Here’s my look at the Division II boys water polo playoff bracket:

Top seeds: No. 1 Mater Dei; No. 2 JSerra; No. 3 LB Wilson; No. 4 Santiago/Corona

Best first-round matchup Tuesday: Aliso Niguel at Long Beach Poly. The Wolverines have been a fixture in the Albano Top 25 Index but struggled a bit down the stretch. Poly defeated Aliso, 8-5, on Oct. 27. The Wolverines also dropped a league match to Tesoro. But Aliso Niguel has an excellent goalie in Bryce Sheldon, who is second in the county with 373 saves.

Best potential second-round match Thursday: Servite at San Clemente. Yes, the division’s sixth

and seventh-ranked squads could collide in the second round, leaving one short of the quarterfinals. No. 10 San Clemente is the South Coast League champion while Friars were ranked No. 12 in last week’s Albano Top 25 Index. Servite becomes a difficult team to bracket because of its Trinity League members, Mater Dei and JSerra, at the top and bottom of the bracket. Of the remaining second round brackets that it could be placed in according to the rules, Servite was placed with the lowest ranked squad among the contenders: San Clemente. The Tritons are ranked below LB Wilson, Santiago and Villa Park in the final coaches poll.

Darkhorse: Villa Park. Spartans are seeded fifth but are certainly capable of knocking off No. 4 Santiago for a spot in the semifinals.  Before last year’s upset loss against Servite in the quarters, VP had made five straight semifinal appearances.

Player to watch: Alex Wherry of Mater Dei. The senior attacker is among the county’s most well-rounded players.

Defending champion: Mater Dei. Monarchs weren’t tested into the finals, where they beat Servite, 8-6.

League rankings (provided by CIF-SS)

1. Trinity

2. South Coast

3. Century

4. Big VIII

5. Moore

6. Rio Hondo

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