If you think college sports have changed thanks to the transfer portal, get ready for what's happening in girls' high school basketball. They say what happens in college spreads to high school, and that's exactly what's happening this season.
There are so many high-level transfers that it's almost like men's basketball. And this comes at a time when the Southern Section is tightening its enforcement of transfer rules, so it remains to be seen who is available and who is not.
Top schools Etiwanda, Ontario Christian and Sierra Canyon added key players to their teams. Next up are Mater Dei and Fairmont Prep. And there's a new team in the lineup, Oak Park, which lost its point guard but got more than enough from the transfer portal after hiring former WNBA player April Schilling, who is the wife of Pepperdine men's coach Ed Schilling. Corona Centennial may have more transfers than any other team, including 6-foot-6 sophomore Sydney Douglas from Ontario Christian.
Etiwanda coach Stan Delus hopes his days of disappointment are behind him.
(José Luis Villegas/For The Times)
“This will probably be one of the toughest and deepest Division I games since 2016 with new teams coming in and different teams getting transfers,” said Etiwanda coach Stan DeLuce, whose team has won three straight Open Division state championships.
Etiwanda added 6-3 Tess Oldenburg of Chino Hills and 6-1 Jaylee Moore of Northern California Carruthers, as well as freshman Cassidy Morgan to join returners Arinn Finley, Aaliyah Phillips and Chasity Rice.
Ontario Christian still has the No. 1 player in California in junior point guard Kalina Smith, who is taking recruiting visits to USC and UCLA. Also returning are talented sophomore Tati Griffin and junior Dani Robinson, as well as additions Laia King of Inglewood St. Mary's and Skylar Archer of Shadow Hills and freshman Chloe Jenkins.
At Mission League media day, coaches were asked what motivates their moves. Few people spoke out.
“I think Southern California is getting better and better,” Sierra Canyon coach Alicia Komaki said. “It’s only as good as our team and we’re not guaranteed anything.”
Sierra Canyon returns Jerzy Robinson, who is being recruited by Connecticut, Louisiana State and South Carolina. “I’m better at everything,” she said.
There's also 6-5 center Emilia Krstevski, an Oregon player who speaks Macedonian, holds a Canadian passport and continues to improve. Payton Montgomery is another returnee from a 28-3 team, but the key player could be Oak Park transfer Delaney White, an all-Southern Section point guard. The transfer documents were submitted six weeks ago but have yet to be approved.
Jerzy Robinson of Sierra Canyon is considered the top 2026 girls basketball player.
(Eric Sondheimer/Los Angeles Times)
Former Ontario Christian coach Matt Tumambing was hired at Centennial and suddenly new players started arriving. Douglas, a 6-7 sophomore, joins the Huskies along with former Ontario Christian guard Jelice Max. There are so many moves that Centennial officials spend weeks checking documents.
Fairmont Prep has five freshmen on its roster to back up All-Southern Section player Adira Rajan. Redondo Union picked up freshman Rudy Hopkins from Finland. Joining Oak Park is sophomore Maya Urteaga from Moorpark. She averaged 26 points last season. Also joining the Eagles will be UC Santa Barbara, which will take on Buena's Karisma Lewis and Arroyo Grande's 6-4 Diana Sorrondo.
The winningest coach in California women's basketball history, Kevin Kiernan, is back as coach at Troy, which will host a tournament next month that could result in a championship game between Sierra Canyon and Ontario Christian.
As for the other top players, All-Southern Section guard Amalia Holguin of Sage Hill is committed to Texas; Mater Dei's Kaeli Winn is headed to South Carolina; Sage Hill's Kamdyn Klumberg is a rising junior; sophomore Hamili Arenas of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is a scoring guard; Windward's Charis Rainey played for the U16 women's team.
In the City Section, Westchester, Palisades and Garfield will battle for the Open Division title, which Hamilton won last season. Sophomore Kayla Tanijiri of Birmingham was the West Valley League Comeback Player of the Year.
