The new FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com shows three newcomers (for the second consecutive week), plus teams moving around because of the results of teams they previously lost to. There will be more explosive movement in the weeks to come because of the playoff competition heating up across the country. The highest rated newcomer is No. 36 Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.), while fellow California newcomer St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) has a chance to move up rapidly based on results this week in the CIF Southern Section open division playoffs.
By Ronnie Flores
The loss last week by previous No. 2 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs created a domino effect in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. The Wolverines fell to then No. 39 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 68-61, during pool play and with the victory the Blue Knights leap-frogged two other CIF clubs to jump up to No. 13 this week. Tyran Stokes, one of the nation’s best juniors, finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, while Rutgers-bound Lino Mark had 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
With the victory, Notre Dame finished pool play 4-0 and secured a spot in the CIFSS Open Division championship game set for Saturday at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. The Blue Knights will play the winner of Tuesday’s final pool play game where FAB 50 No. 5 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) will host newcomer No. 38 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.). Roosevelt is still unbeaten in its pool and St. John Bosco has bounced back from an opening pool play loss that dropped it to No. 9 in the Cal-Hi Sports State Rankings to being in position to battle for No. 1 in the state should it beat Roosevelt on the road.
Roosevelt defeated St. John Bosco in overtime in the title game of The Classic at Damien in late December, with its only other loss to No. 17 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.). These latest results create a dilemma where Roosevelt has to be ranked ahead of Harvard-Westlake, despite the loss to Gonzaga, because the Wolverines defeated Gonzaga in the semifinals of Hoophall West in Arizona at the turn of the year. The ranking for the Purple Eagles, and No. 20 Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) is tied to Harvard-Westlake’s success, or lack of it, at this time.
For Harvard-Westlake, which received 31 points in a losing effort from Duke-bound McDonald’s All-American Nik Khamenia, it has beaten Notre Dame twice, including in the Mission League Tournament title game, but must be behind that club for now. Harvard-Westlake also must be behind No. 15 St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.), a team that beat Orem (Utah) and has only lost to No. 12 Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). Orem has twice beaten the Timpview (Utah) club that Harvard-Westlake lost to. For Harvard-Westlake, it can still climb much higher in the FAB 50 as its season is not over. In order for that to happen, this club must follow the same path of the 2022-23 club, which didn’t advance to the CIFSS open final but rebounded to win the CIF open title at the state level to finish No. 1 in California.
Gonzaga lost a game last week to FAB 50 No. 43 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.), a team that it has split with. While the Stags lost in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) quarterfinals, Gonzaga advanced to Monday night’s WCAC championship game vs. No. 19 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) after defeating No. 41 St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) in the semifinals, 57-40. The WCAC title game result will be reflected in next week’s rankings.
Harvard-Westlake’s loss also affects the ranking of Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.), which fell 15 spots after the Wolverines lost last week. Perry, which is looking to win its fourth consecutive Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) state title at the highest level, has lost to No. 1 Columbus and to Harvard-Westlake a game prior to Gonzaga.
As the results show and as we stated in many recent editions of the FAB 50, it’s not just who you lose to but the timing of losses. That is clearly the case for the teams belonging to the EYBL Scholastic League, which contains eight of the top 18 teams in this week’s rankings. After Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) downed previous No. 7 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.), 70-66, at the final EYBLS stop in La Jolla, Calif., behind 18 points from Mariano Manciel and 17 points from Isiah Harwell. After the Tigers won their final conference game (as did CIA Bella Vista) it caused the Tigers to move up nine spots in the rankings to No. 6. More importantly, it created a tri-championship between the Tigers, CIA Bella Vista and new No. 2 Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) for the 2024-25 EYBL Scholastic regular season title. Each team finished 9-2 in conference play.
The top 10 teams in the EYBL Scholastic standings will compete in the inaugural EYBL Scholastic Tournament taking place at the Riverview Park Activities Center in North Augusta, S.C., March 5-8. Wasatch Academy is the No. 1 seed and Brewster Academy is the No. 2 seed. There will be two play-in games on March 5, one between No. 10 seed Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and No. 7 seed Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) and the other between No. 8 seed Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) and No. 9 seed AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.). On March 6, Wasatch Academy will face the lowest seeded team that advances to the quarterfinals, with No. 4 seed Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) playing No. 5 seed IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) on the same side of the bracket. Brewster Academy will play the higher seeded team that advances in its quarterfinal contest, with No. 3 seed CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) facing No. 6 seed Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) on the same side of the bracket as Brewster Academy.
The seeds for this event don’t come close to matching the FAB 50 rankings, because the teams are quite competitive and when they won or lost is a critical factor in our current rankings formula. There are two things that are certain, however, with the announcement of this inaugural event. The winner of the 10-team field automatically qualifies for a spot at Chipotle High School Nationals in Indiana, April 3-5, and the winner will also emerge as the highest ranked team in the FAB 50 in the next set of rankings following the event.
Playing for championships and in bracket play when it matters is a critical component of our rankings criteria. All losses do carry some weight, but winning when it counts is a heavier factor when it comes to the FAB 50. Some teams found that out the hard way this week, but luckily for the majority of them, they will have the opportunity to bounce back.
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Updated FAB 50 National Team RankingsPowered by Ballislife.com
(10th poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, February 23; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
No. Prev. High School (City)Record
11Columbus (Miami, Fla.)25-3
23Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)25-3
39Brennan (San Antonio, Texas)31-2
410Allen (Allen, Texas)32-1
511Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)30-2
615Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)23-4**
713Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)18-5
816IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)21-6
96Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)18-6
107CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)20-4
118Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.)25-5
1212Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)20-1
1339Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)26-6
1414AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)15-6
1519St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)30-1
162Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)29-2
174Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)26-4
1817Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)16-8
1920Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) 25-5
205Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.)24-2
2119Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)30-0
2221Hoover (Hoover, Ala.)32-0
2323Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.)24-6
2424Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.)32-2
2525John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)19-2
2626Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas)34-2
2727Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)15-6
2828Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah)18-10
2929Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)27-2
3030Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.)27-1
3131Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 26-3
3232Owasso (Owasso, Okla.)21-4
3333Highland (Warrenton, Va.)33-5
3434Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.)23-1
3536Webb (Knoxville, Md.)31-2
36NRArchbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.)24-1
3735Christ School (Arden, N.C.)26-2
38NRSt. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)26-5
3940Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.)25-0
4041Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.)21-7
4143St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)21-10
4242Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.)21-9
4322DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 22-6
4446Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)22-4
45NROur Lady of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.)31-4
4637St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)28-2
4744Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.)19-2
4847DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)22-11
4948Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.)31-6
5050Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.)25-1
Dropped Out: Previous No. 38 North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.), No. 45 Quincy (Quincy, Ill.), No. 49 Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.).
Bubble Teams: Aiken (Cincinnati, Ohio) 21-1; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 22-4; Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 27-4; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 20-2; Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) 18-4; Chambers (Charlotte, N.C.) 19-8; Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 23-1; De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 25-4; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 22-1; DeSmet (St. Louis, Mo.) 23-2; Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) 24-4; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 20-1**; Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 19-6; Ft. Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas) 34-2; Glens Falls (Glens Falls, N.Y.) 20-0; Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) 26-4; Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 26-4; Homewood Flossmor (Flossmor, Ill.) 27-3; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 24-1; JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) 22-9; Liberty Magnet (Baton Rouge, La.) 26-3; Lincoln (Warren, Mich.) 16-4; Marist (Chicago, Ill.) 29-2; Milwaukee Academy of Science (Milwaukee, Wis.) 14-1; North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) 24-3; Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 26-6; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 20-2; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 17-10; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio) 20-2; Orem (Provo, Utah) 21-3; Quincy (Quincy, Ill.) 27-3; Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) 25-4; Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.) 27-7; Rangeview (Aurora, Col.) 23-0; Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) 24-2; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 24-5; Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) 21-1; Richland (Richland, Wash.) 23-1; Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) 20-5; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 26-2; Shadow Creek (Pearland, Texas) 31-2; Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 22-7; St. Francis Prep (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) 21-3; St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 26-5; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 14-6; St. Michael’s (Austin, Texas) 30-4; St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) 26-2; Tartan (Oakdale, Minn.) 23-0; Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 26-1; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 19-5; Tri-Cities (East Point, Ga.) 23-6; Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, Ohio) 21-2; U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) 19-2**; Upper Dublin (Ft. Washington, Pa.) 26-1; Veterans Memorial (Corpus Christi, Texas) 37-0; Weatherford (Weatherford, Okla.) 25-1; Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) 21-2; Woodside (Newport News, Va.) 21-1; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 25-4.
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
