On March 13, the El Dorado High School girls basketball team competed in the 2026 CIF State Girls Basketball Championship at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, facing Valley Christian High School in the Division III state championship game. In a thrilling and closely contested matchup, the Golden Hawks secured a 42–40 victory, capturing the program’s first CIF State championship title.
Entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the Southern California Division III Regional, the Golden Hawks advanced to the program’s first-ever CIF State championship game and captured their first CIF State title. The victory follows another historic milestone earlier in the season, when El Dorado secured the CIF Southern Section Division 4 Girls Basketball Championship—the program’s first section title since 1976—under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Matt Raya.
The team’s success has been guided by the leadership of seniors Delaney Shiring, Kennedy Wood, and Riley Morikawa, whose performances helped propel the Golden Hawks through an impressive postseason run.
For Coach Raya, the championship journey carries deep personal significance. A proud El Dorado alumnus and former assistant coach at Rosary Academy Royals, Raya comes from a family with a long-standing connection to the school’s athletics program. His brother, Gary Raya, served as El Dorado’s girls basketball coach and an assistant boys coach before his passing in 1995 at the age of 29 due to a heart condition. The El Dorado gymnasium is named in honor of their late father, Joe Raya, who served the school for many years as equipment and maintenance manager, athletic trainer, and campus custodian.
The Golden Hawks’ historic state championship marks a remarkable achievement for the program and a proud moment for the entire El Dorado High School community. Congratulations to the Golden Hawks on this outstanding accomplishment.
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