There is one new team in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. There is big news out of the West Region and roster changes mean changes in the industry's longest running weekly rankings. The rankings will continue until every team has played, or we determine there is no teams left playing we deem worthy of playing at a nationally-ranked level.
By Ronnie Flores
RELATED: "In The Paint" Podcast |"On The Rise" Show | The Future Of Big-Time HS Basketball | FAB 50 Rankings Criteria | How To Make A HS Version Of March Madness | Updated Mr. Basketball USA Tracker
Expect for the top seven teams in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, no team knows its exact final ranking yet. That's because there are still ranked teams playing that could go on long winning streaks or lose and drop out.
Four states are still playing, with two teams from California still sitting at 0-0 and about to begin their seasons. California is a power state and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) teams alone can cause plenty of movement. For No. 10 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), it will be hard-pressed to hop No. 7 Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.), even if it does capture another CIF Southern Section open and SoCal regional open titles, considering it will not play any ranked non-CIF foes this season.
The state of Washington is set to tip off the week of April 26 and Oregon the week of May 17 and even those two West Region states are affecting the rankings, despite not even playing a game yet. O'Dea (Seattle, Wash.) coach Jason Kerr, whose program opened up No. 20 in the preseason FAB 50 for 2020-21, informed Ballislife that star players Paolo Banchero (Duke) and John Christofillis (Creighton) will not play in O'Dea's shortened season. Banchero was one of the top Mr. Basketball USA candidates in the country, provided he played for the Fighting Irish and a big reason why the team started with a lofty ranking.
Without Banchero, O'Dea has dropped out of the FAB 50 this week and replaced by newcomer Manasquan (Manasquan, N.J.), which finished undefeated and is the third program from the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) to crack the rankings.
We'll have to check with the coaches of the other elite senior-oriented teams in Washington and Oregon to see if there seniors will indeed play this season or if they will use the abbreviated spring season as a "developmental league" for next year. Either way, you can't fault the seniors that have to prepare for college or the coaches who want to help underclassmen prepare for scholarship opportunities or simply give them a chance to play.
The same situation occurred in New York this week, as St. Raymond (Bronx, N.Y.) tip-offed in the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) Spring Tournament. St. Raymond (Bronx, N.Y.) head coach Jorge Lopez told Ballislife that senior point guard Malachi Smith (Dayton) is not participating with the Ravens. Lopez still has a strong unit and is confident his team can have a good showing in the spring tournament that Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) is hosting.
The Ravens won their first game last week, but dropped fours spots in the rankings this week to provide some context to Smith's absence. Their final ranking will still be determined by their on-court record. Keep in mind, another CHSAA program could still move in the FAB 50 if it has a strong showing.
Based on local health department guidelines, there is still a possibility Oregon may not get its season in. So technically we still don't know the exact date of our final rankings. We could determine that no Oregon team has a realistic shot at cracking the FAB 50 and that could affect the drop date for the final rankings.
The Southeast Region and the Midwest Region are now complete and we'll begin to release our final regional rankings this week. The other three regions (East, Southwest, West) will be released when all of their respective teams finish. Teams from the Southeast and Midwest, of course, can still crack the FAB 50 if we determine they are the next deserving team (essentially team No. 51) that would need to go in.
RELATED: "In The Paint" Podcast |"On The Rise" Show | The Future Of Big-Time HS Basketball | FAB 50 Rankings Criteria | How To Make A HS Version Of March Madness | Updated Mr. Basketball USA Tracker
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(19th poll of 2020-21 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, April 25; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Does not include results vs. out-of-season opponents; ****Indicates season not complete.)
| No. | Prev. | High School (City) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 24-1 |
| 2 | 2 | Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) | 20-4 |
| 3 | 3 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 22-3 |
| 4 | 4 | DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) | 9-0*** |
| 5 | 5 | Camden (Camden, N.J.) | 13-0 |
| 6 | 6 | Milton (Milton, Ga.) | 28-3 |
| 7 | 7 | Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.) | 22-1 |
| 8 | 8 | Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) | 18-7*** |
| 9 | 9 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 3-0 |
| 10 | 10 | Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) | 2-0**** |
| 11 | 11 | Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) | 29-1 |
| 12 | 12 | Orlando Christian Prep (Orlando, Fla.) | 28-0 |
| 13 | 14 | Houston (Germantown, Tenn.) | 21-3** |
| 14 | 15 | Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) | 26-3 |
| 15 | 16 | Westlake (Austin, Texas) | 30-2 |
| 16 | 17 | Millard North (Omaha, Neb.) | 27-2 |
| 17 | 18 | Millbrook (Raleigh, N.C.) | 19-0 |
| 18 | 19 | Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) | 7-4 |
| 19 | 20 | St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) | 25-2 |
| 20 | 21 | Reading (Reading, Pa.) | 26-2 |
| 21 | 26 | Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) | 14-1 |
| 22 | 24 | Carmel (Carmel, Ind.) | 26-2 |
| 23 | 23 | Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) | 21-9 |
| 24 | 25 | Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) | 24-3 |
| 25 | 27 | Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) | 19-1 |
| 26 | 22 | St. Raymond (Bronx, N.Y.) | 1-0**** |
| 27 | 28 | Waukee Senior (Waukee, Iowa) | 16-2 |
| 28 | 29 | Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 9-1** |
| 29 | 30 | Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas) | 31-0 |
| 30 | 31 | Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.) | 28-3 |
| 31 | 32 | Victory Rock Prep (Bradenton, Fla.) | 27-6 |
| 32 | 33 | Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) | 2-0 |
| 33 | 34 | Clinton (Clinton, Miss.) | 21-1 |
| 34 | 35 | Central Pointe Christian (Kissimmee, Fla.) | 31-7 |
| 35 | 36 | Grand Blanc (Grand Blanc, Mich.) | 15-2 |
| 36 | 39 | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) | 10-0**** |
| 37 | 37 | Berkmar (Lilburn, Ga.) | 26-6 |
| 38 | 38 | St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) | 15-1*** |
| 39 | 40 | Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) | 28-2 |
| 40 | 41 | Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) | 22-1 |
| 41 | 42 | Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.) | 24-3 |
| 42 | 43 | Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) | 0-0 |
| 43 | 44 | Kingfisher (Kingfisher, Okla.) | 25-1 |
| 44 | 46 | Huron (Ann Arbor, Mich.) | 20-1** |
| 45 | 45 | Ribet Academy (Los Angeles, Calif.) | 0-0 |
| 46 | NR | Manasquan (Manasquan, N.J.) | 12-0 |
| 47 | 47 | Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.) | 21-1 |
| 48 | 48 | North Little Rock (North Little Rock, Ark.) | 21-2 |
| 49 | 49 | Wauwatosa East (Wausatosa, Wis.) | 23-3 |
| 50 | 50 | Centerville (Centerville, Ohio) | 26-3 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 13 O’Dea (Seattle, Wash.).
Bubble Teams: Adams (South Bend, Ind.) 23-2; Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 1-0****; Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 0-0; Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 5-2****; Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, N.C.) 10-1; Atascocita (Humble, Texas) 24-3; Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) 21-3; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 7-2; Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.) 15-0; Bowling Green (Bowling Green, Ky.) 24-3; Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 17-7; Cannon School (Concord, N.C.) 27-5; Catalina Foothills (Tuscon, Ariz.) 19-1; Catholic Central (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 20-0; Central (Little Rock, Ark.) 23-5; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 22-2; Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Col.) 17-1; Christ The King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 0-0; Creighton Prep (Omaha, Neb.) 23-3; Davis (Kaysville, Utah) 22-4; Del City (Del City, Okla.) 22-4; DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.) 14-2; Eagle’s Landing (McDonough, Ga.) 29-1; Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.) 0-0; Edmond Memorial (Edmond, Okla.) 17-2; Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio) 20-4; Elizabethtown (Elizabethtown, Ky.) 22-3; Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) 0-0; Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 0-2***; Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 22-4; Green Run (Virginia Beach, Va.) 9-1; Highlands (Ft. Thomas, Ky.) 30-4; Homestead (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) 26-1; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 14-0; Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) 0-0; John Carroll (Bel Air, Md.) 11-5; Kell (Marietta, Ga.) 21-7; Kickapoo (Springfield, Mo.) 28-2; La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 10-10; Las Cruces (Las Cruces, N.M.) 9-0****; Legacy Early College (Greenville, S.C.) 14-7; McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 24-5; Mentor (Mentor, Ohio) 25-1; Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) 17-5**; Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) 22-3; Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.) 25-4; Pine Crest (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 21-1; Richardson (Richardson, Texas) 25-2; Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 12-3; Seattle Prep (Seattle, Wash.) 0-0; South Central (Winterville, N.C.) 13-0**; South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, Texas) 21-1; Starkville (Starkville, Miss.) 21-3; Stone Bridge (Ashburn, Va.) 16-1; St. Catherine’s (Racine, Wis.) 28-1; St. Mark’s (Dallas, Texas) 7-1; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 15-1; St. Mary’s (Pheonix, Ariz.) 20-1; St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio) 19-3; Thunderidge (Highlands Ranch, Col.) 13-2; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 15-1**; Waxahachie (Waxahachie, Texas) 20-3; Westlake (Saratoga Springs, Utah) 21-4; Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 27-5; Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 15-1; Wilson (West Lawn, Pa.) 20-2.
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 21 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