Mountain View is our pick for No. 1. The Spartans had a thrilling run through the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs last season, beating second-seeded St. Francis in the first round, third-seeded Sacred Heart Prep in the semifinals and top-seeded Alisal in the championship match. It was the program’s first CCS title. Mountain View returns its best player from last season, midfielder Sola Nishimura, who shared MVP honors in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division with Palo Alto senior Dinu Deshpande. Mountain View opens the new season on Tuesday at Milpitas.
Bellarmine, which won CCS Division I and NorCal Division II championships last winter, had three players make the West Catholic Athletic League’s first team and two make the second team. All were seniors. The Bells typically reload, which we suspect will happen again this winter. The Bells open at No. 7 in our rankings. … Monte Vista won its fourth NCS championship last season and first since 2016. But don’t count on a repeat. Nobody has won back-to-back NCS Division I championships since De La Salle won its fifth in a row at the D-I level and sixth consecutive overall in 2014. … Archbishop Mitty is third in our preseason Top 15 but could easily make a case for first. The Monarchs bring back three players who made first-team all-WCAL and two who made the second team. … Newark Memorial has a good shot to defend its Mission Valley Athletic League title, given that it brings back the league’s MVP, Sean Rante. … Dougherty Valley brings back multiple key players from last season’s team that made a run to the NCS Division I semifinals, including forward Matas Drevinskas and midfielder Praneel Siddireddy. … De La Salle had a down season in 2022-23 by its lofty standards but the Spartans are another program that reloads more than it rebuilds. The Spartans, after all, are a 14-time NCS champion.
Matas Drevinskas, Dougherty Valley: As a junior last season, he scored 12 goals as the Wildcats went 14-4-4 and reached the semifinals of the NCS Division I playoffs.
Colin Johnson, Sacred Heart Prep soccer: Last winter, he received first-team all-West Bay Athletic League recognition as the Gators went 16-2-2 and won the league championship.
Odhran Kenny, St. Ignatius: The junior received first-team honors in the WCAL as a sophomore last season while helping the San Francisco school go 14-5-3.
Beau Lopez, Monte Vista: Helped the Mustangs win the NCS Division I championship and the No. 4 seed in the NorCal Division I regional as a junior last winter. Was a first-team all-East Bay Athletic League selection.
Ian Nasif, Bishop O’Dowd: The senior had 13 goals and five assists, per stats reported to MaxPreps, for the NCS Division II champs last season.
Sola Nishimura, Mountain View: The senior midfielder helped lead the Spartans to the Central Coast Section Open Division championship last season and received co-MVP honors in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division.
Manuel Portillo, Archbishop Mitty: The senior was the West Catholic Athletic League’s midfielder of the year last season as the Monarchs earned a spot in the CCS’s Open Division playoffs.
Alan Quintero, Archbishop Mitty: Was recognized as the co-goalkeeper of the year in the WCAL last season as the Monarchs made both the CCS Open and NorCal Division regionals.
Angel Ramirez, South San Francisco: Finished his junior season with 63 points (27 goals, nine assists), which ranked second in the CCS among stats reported to MaxPreps.
Sean Rante, Newark Memorial: As a junior last winter, he led the North Coast Section in points among stats reported to MaxPreps, finishing with 56 (20 goals, 16 assists). He was named MVP of the Mission Valley Athletic League.
Brian Solano, Willow Glen: The senior received first-team all-BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division recognition last season as the Rams captured the league championship and a berth in the CCS Open Division playoffs.
Maverick Wilson, Las Lomas: The senior received defensive MVP honors in the Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division as the Knights made the semifinals of the NCS Division II playoffs and the NorCal Division III regional.
Others to keep an eye on …
Jesus Lua Amaya, Pittsburg, senior
Adahyr Arroyo, Hayward, senior
Alec Balica, Castro Valley, senior
Cruz Diaz, Richmond, sophomore
David Escobar, St. Francis, junior
Carson Gamble, Los Altos, senior
Jonah Guardino, Archbishop Mitty, junior
Jake Hensley, San Ramon Valley, senior
Sawyer Hodson, San Ramon Valley, senior
Arnav Mahadev, Monta Vista, senior
Matthew Rajecki, De La Salle, junior
Jonny Roth, Acalanes, junior
Praneel Siddireddy, Dougherty Valley, junior
Reece Wyatt, St. Francis, senior
Nathan Yousif, Silver Creek, senior
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
No. 1 MOUNTAIN VIEW (16-3-5 last season)
How it finished: Won the CCS Open Division championship as the No. 7 seed. Received a spot in the NorCal Division I regional.
No. 2 MONTE VISTA (21-2-5 last season)
How it finished: Won the NCS Division I championship before falling in the NorCal Division I regional.
No. 3 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (15-6-2 last season)
How it finished: Reached the semifinals of the CCS Open Division playoffs before losing in the opening round of the NorCal Division II regional.
No. 4 DOUGHERTY VALLEY (14-4-4 last season)
How it finished: Lost to Monte Vista in the semifinals of the NCS Division I playoffs after going 10-0-3 in East Bay Athletic League play.
No. 5 DE LA SALLE (13-9-1 last season)
How it finished: Lost to Monte Vista in the semifinals of the NCS Division I playoffs after finishing 10-3 in the EBAL.
No. 6 ST. FRANCIS (12-3-5 last season)
How it finished: Was seeded second in the CCS Open Division bracket but fell in the first round to eventual champion Mountain View, 7-6 in PKs.
No. 7 BELLARMINE (17-5-4 last season)
How it finished: Had a terrific postseason run, capturing the CCS Division I championship and then winning the NorCal Division II regional.
No. 8 BISHOP O’DOWD (15-2-8 last season)
How it finished: Won the NCS Division II championship before getting beat by seventh-seeded Bellarmine in the first round of the NorCal Division II regional.
No. 9 LAS LOMAS (21-2-2 last season)
How it finished: Advanced to the semifinals of the NCS Division II playoffs and was seeded third in the NorCal Division III regional.
No. 10 SAN RAMON VALLEY (11-9-3 last season)
How it finished: Finished fourth in the EBAL behind Dougherty Valley, Monte Vista and De La Salle, then lost to De La Salle in the first round of the NCS Division I playoffs.
No. 11 ST. IGNATIUS (14-5-3 last season)
How it finished: Seeded No. 1 in the CCS Division I playoffs, the Wildcats lost to eventual champion Bellarmine 4-2 in PKs in the semifinals after the teams played to a 2-2 tie.
No. 12 SACRED HEART PREP (16-2-2 last season)
How it finished: Lost 2-0 in the semifinals of the CCS Open Division playoffs to eventual champion Mountain View, then fell to Chico in the first round of the NorCal Division II regional.
No. 13 CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER (19-2-3 last season)
How it finished: Lost to Vintage in the semifinals of the NCS Division I playoffs before a second-ending loss to top-seeded Davis in the first round of the NorCal D-I regional.
No. 14 WILLOW GLEN (15-3-4 last season)
How it finished: Won the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division title and made the CCS Open Division playoffs, losing to Sacred Heart Prep in the opening round.
No. 15 NEWARK MEMORIAL (17-7-1 last season)
How it finished: Finished first in the Mission Valley Athletic League and reached the second round of the NCS Division II playoffs, falling to Ygnacio Valley 1-0.
Editor’s note: Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
