SoCal POP Rankings 2026: Top 10 at Every Position Through Week 10

These are not opinion rankings. Nobody at SPIN picks who is No. 1. POP, Production Over Potential, is calculated from what each player has actually done this season, game by game, from the box scores of his games, weighed for who he did it against and where. Stars, offers, highlight tapes and reputation are not in the math. Two things are: what he produced, and the competition he produced it against.

That is why big numbers against weak opponents do not rank high here, and why a big game against a great opponent is the most valuable thing on these boards. Consistency counts too: a full season of steady games is worth more than one monster night surrounded by quiet ones. The rules are set before the numbers come in, and they apply to every player in every region the same way.

Below: the Top 10 at every position across Southern California through Week 10, games of Oct. 15 to 17 included, plus the Two-Way board. The region covers the Southern Section, the San Diego Section, the Los Angeles City Section and the southern end of the Central Section. The full Top 25 at every position, a Top 10 for every section and every rated player in the region live on the Player Rankings tab, updated every Wednesday.

What changed this week

• New No. 1 at defensive back. King Rich Johnson of Orange Lutheran moves from No. 6 to No. 1 (97, up from 95) after an interception returned 40 yards for a touchdown in the 48-13 win over JSerra Catholic. He has four interceptions and three defensive touchdowns on the season. Ca'ron Williams of Santa Margarita and Isala Wily-Ava of St. John Bosco are also at 97; Jake Martin of Santa Margarita moves from No. 10 to No. 6 (95) on four tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and a blocked field goal in the 21-7 win over St. John Bosco.
• Six players at 99, up from five. Kingston Jimmerson of Santa Margarita joins Tegan Ogas of Norco, Braylin Spencer of JSerra Catholic, Aydan Steen of Santa Margarita, Caleb Joy of Chaparral and Kaleb Herndon of Santa Margarita. Jimmerson had five tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack against St. John Bosco. Joy holds No. 1 on the defensive line after 10 tackles, two for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a one-yard rushing touchdown in the 47-7 win over Murrieta Mesa.
• Jaden Jefferson and Koa Malau'ulu are tied at 95 at quarterback. Jefferson of Centennial holds No. 1 on the tiebreak after 172 passing yards and a touchdown in the 46-14 win over Norco; Malau'ulu threw for 222 yards and two scores in St. John Bosco's 21-7 loss at Santa Margarita. Nicholas Hoang of Culver City moves from No. 12 to No. 7 (91) on 25 of 32 for 374 yards and three touchdowns against North of Torrance, and Lincoln Jahn of Inglewood moves from No. 18 to No. 10 (91) after going 8 of 9 for 195 yards and three touchdowns against Redondo Union.
• Darian Webb of Carlsbad moves from No. 5 to No. 3 at running back (95) on 28 carries for 271 yards and four touchdowns in the 42-26 win over San Marcos. Maliq Allen of St. John Bosco holds No. 1 at 98 after 13 carries for 40 yards against Santa Margarita.
• Kiyan Callis, the Santa Margarita freshman, moves from No. 7 to No. 3 at wide receiver (96) on six catches for 80 yards against St. John Bosco. Kuika Moaalii of St. John Bosco holds No. 1 at 98. Luke Frith of San Juan Hills moves from No. 10 to No. 7 on eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown in the 14-10 win over Yorba Linda, and Clark Cokley of JSerra Catholic enters the Top 10 at No. 10 (94).
• Hudson Manning of Chaminade moves from No. 8 to No. 5 on the defensive line (98, up from 96) with five tackles, three for loss, in the 41-0 loss to Sierra Canyon; he is up to 20 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks on eight games. Marcus Fakatou of Sierra Canyon moves from No. 12 to No. 9 (97) on seven tackles, three for loss, a sack and two forced fumbles in that game, and Simote Tupou of St. John Bosco moves from No. 24 to No. 10 (95) after two sacks against Santa Margarita.
• Matt Salmeron of Centennial moves from No. 11 to No. 7 at linebacker (95) on eight tackles and an interception against Norco, and Ethan Coach of St. John Bosco moves from No. 15 to No. 9 (95) after four tackles and a forced fumble against Santa Margarita. Spencer and Steen hold No. 1 and No. 2 at 99.
• Nicolas Bellasarian of Mira Costa enters the Two-Way board at No. 4 (92) after six catches for 62 yards, six tackles and a pass breakup against Palos Verdes. Jalen Flowers of Palos Verdes moves from No. 11 to No. 8 (89, up from 85) on seven catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns plus an interception in that 34-14 win. Tahj Skinner of Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks holds No. 2 (92) after 288 passing yards and 18 tackles against Bishop Amat. Jaxson Rex of San Clemente holds No. 1 at 93.

Coaches, post your box scores. POP can only count what gets recorded. About seven in ten Southern California team-games from Oct. 15 to 17 had a box score in when this week's numbers were run. Loyola has no box in our data for its game with Serra, Los Alamitos none for its game with Edison, and San Clemente and Mission Viejo players carry seven games this week, one fewer than most of the region. When a program posts no box score, or logs only part of what its players did, those players lose credit for work they actually did. Post full box scores, offense and defense, every week. If a stat is wrong, tell us and show us; the corrected rating shows on the next board.

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Defensive Backs

Linebackers

Defensive Line

Two-Way (Athletes)

How to read the number

A POP rating runs 25 to 99 on one national scale, so a 95 in Southern California means the same thing as a 95 in Utah or Northern California. GP is games with a posted stat line. Two-Way players must be rated on an offensive board and a defensive board; the Two-Way number is built from both sides.

How every number on this board is built: the SPIN Production Rankings methodology. Why we built it: Stars Are a Bet. Yards Are a Receipt. Last week's board: SoCal through Week 9. This week's other boards: Utah through Week 10 and NorCal through Week 10.

Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Northern California and Southern California are live on the Player Rankings tab.