There were 10 championship games on Sunday at Cali Live ’25 to conclude the two weekends of the NCAA’s June Scholastic Live Period, which are designed for potential scholarship players to be evaluated in front of college coaches in a scholastic setting.
Many of the top teams in the West Region participated in Section 7 in Arizona the weekend of June 20-22 and came back to participate in Cali Live in Orange County, Calif., June 27-29 in bracket-style championship play. With over 250 college coaches in attendance and over 8,000 spectators throughout the weekend with the hub of the event taking place at the OGP Ladera Sports Center, the third edition of the event (twice in SoCal and once in NorCal with 2026 headed back North) was a smashing success, as many players saw their scholarship offer count rise significantly or put themselves on the map with their play.
Winning, of course, has its perks and when the dust settled it was two Northern California programs that were able to capture tourney titles at both events each weekend. Branson (Ross, Calif.) easily won the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association (ABCA) bracket at Section 7 with a 65-42 win over West Point (Avondale, Ariz.). The Bulls came back at Cali Live and defeated a game team from Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.), 67-63, in overtime. We coined Campbell Hall the “Cardiac Kids” for their penchant to overcome deficits and pull out close games at Cali Live, but its luck ran out against Branson, as the Bulls were the first to score four points to win the contest based on the “first to four” OT stipulation for all games in all 10 divisions.
N.J. Gray, a 6-foot 2027 (rising junior) point guard led Branson in the title game with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Gray has been on the scene for three years now and is well-known to college recruiters. He’s plays with terrific pace and moves like a D1 point guard. There were other junior point guards who stood out this past weekend, that get much deserved recognition below.
The other team that captured a follow up title at Cali Live comes with a caveat: Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) was actually going to advance to Sunday’s title game in the Kangaroo Division regardless of the outcome of its semifinal contest with Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). That’s because the Monarchs began their CIF-mandated two week “dead period” (no sanctioned games or practice) on championship Sunday. Mater Dei, which lost highly-regarded 2027 wing DeMarcus Henry to transfer following Section 7, came through with a 94-92 win over Salesian after defeating Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.) earlier in the day, 79-67, in an “out of bracket” game. Mater Dei still got its four allotted games in for maximum viewing and Salesian was able to play against Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) in the title game. It was a scenario that ended up being a “win-win” for everyone involved, especially the college coaches looking to maximize their viewing over the course of the three-day event.
Salesian, which captured arguably the top division (AIA) at Section 7 with a 63-55 victory over The Villages (Fla.), defeated Notre Dame in the Kangaroo Division final, 64-62, in yet another overtime contest. The Salesian assistant coaches, led by former player Mario Dunn, however, gave its deep core of players some friendly ribbing for allowing Mater Dei’s Luke Barnett, a 6-foot-3 2026 shooting guard, to completely go off in The Pride’s two-point loss. Salesian prides itself on its tough team defensive concepts and nobody sees the court much for Bill Mellis (the coach who actually missed Sunday’s game because of prior commitments back home in the Bay Area) unless they play tough defense, but the top shooter at the event (and arguably the best ever for the storied Mater Dei program) went bonkers with 46 points, including 10-3-pointers, in the two-point Monarchs victory. With a GPA well above 4.0, Barnett is going to be able to punch his ticket to some lucky college that will be getting a terrific catch and shoot marksman. He certainly wasn’t the only great shooter at Cali Live, but his Saturday performance deserves mention, as he had 35 points and eight 3-pointers in the win over Loyola.
Notre Dame was one of two programs (excluding Salesian) heading into Sunday’s championship games that had the opportunity to capture team titles in both West Region June Scholastic Live Period events it played in. The other was fellow Mission League club Crespi (Encino, Calif.) in the Aussie Basketball Travelers Division, but like Notre Dame it fell in its championship game to St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), 45-42. From an evaluation standpoint, Notre Dame and Salesian was an excellent matchup, as Salesian employed its depth against arguably the most gifted guard at the event (from an explosive finisher standpoint) in the Blue Knights’ 6-foot-2 2027 NaVorro Bowman Jr. He dominated play on many occasions and both Section 7 and Cali Live and Salesian’s defense presented a formidable challenge to arguably the most impressive team at the previous weekend’s event.
Notre Dame-Salesian was a game of runs, as the Blue Knights closed the first half on a 19-5 run, as the SoCal power led 34-29 at the break. The run grew to 23-5 before it was ended by 6-foot-5 2026 wing Carlton Perrilliat on a conventional 3-point field goal play. Perrilliat is not high on recruiters’ lists, but that’s because he plans to concentrate on football at the next level. Perrilliat loves to attack defenses by getting downhill and is a relentless competitor. It’s no surprise that Salesian went to him many times down the stretch. Notre Dame’s Zach White, a 6-foot-6 2026 forward and one of the fastest-rising seniors in California, scored the first basket of the “first to four” overtime, but The Pride scored the final four to finish 3-1 and return to NorCal as divisional “champ”.
Elias Obenyah, a 6-foot-5 2026 combo guard, scored after Salesian got a needed defensive stop and then with the game tied, Notre Dame turned the ball over right in front of the Salesian bench on the inbounds pass. Salesian ran action for Perrilliat, who drove from the right elbow for a contested shot, missed it, but teammate Ronnie Salleaze, a 6-foot-2 2027 guard, followed up the attempt to score the contested game-winner.
Obenyah and Perrilliat, Salesian’s two best overall players, led the way offensively. Obenyah, one of the top performers at the Pangos All-American Camp, finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Perrilliat has 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Salesian got the job done despite going cold from the outside, as it made only 3-of-18 3-point attempts. Two of those threes were made by 5-foot-10 2026 guard Isaiah Davis (six points) and the other by 6-foot-5 2026 forward Leon Powe Jr., who finished with seven points.
Bowman, who got offered by UCLA, Washington and other based on his Section 7 performance where he averaged 26 ppg, 3 rpg, 4 apg, and only had two turnovers in four contests while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the charity stripe, led Notre Dame with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists. White, who major West Coast colleges are beginning to fall in love with because of his team-first attitude and skill level, finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Making Notre Dame’s 7-1 mark during the June Scholastic Live Period even more impressive is it did it without the services of the nation’s No. 1 ranked 2026 player, forward Tyran Stokes, because of USA Basketball 19U duties and 2027 guard JoJo Nance.
Cali Live: More Champions, Individual Standouts
• Along with Gray and Bowman, another standout 2027 junior guard who led his team to championship Sunday in the Passport Division was 6-foot 2027 Jaylen Smith of Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.) and like Gray he helped his team get the job done. Smith led his team to a 60-53 win over San Gabriel Academy (Calif.), the defending CIF D3 state champs, by dominating a single game as much as any guard did in a high level game over the weekend. Along with Adan Diggs, a 2028 guard from Millennium (Phoenix, Ariz.), Smith possessed the best pull-up mid-range jumper of any guard in attendance, and he used it repeatedly down the stretch. It seems as if Smith’s scoring was near effortless, as he was so smooth and under control.
Smith finished with 37 points. He is now fielding offers from Montana and Weber St. and a plethora of Big West and Mountain West schools showed interest by Sunday.
“It felt great to play in front of so many college coaches, Smith told Harold Abend of Cal-Hi Sports. “I tried to show a desire to win and make sure my teammates got support, too, and I think the college coaches sat that.
•Along with Barnett, among the best long range shooters at Cali Live included 2026 top 5 national prospect Jason Crowe, Jr. of Inglewood (Calif.), who led the event in scoring, 6-foot-4 2026 Joe Sterling of Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), Pangos All-American Camp co-MOP 2026 guard Kaiden Bailey of Santa Margarita (Ranch S.M., Calif.), 6-foot-3 2027 Hunter Caplan of Crean Lutheran (Irvine, Calif.), and 6-foot-2 2027 Maxwell Scott of Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.) and 6-foot-3 2026 Ezekiel Walker of Francis Parker (San Diego, Calif.).
In the SCIBCA Division title game, Scott’s Corona del Mar team fell to California (San Ramon, Calif.), 64-63, after a missed lay-up attempt off a pass thrown from the other side of the court. Scott netted 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and was a standout all weekend long with his deep range shooting. Cal-Hi’s Brayde Kuykendall, a 6-foot-6 small forward, had five 3-pointers and 21 points. He’s committed to St. Mary’s and all weekend long showed why he’s so highly-regarded.
• Sterling led the way for Harvard-Westlake in its 69-60 OCYSF Division title game victory over Bailey’s Santa Margarita club. The sharp-shooting combo guard had 23 points and four 3-pointers and also showed his nifty passing ability over the weekend. Cole Holden, a 6-foot-1 2027 guard, added 14 points and two 3-pointers for Havard-Westlake. Washington St. commit Brayden Kyman led the way for Santa Margarita with 23 points and eight rebounds.
• Crespi, trying to Double-Dip, fell in the Aussie Basketball Travelers Division championship game to St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.). The highest-rated prospect at Cali Live was Christian Collins, a 6-foot-9 2026 forward, and he did not disappoint with 13 points, 19 rebounds and three blocked shots despite some very physical defense. Collins’ games with Bosco resembled small coaches conventions, as nearly every P5 school would love to offer him a lucrative rev-sharing deal in order to secure his services for 2026-27.
2026 Guards Stand Out
• Among the senior point guards, 6-foot-4 2026 Jo Jo Johnson of Mayfair (Lakewood, Calif.) was the fastest-rising and arguably the fastest-rising player of the West Region’s June Scholastic Live Period weekends. He is a left-handed power guard with good passing instincts, a nose for scoring, a nice mid-range game and a big play-maker when his team needs it. College coaches were particularly interested in his “mano-a-mano” Saturday matchup with Diggs. Johnson more than helps his own even though Millennium pulled away down the stretch in a 65-51 victory.
Diggs finished with 27 points, while Johnson had 22 points and eight rebounds. Johnson has a unique situation because he’s been a major talent known for over a year and a half to credible West Region scouts, but he’s never played on a serious travel ball club. His recruitment needed the scholastic period and it paid off. According to his high school coach Donnell Meekins, Johnson now field scholarship offers from Long Beach St, UCSB, and Pepperdine with UCLA, Stanford, SMU, SDSU, Colorado St., UC-Irvine, among others, showing serious interest.
• Another senior guard who recruitment has picked up is 6-foot-3 2026 Jaden Bailes of JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.). After a lukewarm performance at Section 7, JSerra captured the Grip Spritz Division title with a 69-56 victory over Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.). Bailes, who had a solid junior season at St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) after ripping up the nets as a sophomore, led the way with 33 points, including six 3-pointers, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Bailes could have easily been included in that group of shooters mentioned above and is also a natural scorer with an array of shots in his arsenal. Bailes also has an improved physique and now an improved recruitment. He recently picked up an offer from CAL.
Coming From Nowhere
Walker was arguably the brightest gem unearthed at Cali Live. He missed his junior season after a transfer, but quickly showed he has a solid combination of size, shooting and feel to attract serious D1 interest. Many schools evaluated Francis Parker to check out 2027 point guard Tavid Johnson, but left equally impressed with Walker. He now fields a San Jose St. offer and interest from Stanford, among others.
Another virtual unknown to emerge was Salesian’s 6-foot-6 2026 forward Jahlil Lindsey. Just as he did at Section 7, Lindsey showed himself to be a capable downhill driver and a D1 level defender. He has more interest in football, but hopes to see his recruitment pick up in hoops because that’s the sport he wants to play in college.
The same can be said for virtually every player among the 160 teams that participated at Cali Live, and for many the dream is now closer to reality than it was before the school year let out last month.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
