All all the high-powered holiday tournaments are in the books, there is a new No. 1 in the first FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com in 2025. For the first time in program history, Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) sits atop the perch of the nation's best teams, but it has plenty of work to do to stay there. More than ever, there is movement at the top as teams beat up on each other as a result of national schedules. In a year of parity, there are nine newcomers, led by No. 7 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.), but only two within the previous Top 25 drop out. The parity creates excitement for multiple teams whose fan bases feel they have a shot at the FAB 50 crown.
By Ronnie Flores
In the 38 years of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, and the 25 years since it took its current format, there has never been so many results that have turned the rankings upside down since its previous update.
That is a good thing.
Why is it a good thing you ask? Because that means the nation's ranked teams are competing against each other on a weekly basis and are very competitive. In the early years of the FAB 50 (and even before that in the formative years of the USA Today and Basketball Weekly rankings), most of the top teams were unbeaten at the end of the season. It was easy to update the records and teams were often ranked high based on reputation or prior success.
That is not the case as we enter 2025. There isn't a team in the Top 10 in our updated poll that hasn't suffered a loss, as many of the best programs have competed against each other over the past two months. More than ever, a head-to-head result doesn't automatically mean the losing team is ranked behind the team it lost to, because this year that team has also lost to a third team that came into their contest ranked lower.
More than ever, factors other than head-to-head result come into play, as the research done in the preseason and the circumstances surrounding a big game are more critical than ever. With that in mind, it's actually not that difficult to place Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) at No. 1 in the nation, two spots higher than its position when we last updated our rankings prior to the big Christmas-time tournaments, added in with the results of the Nike Tournament of Champions featuring Hoophall West in Arizona, Jan. 2-4. This is the first time Prolific Prep, which plays in the Grind Session Power Conference, has been in this position after fielding many fine teams in recent years.
The rational is simple. The Crew took three consecutive close losses when Mr. Basketball USA candidate Daryn Peterson was out with a foot injury. A game earlier, Peterson led The Crew to a victory over preseason No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.), 66-54. This week, Columbus comes in at No. 2 after capturing the prestigious City of Palms Tournament in Ft. Myers, Fla. Yes, Columbus did suffer back-to-back losses to No. 22 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) and No. 21 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) at the Madehoops Jordan Holiday Classic after COP, both both those teams have stinker losses on their resume as well. If it weren't for the win over the Explorers, Link Academy would be lower than No. 20 and Long Island Lutheran wouldn't have been able to move up in this week's rankings, as the Crusaders have lost to new No. 25 Owasso (Okla.) and No. 39 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.).
After Peterson returned to the lineup, Prolific Prep recorded victories over No. 34 Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.), 91-70, and No. 8 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah), 76-70. Utah Prep recently captured the long-running Iolani Classic in Hawaii with a 45-43 victory over No. 9 Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.), as the Grind Session Power Conference member rallied from a nine-point deficit to pull out the victory. BYU-bound Mr. Basketball USA candidate A.J. Dybantsa netted 23 points and was named tourney MVP after tallying 81 points in four victories.
Another reason Prolific Prep is tabbed No. 1 is because of the teams to own a victory over Columbus The Crew has the best resume, plus we can't drop Columbus much if at all. On top that that, both teams still have major games looming in the coming weeks that will test their current 1-2 ranking position. Columbus only drops one spot because it owns a win over No. 6 Gonzaga, handed No. 7 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) its only loss so far, defeated No. 10 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) to win City of Palms, and also owns decisive wins over No. 12 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and No. 14 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.).
It took three overtimes for Columbus to defeat Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), which falls to No. 6 this week after taking third place at the Hoophall West event in Arizona. Gonzaga fell to new No. 5 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), 66-63, in the semifinals of a 8-team bracket. The Wolverines' victory helped the profile of the California Interscholastic Federation's (CIF) top teams, as seven of them appear in the rankings this week.
It's a tight trio at the top of the Cal-Hi Sports State Top 25 rankings (which been around even longer than the FAB 50 going back to the 1979-80 season) with Harvard-Westlake right on the heels of No. 3 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) and No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.). Season-long state No. 1 Roosevelt captured the Tarkanian Classic and beat St. John Bosco in overtime, 56-55, to win The Classic at Damien with uncommitted senior guard Brayden Burries capturing MVP honors at both events. The Mustangs are the first program ever to win the top division of both prestigious Holiday Tournaments in the same year and were without New Mexico-bound Issac Williamson for a vast majority of the loss to No. 17 Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Dallas.
Yes, there is tons of movement and some teams ranked higher than teams they lost to, but the nation's best teams haven't changed much since before the holidays. In fact, only two of the previous Top 25 dropped out, as a vast majority of the newcomers break in at the rear of the FAB 50. That's where the in-depth preseason research comes into play.
There have been a myriad of results, but the bottom line is, your team has to be talented, you have to play somebody and this year you ultimately have to bounce back from a loss if you want to be considered one of the nation's best teams.
RELATED: 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
(3rd poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, January 5; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
| No. | Prev. | High School (City) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) | 16-3 |
| 2 | 1 | Columbus (Miami, Fla.) | 13-3 |
| 3 | 9 | Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) | 18-1 |
| 4 | 10 | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) | 17-1 |
| 5 | 31 | Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) | 18-1 |
| 6 | 2 | Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) | 12-2 |
| 7 | NR | CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) | 12-1 |
| 8 | 28 | Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) | 15-4 |
| 9 | 7 | Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) | 12-2 |
| 10 | 8 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 8-2 |
| 11 | 12 | Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) | 13-1 |
| 12 | 6 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 11-2 |
| 13 | 13 | Christ School (Arden, N.C.) | 10-0 |
| 14 | 4 | Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) | 13-1 |
| 15 | 17 | DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) | 10-2 |
| 16 | 15 | St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) | 11-3 |
| 17 | 18 | Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) | 19-2 |
| 18 | 19 | Allen (Allen, Texas) | 20-1 |
| 19 | 21 | John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) | 11-0 |
| 20 | 14 | Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) | 13-4 |
| 21 | 20 | Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) | 10-4 |
| 22 | 23 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 8-5 |
| 23 | 42 | Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) | 11-0 |
| 24 | 29 | St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) | 13-1 |
| 25 | NR | Owasso (Owasso, Okla.) | 8-3 |
| 26 | 24 | La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) | 12-5 |
| 27 | 26 | DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) | 13-5 |
| 28 | 27 | Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.) | 16-3 |
| 29 | 32 | Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) | 15-2 |
| 30 | 37 | Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) | 19-0 |
| 31 | 39 | Fishers (Fishers, Ind.) | 12-0 |
| 32 | 22 | Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) | 13-3 |
| 33 | 33 | Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) | 19-5 |
| 34 | 34 | Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.) | 18-4 |
| 35 | NR | Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) | 12-3 |
| 36 | 30 | Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) | 11-3 |
| 37 | 16 | Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) | 7-3 |
| 38 | 5 | Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) | 8-3 |
| 39 | 35 | Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) | 7-2 |
| 40 | 36 | AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) | 6-4 |
| 41 | 38 | Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.) | 10-0 |
| 42 | 44 | U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) | 8-0 |
| 43 | 40 | Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.) | 20-1 |
| 44 | NR | JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) | 15-3 |
| 45 | NR | St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) | 11-1 |
| 46 | NR | St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) | 12-1 |
| 47 | 49 | De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) | 14-1 |
| 48 | NR | Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.) | 8-1 |
| 49 | NR | Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) | 9-0 |
| 50 | NR | DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.) | 15-1 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 11 Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.), No. 25 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.), No. 41 Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.), No. 43 Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.), No. 45 St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.), No. 46 Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.), No. 47 Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.), No. 48 Orem (Provo, Utah), No. 50 Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio).
Bubble Teams: Annie Wright (Tacoma, Wash.) 10-1; Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 9-1; Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 6-3; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 5-2; Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 15-2; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 9-1; Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) 9-2; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 6-4; Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 9-0; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 7-1; DeSmet (St. Louis, Mo.) 10-1; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 6-1**; Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 7-3; Ft. Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas) 22-2; Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 10-4; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 10-0; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 8-4; Jordan (Fulshear, Texas) 21-2; Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.) 14-1; Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) 11-1; Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas) 22-2; Milton (Milton, Ga.) 9-3; Montgomery (San Diego, Calif.) 16-1; Muskegon (Muskegon, Mich.) 6-0; Northwest (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 5-1; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 6-1; Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.) 9-1; Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) 7-5; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio) 8-1; Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.) 11-2; Richland (Richland, Wash.) 8-0; Rockford (Rockford, Mich.) 7-1; Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) 8-2; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 12-1; St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) 9-3; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 6-3; St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) 7-2; St. Raymond (Bronx, N.Y.) 7-4; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 9-3; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 12-1; Veterans Memorial (Corpus Christi, Texas) 25-0; Waubonsie Valley (Aurora, Ill.) 14-0; Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.) 17-2; Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) 9-0; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 10-3.
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
