NEW FAB 50: Top Teams Hold Ground!

A vast majority of the nation’s top teams won their games last week, with No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) beating defending FAB 50 National Champion Montverde Academy (Fla.) for the second time this season. There is some change in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com based on results, plus state and local rankings, and three newcomers, led by No. 48 Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.), as two of the teams that dropped are from Illinois.

By Ronnie Flores

Following the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, high-powered teams usually return to conference and league play during the short week, so there is usually plenty of winning at the top and not much change. That is the case in 2025, as a vast majority of the best teams in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com won their games to stay put or slightly move up in the weekly rankings.

No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) actually played a huge made-for-television game and came away with a 79-59 home victory over No. 6 Montverde Academy (Fla.), last season’s undefeated FAB 50 national champ. Duke-bound Cam Boozer, the 2023 Mr. Basketball USA and a major candidate to capture the prestigious honor in 2025 as a senior, led the way with 25 points and 14 rebounds. His twin bother Cayden Boozer, also headed to Duke, added 13 points in the win for the Explorers, which play No. 17 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) on Jan. 31. Columbus beat MVA by two points earlier in the season.

No. 2 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) plays in the tradition-rich Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), which usually has three or four FAB 50 ranked teams on a weekly basis. This week was no cakewalk for the Purple Eagles, which played then No. 22 St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) and then No. 23 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) in games last week after defeating No. 12 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) on MLK Monday. Gonzaga won at St. John’s, 69-59, and defeated the Stags at home, 74-62, to solidify its No. 2 ranking. Gonzaga can’t let up because its hosts No. 15 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) on Jan. 28 in a matchup with first place in the WCAC on the line.

As for Gonzaga and DeMatha, they don’t drop much, but do fall two spots apiece to make room for new No. 22 Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and No. 23 St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.). Led by McDonald’s All-American Shon Abaev, Calvary Christian Academy is still unbeaten and has handed St. Joseph its only loss so far this season. St. Joseph has played games this season in Manila, Phillipines, Redondo Beach, Calif., San Luis Obispo, Calif., Ft. Myers, Fla., Bristol, Tenn. (where they lost to Calvary Christian), Inglewood, Calif., Springfield, Mass. and last weekend in San Pablo, Calif. at the Crush in the Valley at Contra Costa College. There the Knights handed bubble club Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) its second loss, 76-67.

Baylor-bound Tounde Yessoufou, also a McDonald’s All-American, finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. He is now the No. 2 all-time leading scorer in California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) history with 3,372 points in four seasons, which according to the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book, puts him 90 points away from tying the all-time state mark of 3,462 points of DeMarcus Nelson, a 2004 McDonald’s All-American who went on to Duke.

Another switch was moving down No. 19 Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) one spot after capturing the Alaska Airlines Classic. The Bucs needed overtime and a last second shot at regulation to be off to get by Heritage Christian (Northridge, Calif.) in the semifinals, 51-45. Hoover won the final by 32 points, but Heritage Christian is currently ranked No. 15 in the Cal-Hi Sports State Top 25 and has three losses, including to No. 18 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) by nine points (52-43) and to bubble club Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), so the flip is warranted.

It’s also time to reward teams such as U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.), which still hasn’t lost on the court (it took a forfeit loss) and unbeaten Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio), which is still unbeaten and the top ranked team in Ohio. U of D Jesuit is up six spots to No. 33 and Reynoldsburg is up eight spots to No. 35.

There could be more explosive movement next week after the Montverde Academy Invitational (MAIT) in Florida and after teams begin league tourney play and post-season play in the next three weeks. The MAIT includes the host Eagles, No. 5 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), No. 7 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.), No. 13 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah), and Calvary Christian Academy.

The most attractive first round matchup on Jan. 30 pits AZ Compass Prep vs. Calvary Christian Academy. The winner will face the winner of Montverde Academy vs. Windmere Prep (Fla.) in the semifinals. The other side of the bracket pits CIA Bella Vista vs. Riviera Prep (Miami) and Utah Prep vs. Sagemont Prep (Weston, Fla.)

RELATED:   Preseason 2024-25 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | “In The Paint” Podcast (Spotify) |  “In The Paint” Podcast (YouTube) 

Updated FAB 50 National Team RankingsPowered by Ballislife.com

(6th poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Monday, January 26; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)

No. Prev. High School (City)Record

11Columbus (Miami, Fla.)18-3

22Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)22-1

33Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)19-2

44Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)19-2

55AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)9-5

66Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)12-4

77CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)15-2

88Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.)20-5

99Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.)17-2

1010Brennan (San Antonio, Texas)24-2

1111Allen (Allen, Texas)25-1

1212Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)25-2

1313Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah)16-5

1414Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)17-4

1515Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)15-3

1616IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)13-4

1717Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)14-5

1819St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)21-3

1918Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 27-0

2020Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)11-3

2121Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)13-5

2224Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)13-0

2325St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)22-1

2422St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)15-6

2523DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.)14-5

2626Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)16-0

2727Owasso (Owasso, Okla.)15-3

2828Winstom-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.)26-4

2929DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)14-8

3030Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.)18-5

3131Christ School (Arden, N.C.)18-1

3238Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.)27-1

3339U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.)13-1**

3440John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)20-6

3543Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio)15-0

3632Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)18-4

3733Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)19-2

3834Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.)20-6

3935Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.)16-0

4036Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)13-5

4137Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)18-3

4241Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.)18-3

4342Highland (Warrenton, Va.)22-5

4446Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.)16-0

4547Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas)27-2

4648Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.)13-1**

4749Webb (Knoxville, Md.)23-2

48NRKenwood (Chicago, Ill.)21-1

49NRCatholic (Baton Rouge, La.)25-1

50NRCrown Point (Crown Point, Ind.)12-0

Dropped Out: No. 44 DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.), No. 45 Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.), No. 50 Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.).

Bubble Teams:  Annie Wright (Tacoma, Wash.) 14-1; Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 15-1; Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 15-3; Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) 16-5; Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.) 21-2; Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 21-3; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 14-1; Bullis (Potomac, Md.) 13-6; Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 20-0; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 9-6; DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.) 20-3; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 12-1; DeSmet (St. Louis, Mo.) 16-1; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 13-1**; Evans (Orlando, Fla.) 18-4; Ft. Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas) 28-2; Greater Johnstown (Johnstown, Pa.) 15-0; Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 19-4; Homewood Flossmor (Flossmor, Ill.) 21-2; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 15-1; JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) 19-5; Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) 17-1; La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 13-10; La Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.) 21-4; Northwest (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 8-2; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 11-2; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio) 14-2; Orem (Provo, Utah) 15-3; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.) 21-3; Plainfield (Plainfield, N.J.) 15-1; Quincy (Quincy, Ill.) 19-2; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 22-2; Richland (Richland, Wash.) 15-0; Rockford (Rockford, Mich.) 13-1; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 19-2; Shadow Creek (Pearland, Texas) 25-2; Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) 13-4; St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) 12-4; St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) 13-3; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 8-6; Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 21-1; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 14-4; Upper Dublin (Ft. Washington, Pa.) 18-1; Upper St. Claire (Upper St. Claire, Pa.) 16-1; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 14-2; Veterans Memorial (Corpus Christi, Texas) 31-0; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 14-2; Weatherford (Weatherford, Okla.) 17-1; Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) 13-1; Woodside (Newport News, Va.) 13-0; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 17-3.

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