2026 Sunset League Boys Basketball Season Recap
As the 2026 boys basketball season nearly draws to a close in California, the Sunset League had another stellar season within the sport. Five teams from the league made the postseason and even one team made history. With the All-League teams being released today, let’s recap how each team did within its respective season.
Corona Del Mar: It was a season of many firsts for the Sea Kings, as they went a perfect 12-0 in the Sunset League. In league play, Corona Del Mar won 10 of its 12 contests by 10 or more points and eight of its 12 contests by 20 or more points. Going into league play, the Sea Kings had only one loss and that wasn’t even to a team from California, it was to Lake Washington of Washington. At the end of the regular season, Corona Del Mar was deemed worthy enough to be in the CIF-SS Open Division, which has a different format than the divisions below it having pool play. In addition, the Sea Kings became the first Sunset League team since Los Alamitos back in the 2016-17 season to be part of the premier division. Unfortunately for Corona Del Mar, the competition was too much for them, losing to the likes of Crespi, Sierra Canyon — the eventual champion of the division, and St.John Bosco and seeing its season come to an end. But coach Jason Simco and his team can be proud of the fact that his team made history, making the Open Division for the first time in program history.
Edison: Boasting one of the best players in the Sunset League in Derrick Johnson, the Chargers looked primed to challenge its way for a league championship. Everything started out well, going 3-0 to start league play after entering with a 13-3 non-league slate. Edison eventually finished the first half of league play 4-2, but then hit a rough patch, going 2-4 in the second half. Despite this, the Chargers finished third in league and was put in the CIF-SS Division 2 bracket. The robust league games helped the Chargers out, as they beat the likes of Esperanza and Valencia by three and two points respectively. Edison did meet its match in the quarterfinals, losing to the always-tough Roosevelt out of Eastvale, but Josh Beatty’s second season as head coach resulted in two playoff wins, proving that the Chargers still got it.
Fountain Valley: It was the tale of two seasons for the Barons, entering Sunset League play a perfect 16-0. But once league play began for Fountain Valley, it was a grind. Finishing the first half of league 2-4, the Barons knew claiming an automatic qualifier from the league was more ideal than banking on the selection committee to pick you to make the CIF-SS playoffs as an at-large team. The team went 3-3 in the second half of league play, tying for fourth place with Marina at 5-7, forcing the two teams to play a one game playoff game to decide the final automatic qualifier from the league. The Barons had one more clutch performance in them, taking down Marina 64-56 in the tiebreaker, advancing to the playoffs. Fountain Valley’s playoff run was short-lived, losing to El Dorado 74-62 in the first round. Despite the first round exit, the Barons proved that they are still amongst the Sunset League’s best, finishing in the top 4 for the second straight season.
Huntington Beach: The Oilers entered Sunset League 9-7 overall and pulled off an impressive 60-59 road win against Newport Harbor in their first league game. But ever since that dramatic win, Huntington Beach wasn’t able to replicate that success, having lost the rest of their league contests. When you look at some of the Oilers’ league games, they were competitive, giving its competition all it could handle. Head coach Tino Zaragoza had his team playing with hustle, poise and pride the Huntington Beach way and will continue to do so.
Los Alamitos: Winning a CIF-SS Championship is tough in the sport of boys basketball, but following it up is just as tough. The Griffins didn’t duck anybody, playing some of the best teams they could in non league play such as Corona Centennial, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, St.John Bosco and Crean Lutheran. The tough non league schedule paid off, as Los Alamitos wound up winning the Diamond Division at the Classic at Damien. In addition, it wound up finishing second in the Sunset League with an impressive 10-2 record. The Griffins were rewarded by being placed in the CIF-SS Division 1 bracket, which is the bracket they were placed in last year — winning the championship in said bracket as well. The dreams of repeating as CIF-SS champions were short-lived, as Loyola of Los Angeles took down the Griffins 72-64. But Los Alamitos proved that playing a challenging schedule does pay off in the long run and it also proved that it’s not only still one of the top teams in the Sunset League, but in state of California as well.
Marina: If the past two Vikings’ seasons can be described in one word, it would be ‘heartbreak.’ Marina started off the first half of Sunset League play 2-4, but pulled off a stunning 69-67 road win against Edison. Following that win, the Vikings had dropped three straight and just like that, their playoff hopes were starting to fade with two league games left. Fortunately for Marina, it wound up pulling off two close victories against Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach, tying them for fourth at 5-7 with Fountain Valley. The Vikings played Fountain Valley in a tiebreaker game for a spot to go to the CIF-SS playoffs, but fell short, losing 64-56. Despite Marina missing the playoffs for the second straight year, it’s still going in the right direction under head coach Nick Racklin, who is currently the longest active head coach in the Sunset League.
Newport Harbor: Boasting one of their more younger and smaller teams in terms of roster size, the Sailors didn’t let that deter them. They ended non league play 13-3, which included winning the Western Tournament in a 64-63 thriller over Servite. The first three games of Sunset League play were heartbreakers, losing to Huntington Beach off a late three-pointer with about 10 seconds left and seeing both Fountain Valley and Edison rally back from a 15 point deficit to beat them. Newport Harbor ended the first half of league play 1-5, but the team still had playoffs on their minds despite finishing in the top four in the league not being in the cards. The Sailors won two of their first three league games to start the second half of league play, which included winning a 75-70 overtime thriller on the road against Edison. That road win over Edison marked the first time the Sailors beat Edison at Edison since the 2007-08 season. Despite losing its final three league games to end the regular season, Newport Harbor gave the best team in the league, Corona Del Mar, all it could handle. Some could say that result helped sway the selection committee to put the Sailors in the big dance, as they were placed in Division 3. Unfortunately for Newport Harbor, it fell short in its first round playoff game at home, losing to eventual finalist Aliso Niguel 68-60. Despite the first round playoff exit, coach Bob Torribio couldn’t be more proud of his group, exceding expectations.