Rams hold top spot in Norcal
Coming into the new season, City College of San Francisco is our preseason number one team. The Rams will be a team that will have a standout season and contend for the state championship. Sequoias is another team that should have a standout season as the defending Central Valley Conference champs come into the season as our number two team. After those two teams, the rankings get tricky and as we take a deeper look, it is a crap shoot as a lot of the teams ranked 3-15 could beat each other and not much difference between those teams for the upcoming season. Here is our preseason rankings for Northern California for the 2022-2023 season.
2022-2023 Signal The Light Basketball Norcal Preseason Rankings
1. San Francisco (32-1): The defending state champs come in at number one for our preseason rankings in Northern California. San Francisco is loaded again and it appears that the Rams will be the team to beat in the 2022-2023 season. The Rams return five players off their state championship team and are 62-1 since 2019-2020. San Francisco begins their quest for another state championship on November 4th when they host Marin and the following night they host 13th ranked Marin for their two games of the week.
2. Sequoias (27-5): The Giants come into the season as a team that lost a lot of pieces from their final four team a year ago. Sequoias has become a household name in California Junior college basketball and coach Jensen and his staff did not rebuild, they reloaded and have a chance to make another deep post season run. Javohn Garcia and Tyjean Burrell are one of the best back court tandems in the state and throw in Terri Miller and you have some solid pieces to be a very good team. Sequoias will be in action twice this week as they open up their 2022-2023 season at home against Palo Verde on November
3. Yuba (20-10): The 49ers come into the season as our third ranked team in Northern California. Yuba made it to the sweet 16 last season after losing to state runner up West Valley. The 49ers finished 2nd place a year ago and R.J Smith returns to the lineup and coach Cornelius and company will look to have another big season. Yuba will be in a dogfight in conference against Contra Costa and others in the Bay Valley Conference but we like the 49ers and see them having a very successful 2022-2023 season. The 49ers will be off this week and will open their season up on November 9th at home against San Joaquin Delta.
4. Chabot (18-11): The Gladiators come into the season as our 4th ranked team in Northern California. Chabot won 18 games a year ago, and come into the season with plenty of talent on their squad. Coach Keenan McMiller and company will look to have another solid season in the competitive Coast North Conference. Winbush, Hector, Rivera, Ogunleye are sophomores that will give them enough punch to be a standout team but the Gladiators will be tested early. Chabot opens up their season on Thursday against Reedley, will face a very good Diablo Valley team on Friday and face Alameda on Saturday in their first week of the 2022-2023 season.
5. Contra Costa (23-5): The Comets come into the season with tons of potential and should be a very good team in the upcoming season. Contra Costa won 23 games a year ago and return Miles Lewis and Seneca Willoughby as a solid back court duo. The Comets have size and athleticism and will be a team that should get better as the season moves along. Contra Costa opens up the weekend on Thursday as the Comets will face 6th ranked Cosumnes River in a battle between ranked teams within our preseason rankings. The Comets will face the winner/loser of Butte and 10th ranked Columbia and on Friday and get one more game on Saturday to end their week.
6. Cosumnes River (17-11): The Hawks enter our preseason rankings at number six to start the season. Cosumnes River will be a team that will be on our radar this season and the Big 8 team has some solid pieces in place to have a great season. Ja’Rod Webb, Kyree dunn and Brandon Scott will give the Hawks three players that can score the ball and Cosumnes River seems to be one of the teams in the Big 8 that will make some noise. The Hawks open up their 2022-2023 season on Thursday against 5th ranked Contra Costa at the Tony Costello Tip Off Classic and will face the winner/loser of the Butte/Columbia game on Friday and get one more game on Saturday to end their first weekend.
7. Porterville (20-8): The Pirates enter the rankings as our number seven team in Northern California. Porterville had a breakout season a year ago and now the Pirates have a target on their back after winning 20 games and making the post season. Cameron Walker and Julio Phipps return to the squad along with some talented newcomers which push them into the top 10 and have them being a team that will challenge Sequoias in Central Valley Conference action. The Pirates open up their season on the road against 10th ranked Allan Hancock on the road on Wednesday for their lone game of the week.
8. Columbia (24-6): The Claimjumpers start the season off at number eight as Coach Rob Hoyt and company look to have another standout season. Columbia will look to have another 20 win season and the Jumpers will be a team that should be in the mix within the Central Valley Conference race in the 2022-2023 season. Columbia will open their season up on Thursday when they face Butte and take on the winner/loser of the Contra Costa/Cosumnes River on Friday.
9. Cabrillo (18-12): The Seahawks are one of three teams in the Coast South that are ranked and come into our rankings at number nine. Cabrillo has a lot of talent this upcoming season and the Seahawks return four players as Joe Rush will look to have a breakout season. Cabrillo won 18 games a year ago and made the post season and will look to have another standout season. The Seahawks will open up their season on Sunday at home against San Joaquin Delta for their lone game of the week.
10. West Valley (28-4): The Vikings round off the top 10 and West Valley comes into the preseason rankings at number 10. The Coast South Conference champion and state runner up have a ton to replace and come in very young, but at the same time this is a team that will get better as the season moves along. The Vikings are very talented and will contend for the Coast South Conference title and West Valley will start the season at home against Solano on Wednesday and follow that up with another home game against Sierra on Friday for their two games this week.
11. San Jose (22-7): The Jaguars start the season at number eleven in our preseason poll after winning 22 games a year ago. San Jose has a lot of talent for the upcoming season and they will be right in the mix of things in the Coast South Conference race for the 2022-2023 season. The Jaguars will look to improve off their successful campaign and will open up the season on Thursday at home against Lassen, follow that up with a game against Feather River on Friday and finish off their week with a home game against Merced on Saturday.
12. Skyline (14-14): The Trojans enter our rankings at number twelve and Skyline will look to have an improved 2022-2023 season. Skyline missed the post season a year ago, but the Trojans return Julius Alcantara, Ryan Wilson and DeAndre Minor and big man Toyoshige Kano has made some strides. The Trojans will be an improved team and will open up on Tuesday night at home against Marin and follow that up with another home game on Saturday afternoon against Merritt at home.
13. Santa Rosa (19-10): The Bearcubs start the season off at number 13 for us, but will be a team that will improve as the season moves along. Each year, it seems like Santa Rosa will take some hits early but at the end of the season, you will find them in the post season. Santa Rosa will look to battle for the Big 8 Conference championship and their season will open up their first week playing Foothill on Friday at CCSF and then take on top ranked San Francisco on Saturday on the road for their games this week.
14. Las Positas (27-4): The Hawks start the season off at number 14 to start the season within our preseason rankings. Las Positas made the Elite Eight a year ago and return a solid front court with Jordahn Johnson and Brandon Fisher coming back to the program. Las Positas will look to battle for a conference title in the Coast North and will open up their first weekend at home on Thursday against the Simpson JV and face the winner/loser of Los Medanos/Siskiyous on Friday and end their weekend on Saturday.
15. San Mateo (20-9): The Bulldogs round out our top 15 and our the fifth team from the Coast North Conference to start the season within our preseason rankings. The Bulldogs won 20 games a year ago and have brought in some length and have some players that can score the basketball. San Mateo will be a team that should make the post season and the Bulldogs will open the season up against Feather River on Thursday, face Merced on Friday and end their weekend against Lassen on Saturday all at San Jose.
Signaling a Light: Diablo Valley (14-15), Butte (15-12), West Hills-Lemoore (12-13), Mendocino (14-14) , Los Medanos (24-6)