Some of the nation’s best high school basketball players reside in Southern California, specifically in the CIF Southern Section which spans five counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside County.
Historically, the City Section has had tremendous talent, too … and still does, but most of the best boys basketball players compete in the CIF Southern Section for programs like St. John Bosco, Harvard-Westlake, Eastvale Roosevelt and Mater Dei.
In the City, the top flight programs include Westchester and Chatsworth, both of which boast the sons of former City legends and NBA pros. Tajh Ariza plays at Westchester and Alijah Arenas plays at Chatsworth – both are among the top recruits in the 2026 class.
It’s no surprise to see recent standouts like Jared McCain of Corona/Centennial blossom at the NBA level as a rookie. McCain, who was California’s Gatorade Player of the Year twice, played one year at Duke and is now making his presence known for the Philadelphia 76ers. Centennial is a CIF Southern Section school.
McCain is just ONE recent example of how good prep basketball is in SoCal, where you could see a future star before they’re playing on TV …
Here are the best guards to keep an eye on in the Southern and City Sections as we head into the 2024-25 high school basketball season.
NOTE: Be on the lookout for the best forwards/centers list coming soon ...
The top 2026 guard in the country. McCoy led the Braves to a CIF State Division I title as a sophomore by averaging 18.6 points, eight rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. He is the reigning Trinity League MVP.
Arenas led the Chancellors to a historic season, averaging 33 points per game en route to a CIF State Division IV final where he scored 44 points, which sits second all-time behind Tracy Murray’s 64 points in 1989.
Burries is among one of the most coveted 2025 prospects in the country. Burries averaged 24.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game to help the Mustangs win the 2024 Big XIII League title and reach the CIF-SS and SoCal regional Open Division finals last season.
Elzie Harrington has been regarded as one of the top guards in his class since he was a freshman. The long, athletic guard had major college offers, but instead elected to commit to Harvard University.
Mr. Scores-a-Lot. Crowe Jr. will go down as one of the top scorers to come through the Southern Section after pouring in 36 and 37 points per game in his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively. Crowe was at Lynwood for two years and is now at Inglewood.
Arguably the most athletic name on this page. Lino Mark is a Rutgers commit that uses speed as his superpower. Mark averaged 15, 5 and 5 as a junior to help the Knights win a CIF-SS Division 1 title.
Ruff averaged 22 points per game as a junior and was the Moore League MVP. Ruff is a tall, rangy guard at 6-foot-5.
One of the best sharpshooters in the Southland. Barnett averaged 15 points per game as sophomore and made 113 threes in 35 games.
Glass is a football player turned hooper. Now he’s got Stanford, Wyoming and Texas A&M on him. Glass was a Division 1 All-CIF selection last season.
Williamson was SBLive’s/High School on SI defensive player of the year in the Southern Section. His on-ball defense makes him one of the most valuable guards in California.
Left-handed assassin that reminds many of Manu Ginobli. Gomez averaged 18 points per game last season.
Bailey is a dynamic scorer who will flex his playmaking ability more after transferring to Santa Margarita in the Trinity League. Averaged 24 points per game at Crean Lutheran as a sophomore.
Hightower will have the keys to the car in Chatsworth after three years at Windward. Hightower can morph into whatever his team needs him to be: a scorer, facilitator, rebounder, leader. Hightower averaged 16, 7 and 7 with three steals as a junior.
Sterling was one of the biggest blockbuster transfers of the summer, moving down the 101 freeway from Crespi to Harvard-Westlake. The sharpshooter averaged 21 points per game as a sophomore.
Big guard. Mayes is 6-foot-5 and is coming off a great summer where many scouting pundits praised his strength, athleticism and versatility.
Johnson possesses a tremendous bag of skill at the point guard position. A high IQ player that is capable of scoring 40 points on any given night. Johnson is just 17 years old which means there’s lot of upside to his game and body.
The most underrated high school basketball – maybe in America – Anto Balian averaged 30 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game as a junior. He’s 6-foot-2, strong and can shoot the 3ball.
Longtime basketball guru Frank Burlison said Jimenez is the best point guard in Orange County. That’s high praise.
Verna averaged 14 points per game for the Monarchs last season. He’s a gamer. Made 80 3-pointers as a junior.
Roger will step into a big role at Centennial as a go-to player and leader under coach Josh Giles.
Patterson has a polished game that allows him to create for himself and others at 6-foot-2.
Versher is a crafty playmaker at 6-foot-2 that can shoot the ball well from beyond the arc.
Zuffelato is a 6-foot-6 guard that averaged 27.7 points per game last year for the Dons. He also shot 36% from downtown, making 103 in 32 games.
Barnes has improved immensely since his freshman season. Barnes had a very god Section 7 over the summer in Arizona and showed he can score when the team needs to or facilitate if need be. Barnes has also grown in height and weight to about 6-foot-2.
Haugh averaged 26 points per game and made 135 threes in 28 games at an eye-popping 47% clip. He also shoots 92% from the free throw line. Haugh could be the best pure shooter in SoCal.
(Alphabetical)
Solo Bailey, St. Monica, Sr.
Hunter Caplan, Crean Lutheran, So.
Jaden Erami, St. Pius, Sr.
DeLan Grant, St. Francis, Jr.
Aeneas Grullon, Viewpoint, Sr.
Christian Hall, Bishop Montgomery, Sr.
Kamari King, Reseda Cleveland, Sr.
SJ Madison, Redondo Union, Jr.
Joshua Palmer, St. Bernard, Sr.
Barak Simon, Marina, Sr.
Maxwell Scott, Corona del Mar, So.
EJ Spillman, Pacifa Christian/OC, Sr.
Mateo Trujillo, Rolling Hills Prep, Sr.
TJ Wansa, Alemany, So.
JoJo Wicker, Long Beach Millikan, Jr.
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