High School

Section 7 basketball: Top performers from CIF Southern Section

Nik Khamenia, Brayden Burries, Mazi Mosley and Tae Simmons were among top CIF-SS performers at Section 7.

Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports

Douglas Langford of St. Pius
Douglas Langford of St. Pius / Tarek Fattal


GLENDALE, ARIZONA - The CIF Southern Section was well represented in the 2024 edition of Section 7, which is touted as the best high school basketball event in the country each summer due to the trimmings it provides.

More than 160 schools compete, including the best programs from the West Coast. High-profile college coaches come from all over the country to recruit. Kansas' Bill Self, Kentucky's Mark Pope, UCLA's Mick Cronin and new USC coach Eric Musselman were in attendance.

And best of all, the event gives a unique scene of 12 basketball courts inside State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.

Aerial view of Section 7 basketball courts at State Farm Stadium.
Aerial view of Section 7 basketball courts at State Farm Stadium. / Section 7

Each team plays four games and hopes to win their respective bracket final on Sunday. Seven Southern Section teams reached bracket finals, and four teams were crowned champions: Crespi, Rolling Hills Prep, St. Anthony and St. Pius.

After the three-day event, here is a list of the top performers from the weekend, some of which picked up offers from Division I colleges.

TOP PERFORMERS

(Alphabetical order - Names, School, Grad Year, Position, Listed HT)

Kaiden Bailey, Calvary Chapel (2026) G | 6'3

Bailey averaged 36.5 points per game over the weekend, pouring in games of 28, 44, 35 and 39 points, respectively. In his 44-point game against Windsor of Colorado, he made six 3s and added 11 rebounds with five assists and had just one turnover. He also averaged seven rebounds a game.

Bailey has offers from Cal State Northridge, LMU and UC Santa Barbabra, but the bigger schools will be calling as he rolls into just junior season. He does hold offers from Wazzu and West Virginia.

Brandon Benjamin, Anaheim Canyon (2025) F | 6'6

Benjamin's play earned him an offer from Montana over the weekend. The crafty forward has an array of upfakes and ball skills that allow him to score in bunches, despite not having above-the-rim qualities. He averaged 24.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and anchored Canyon to a 3-1 record at Section 7.

Brayden Burries, Roosevelt (2025) G | 6'5

No surprise. Burries is one of the West Coast's top prospects with offers from UCLA, Duke, Arizona, Houston and USC. He averaged 23.5 points per game after going for 27, 25, 16 and 25, respectively. The 5-star recruit also notched 7.25 rebounds per game for the Mustangs, who are looking to make another run to the CIF Southern Section Open final in 2025.

Collin Haugh, Dana Hills (2025) G | 5'11

Haugh can flat out score it. Question is, at what college level can his ability translate?

The small guard led Section 7 in scoring with a 37.3 points per game clip, including a 56-point performance in a victory over Mesquite High. He scored the 56 on 29 shots, making 16 with nine of them being from downtown. He was also 15 of 18 from the free throw line, which means other guards clearly couldn't stay in front of him.

Haugh is a very intriguing prospect.

Isaiah Johnson, Campbell Hall (2025) PG | 6'3

Johnson was one of Section 7's top scorers, averaging 31 points per game after notching games of 33, 36 and 39 points before scoring 16 points in the bracket final against Rolling Hills Prep. Johnson is a crafty left-hander that will look to lead Campbell Hall to a Gold Coast League title in 2024-25.

He also averaged just under five rebounds and six assists per game.

Nik Khamenia, Harvard-Westlake (2025) F | 6'8

Khamenia is a 5-star prospect. If he isn't now, he will be. The 6-foot-8 forward had all the college coaches impressed when he took two charges in the moments of the Wolverines' narrow loss to Oak Ridge. The two-time CIF State Open champion plays winning basketball while averaging 16.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Khamenia has offers from UCLA, Gonzaga, Creighton, Arizona and Kansas.

Douglas Langford, St. Pius (2025) F | 6'8

The big fella was the anchor to St. Pius' 4-0 weekend. Langford averaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. If he would've made more free throws, the scoring average would've been in the mid-20s. Langford was 16 of 28 from the free throw line over the weekend (57%).

Despite the points he left in Arizona, Langford is the piece that makes St. Pius an Open Division team again in 2025 with guards Tariq Bridges and Kayleb Kearse in the fold.

Trent MacLean, Thousand Oaks (2025) F | 6'9

MacLean had two huge double-double games at Section 7. He notched 20 and 18 games against Chapparal (AZ) and a 23 and 15 game against Desert Pines. The skilled big man finished the weekend averaging 21.5 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Lino Mark, Notre Dame/SO (2025) G | 6'3

Mark might've been the prospect that created the most conversation among evaluators and college coaches. The explosive guard earned a scholarship offer from USC over the weekend.

Mazi Mosley, St. Francis (2025) G | 6'5

Mosley's skill and body make him an intriguing prospect. Long, athletic and aggressive, Mosley has turned into an elite prospect - proven by an offer from UCLA. Mosley averaged 22.8 points and 6.3 rebounds at Section 7. He can shoot off the dribble, play point guard and attacks the rim efficiently, even when bigger bodies are defending the rim.

Mosley has offers from Arizona State, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma and Washington.

Isaiah Rodgers, Corona Centennial (2026) G | 6'1

Rodgers will be the Huskies go-to player this upcoming season after losing Carter Bryant (Arizona) and Eric Freeny (UCLA). He filled the void with an average stat line of 27 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. Centennial went 1-3.

Tae Simmons, Heritage Christian (2025) F | 6'7

Simmons' play earned him a scholarship offer to San Diego State over the weekend. The athletic, broad-shouldered forward averaged 19.3 points and 11.5 rebounds in the Warriors' four games. Simmons had a double-double in every game.

Caleb Versher, St. Bernard (2025) G | 6'3

Versher averaged 20.5 points per game en route to the team's bracket final. Versher lives at the free throw line, which tells you he's hard for the opposition to contain. The senior guard was 27 of 33 (82%) from the charity stripe in four games. St. Bernard went 3-1 at Section 7.

Peyton White, Crespi (2025) F | 6'6

White averaged 19.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game to anchor the Celts to a Mayo Clinic bracket championship at Section 7. He saved his best for last, notching 28 points on 11 of 20 shooting against Canyon's Brandon Benjamin. White, who's known for his physical nature and high motor, showed he can step out and make the 3ball consistently. He was 6 of 11 from downtown over the weekend.

Published
Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports

TAREK FATTAL, SBLIVE SPORTS

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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