Time to vote for the desert's top high school boys' team of 2025-26

You’ve already voted for the top high school girls’ team of the 2025-26 school year and now its time to turn your attention the boys.

This week we’re reflecting back on some of the top boys’ teams of the last nine months. It was a great year for football teams in the desert, but the hardcourt, the diamond, the links and the pitch produced some high-end performances as well.

You know the drill. Read the accomplishments of these seven teams and vote for your favorite in the poll at the bottom of this article at desertsun.com. Whichever one has the most votes by noon on Saturday will be your choice as the winner.

The Desert Sun will also reveal its choice for boys’ team of the year in the coming weeks. Also be on the lookout for your chance to vote for the top girls’ athlete and top boys’ athlete of the year later this month.

Here are some of the top boys’ teams of the last school year, listed in chronological order.

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What they did: The Indians had a remarkable turn-around finishing with a 9-1 regular season mark including a 4-1 mark in the Desert Empire League and a share of the title with Palm Desert, a year after finishing 3-7, 0-5. The Indians went on to then win two playoff games in Division 7 before losing to eventual champion Barstow in the semifinal. In their 5-0 start to the season, the Indians beat three playoff teams in Segerstrom, Colton and Coachella Valley it was part of a 12-2 campaign that saw them beat seven playoff teams.

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What they did: The Aztecs put together one of their most complete seasons in a decade following up a fine regular season with a pair of playoff victories, putting them in the semifinals for the first time in a decade. Palm Desert finished the regular season 7-3 but one their last four games, including handing Palm Springs its only loss, to grab a share of the Desert Empire League title. The Aztecs, in the Division 8 bracket, then beat Marina and Patriot, before losing to eventual champs Beckman in the semifinal.

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What they did: Just like Palm Desert and Palm Springs, Coachella Valley also made it to the CIF-SS semifinals. The Arabs followed up an undefeated Desert Valley League title with a pair of playoff wins in Division 12. Coachella Valley played its best in its biggest, including a 55-30 trouncing of rival Yucca Valley in the regular season and playoff wins over Banning and Perris. They lost a 49-42 heartbreaker n the semifinals to Grace who went on to win the Division 12 title.

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What they did: The Rattlers captured the Desert Empire League title with a 9-1 record and did so in lopsided fashion. They outscored their opponents 50-8 in league play or an average of five goals per game to less than one. With Jerome Carter leading the way in the scoring department, the Rattlers finished the year 16-2 which included a spot in the highly competitive Division 1, where they won their first playoff game.

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What they did: It was supposed to be a down year for the traditional powerhouse boys’ hoops program, and it started out dubiously as the Indians began the season 4-6, but the team put it together figured out worked and went on a roll. The Indians were able to go undefeated and capture another DEL title, showing the ability to win in any type of game, close, blowout, overtime, high-scoring, low-scoring. You name it, all they did is win. They carried that into the Division 4 postseason, where they won their opener against Pioneer before dropping a painful 42-41 game to Shalhevet.

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What they did: The Blackhawks were the top baseball team in the desert, storming through the Desert Empire League with a 14-1 record for the title. They showed a remarkable knack for winning close games as seven of their 14 wins came by three runs or less. The pitching was superb as they only allowed 27 runs in 15 games or less than two runs per. The Blackhawks earned a spot in the Division 4 playoffs where they had a dramatic opening-round win 4-3 over Northview with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

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What they did: The Saints ended Palm Desert’s years’ long stranglehold on the title of best team in the desert, by knocking off the Aztecs twice on their way to a DEL title. With top players Ayden Rosales, Sergio Romo, Joe Mejia and Christian Starke leading the way, the Saints — who won a CIF-SS Division 3 title last year — were bumped up to Division 2 this year, where they played well again, finishing in a tie for third.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Time to vote for the desert’s top high school boys’ team of 2025-26