The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Tournament kicks off this week and the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) will be well represented. A total of six teams from the conference made the field of 24.
The Orange Empire Conference has had a team in each of the last three state championship games, with Santiago Canyon College winning the state title in both 2018 and 2019 and Cypress College participating in the state title game in 2021 before falling to Hartnell College (0-3).
OEC champion Santiago Canyon will have home field advantage throughout the regional playoffs after earning the No. 2 seed. The Hawks (17-1-2, 12-0-2) received no favoritism from the committee, however, as four other OEC programs are located in their bracket. OEC rivals Saddleback College (16-2-3, 11-1-2) and Cypress College (13-2-4, 9-2-3) both finished second and third in the conference standings, respectively, and could provide a significant challenge should they all advance past the opening rounds. Saddleback was seeded No. 2 by the committee and Cypress No. 6.
Fourth place Golden West College (10-10-0, 7-7-0) and fifth place Fullerton College (8-12-0, 6-8-0) were also placed in the Santiago Canyon bracket, with Fullerton getting the No. 22 seed and Golden West the No. 23 seed. Golden West will open the playoffs with a game at Southwestern College (15-3-3) on Wednesday while Fullerton will travel to Antelope Valley (14-3-4). Southwestern was the champions of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference while Antelope Valley was the champion of the Western State Conference-South Division.
Santiago Canyon will host the winner of Citrus College (14-6-1) and Ventura College (9-8-4) on Saturday. Citrus was a fourth place finisher in the Western State Conference-South Division while Ventura was a fourth place finisher in the Western State Conference-North Division.
Saddleback will open the playoffs on Saturday against the winner of Santa Monica College (12-6-3) and Bakersfield College (11-5-5). Santa Monica finished in third place in the Western State Conference-South Division while Bakersfield was fifth in the Western State Conference-South Division.
Cypress opens the playoffs on Saturday against the winner of Antelope Valley College (14-3-4) and Fullerton College (8-12-0, 6-8-0). Antelope Valley was the champions of the Western State Conference-South Division while Fullerton finished fifth in the OEC.
One other OEC team made the field of 24 as Orange Coast College (12-8-2, 5-8-1) was placed in the opposite bracket. The Pirates were listed as the No. 20 seed for the tournament and will head to Allan Hancock College (14-1-5) on Wednesday for an opening round game. Allan Hancock was the champions of the Western State Conference-North Division.
Release by Brad Hoiseth, Saddleback SID