November was a busy month and there was a full slate of holiday showcases and tournaments over Thanksgiving weekend that caused plenty of movement in the first edition of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com for the 2024-25 season. The fastest-rising club is new No. 10 Mt. Zion Prep (Lanham, Md.), which goes from unranked to knocking off two clubs inside the Top 12. EYBL Scholastic play and teams just starting their seasons will cause movement in coming weeks as holiday tournaments get set to tip off!
By Ronnie Flores
As we finalized the first regular season FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, we had to take into account the amount of games teams played and the amount of practice time some teams already have under their belt more than ever. For some ranked teams, the 2024-25 season tips off this week while for a selected few in the East Region, there is at least another week to go before the first contest. In fact, there are still nine teams that appear in the first update to the nation's longest-running national rankings that have yet to play a sanctioned game.
We kept those facts in mind when we poured over all the results in Novembers and the first day of December to come up with our new pecking order. When the dust settled, preseason No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) remains at No. 1 despite a 66-54 loss to preseason No. 8 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) at Florida Atlantic University on Nov. 19. That was Columbus' first game of the season and with the win, The Crew ran their record to 7-0. The amount of games played heading into that early season showdown was taken into account, as both teams have plenty of more big games down the line that will make that result more significant.
Kansas-bound Darryn Peterson had 33 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the big win over the Explorers and came in No. 3 in the preseason Mr. Basketball USA Tracker voting behind No. 2 Cam Boozer (Duke) of Columbus and No. 1 A.J. Dybansta (undecided) of FAB 50 No. 11 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah).
After that big win, Peterson missed Prolific Prep's next three games and The Crew subsequently lost all three. Obviously, Prolific Prep wasn't going to hop Columbus in the rankings after losing three consecutive games considering it had six games under its belt when the matchup took place while it was the season opener for the Explorers. The Crew, however, deserves rankings credit for the victory, so they move up four spots this week despite the three-game skid.
Prolific Prep hopes Peterson returns from his foot injury when the team travels to Murray State University this weekend to take on No. 34 Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Utah State in two Grind Session Power Conference matchups. Columbus, which defeated No. 24 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 88-54, at the Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta over the weekend, will take on new No. 29 DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Dynamic Prep (Irving, Texas) and No. 6 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) this week. Gonzaga has yet to play a sanctioned game and the Dynamic Prep matchup will be a key test because that club (coached by former NBA All-Star Jermaine O'Neal) already owns a 62-56 victory over preseason No. 2 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) over the weekend at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Dallas. Link Academy's second loss was to Utah Prep (65-49) at the 5 For the Flight Nationals Hoopfest in Utah and the Lions are now ranked behind both clubs at No. 14.
New No. 7 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) has a big matchup with Wheeler on Dec. 7 at The Tournament of Champions at Wheeler High School. It will be a key test based on how easily No. 1 Columbus was able to beat Wheeler.
Both Prolific Prep (without Peterson) and a full-strength Utah Prep have lost to Mt. Zion Prep (Lanham, Md.), the highest ranked newcomer this week at No. 10 and easily the best team we didn't have on our preseason radar. They were behind at least eight over clubs in our preseason D.M.V. pecking order, but the Warriors deserve major rankings credit for their results so far.
Another team that deserves rankings credit so far is new No. 8 Brennan (San Antonio, Texas), the University Interscholastic League's (UIL) top ranked club after its 10-0 start. The Bears move up 22 spots to No. 8 after handing No. 9 Allen (Allen, Texas) its only loss in overtime, 71-66. The Bears also defeated No. 12 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.), 67-64, at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest. Highly-regarded juniors Isaiah Ward and Donovan Criss did not play vs. Allen and Ward also missed the victories over Roosevelt and Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Texas) at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest.
"In our 10-0 start we have had a number of guys step up," coach Koty Cowgill told Ballislife.com. "The most consistent two have been Kingston Flemings and Camden Cowgill. Both have scored it, passed it, and lead at a really high level early in the season."
We want to make sure to reward teams such as Brennan and Mt. Zion Prep for what they've done so far, and not move 0-0 clubs or teams that have played only one game too much. The head-to-head results will become more critical factors as the entire country gets a healthy number of games under its belt in the coming weeks.
The next FAB 50 update is scheduled for Monday, December 16.
RELATED: Preseason 2024-25 FAB 50 National Rankings | Preseason 2024-25 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | "In The Paint" Podcast (Spotify) | "In The Paint" Podcast (YouTube)
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(1st poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, December 1; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
| No. | Prev. | High School (City) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Columbus (Miami, Fla.) | 2-1 |
| 2 | 3 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 3-0 |
| 3 | 4 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 2-0 |
| 4 | 8 | Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) | 7-3 |
| 5 | 6 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 1-0 |
| 6 | 7 | Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) | 0-0 |
| 7 | 12 | Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) | 5-0 |
| 8 | 30 | Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) | 10-0 |
| 9 | 27 | Allen (Allen, Texas) | 10-1 |
| 10 | NR | Mt. Zion Prep (Lanham, Md.) | 8-0 |
| 11 | 14 | Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) | 7-2 |
| 12 | 10 | Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) | 4-1 |
| 13 | 13 | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) | 5-0 |
| 14 | 2 | Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) | 5-2 |
| 15 | 9 | La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) | 6-1 |
| 16 | 16 | Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) | 1-0 |
| 17 | 11 | Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) | 1-0 |
| 18 | 17 | Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) | 5-0 |
| 19 | 19 | Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) | 4-0 |
| 20 | 20 | John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) | 0-0 |
| 21 | 22 | Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) | 3-0 |
| 22 | 25 | Christ School (Arden, N.C.) | 6-0 |
| 23 | 23 | Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) | 0-0 |
| 24 | 24 | Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) | 4-1 |
| 25 | 36 | Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) | 7-0 |
| 26 | 5 | AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) | 3-3 |
| 27 | 26 | Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) | 0-0 |
| 28 | 28 | St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) | 2-0 |
| 29 | BB | DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) | 12-3 |
| 30 | 21 | Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.) | 8-1 |
| 31 | 32 | Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 0-0 |
| 32 | 33 | St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) | 3-0 |
| 33 | BB | Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) | 12-3 |
| 34 | 34 | Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.) | 9-2 |
| 35 | 35 | Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) | 0-0 |
| 36 | 42 | Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) | 4-0 |
| 37 | 37 | Owasso (Owasso, Okla.) | 1-0 |
| 38 | BB | Sagemont (Weston, Fla.) | 6-0 |
| 39 | 38 | Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas) | 7-2 |
| 40 | 18 | Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) | 0-1 |
| 41 | 39 | Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 1-0 |
| 42 | 15 | St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) | 0-1 |
| 43 | 40 | Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) | 3-1 |
| 44 | BB | St. Raymond’s (Bronx, N.Y.) | 2-0 |
| 45 | 49 | Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) | 7-0 |
| 46 | 46 | Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.) | 0-0 |
| 47 | BB | Fishers (Fishers, Ind.) | 2-0 |
| 48 | 48 | Northwest (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) | 0-0 |
| 49 | NR | Sandra Day O’Connor (Phoenix, Ariz.) | 3-0 |
| 50 | 50 | Totino-Grace (Fridley, Minn.) | 0-0 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 29 Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.), No. 31 Bullis (Potomac, Md.), No. 41 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.), No. 43 Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.), No. 44 Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio), No. 45 Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.), No. 47 Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas).
Bubble Teams: Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 0-0; Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) 1-0; Bryant (Bryant, Ark.) 4-1; Carmel (Carmel, Ind.) 1-0; Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 2-0; Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1-1; Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) 0-0; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 1-0; College Achieve Charter (Ashbury, N.J.) 0-0; Deer Creek (Edmond, Okla.) 0-0; De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 1-0; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 0-0; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 0-0; Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.) 1-1; Greenfield Central (Greenfield, Ind.) 1-0; Jeffersonville (Jeffersonville, Ind.) 1-0; Lincoln (Warren, Mich.) 1-0; Millard North (Omaha, Neb.) 0-0; Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) 1-1; Milton (Milton, Ga.) 2-1; Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1-0; Newport (Newport, Ky.) 0-0; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 3-1; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 0-0; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio) 1-0; Orem (Provo, Utah) 4-0; Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) 4-0; Parish Episcopal (Dallas, Texas) 10-1; Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.) 5-0; Plano East (Plano, Texas) 9-0**; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 4-0; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 1-0; Shadow Creek (Pearland, Texas) 9-1; Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 3-1; St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) 1-0; St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) 0-0; Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1-1; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 3-0; Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1-0; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 0-0; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 4-0.
Note: The FAB 50 powered by Ballislife.com is a continuation of the National Sports News Service ratings that began in 1952. These were the first national high school rankings and the late Art Johlfs of Minnesota compiled them. They were compiled for many years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 25 years ago.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
