Section track and field finals are set for May 17 at Moorpark High, followed by the Masters Meet on May 24. The City Section finals will be May 22 on Birmingham’s new Mondo track. The state championships are May 30-31 at Buchanan High in Clovis.
The Arcadia Invitational was a good sneak peek for athletes to watch, including Servite’s group of young sprinters, Temecula Valley’s Jack Stadlman in the 400, Santa Margarita’s Leo Francis in the long jump and Aliso Niguel’s Jaslene Massey in the girls’ shotput.
Bishop Alemany sophomore Demare Dezeurn ran the second fastest 100 meters in the state this year when he won the Mission League finals in 10.32 seconds on Thursday.
Golf
The City Section championships will be held May 21 at Harding Golf Course. Luke Schultz of Palisades is back to defend his individual title.
The Southern Section team finals are May 19-20, followed by the individual final on May 22. The state championships are June 3 at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach.
Watch to see if St. Francis freshman Jaden Soong can contend for an individual title.
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