We’re in the home stretch of the season with many state champions crowned over the weekend and Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania still on the docket. No. 9 Prolific Prep captures the Grind Session World Championships and is looking for its first championship at Chipotle Nationals, set for April 3-5, in Indianapolis. The lone newcomer hails from the Midwest Region.
By Ronnie Flores
One Newcomer This Week
Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) was looking to capture the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Class 4A and finish as one of the Midwest Region’s top clubs, but Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) had other plans. The Trojans easily took down the top seed and then No. 36 team in the FAB 50 with a dominant 80-55 victory over the Raiders to knock that club out of the rankings.
Wayzata’s Nolen Anderson, a junior, scored 24 points and Christian Wiggins, also a junior, added 21 points for a team that shot well from the perimeter and out-executed its nationally-ranked foe. For Cretin-Derham Hall, which lost its only regular season game when 6-foot-11 Tommy Ahneman did not play, just couldn’t take advantage of its Notre Dame recruit’s size advantage. He was crowded defensively and finished with 15 points. When the game was in the balance, Ahneman and highly-regarded sophomore Ty Schlagel combined for three points in the first half.
Wayzata has now won the Class 4A state crown three of the past five seasons and the big win causes another team from the Midwest Region to move into the rankings.
State Championship Rundown
* In Indiana, the IHSAA Class 4A state final is set for March 29 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where unbeaten Fishers will take on Jeffersonville (Ind.). For the Tigers, it moved up into the Top 10 this week and will secure that spot in the Top 10 with a 44-game winning streak should it take down Jeffersonville. Fishers took down Riley (South Bend, Ind.) in the Class 4A semi-state semifinals, 82-45, behind 21 points from senior guard Justin Kirby. In the 73-48 semi-state championship game, Fishers took down Crown Point (Ind.), 73-48, behind 18 points from Jason Gardner Jr. and 16 points from Kirby.
*In Kentucky, the UK Healthcare Sweet 16 will take place March 26-29 at historic Rupp Arena. FAB 49 No. St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.), which is still unbeaten against Bluegrass State foes, is opening at 1:30 pm CT vs. 26-6 Jeffersontown (Ky.) in its Thursday quarterfinal contest. St. Xavier’s stiffest competition could come from Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.), which was previously FAB 50 ranked and has lost only once in-state. That was by a 72-58 score to St. Xavier. The two teams could meet in the state final, but there have been plenty of upsets in recent seasons at the Sweet 16.
* In Missouri, No. 31 Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.) capped a 31-1 season by capturing the Missouri High School State Athletic Association (MSHSAA) Class 6 state title with a 68-60 win over Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.). The Northmen captured their first state title ever behind clutch shooting from Corbin Allen and the scoring of Zeek Brown. Oak Park trailed early but in the fourth period Allen (who finished with nine points and seven rebounds) hit two big 3-pointers to set the tone for the closing of a historic season that constantly got better after the program bottomed out at 4-21 ten years ago. Brown finished with a team-high 18 points for a club that only lost one game, to North Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas), in its second game of the season.
In Class 4, No. 46 Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) continued its dominant state run with a 81-45 victory over Benton (St. Joseph, Mo.). Trey Williams, headed to Missouri State, and Jimmy McKinney III, led a team that won its four state playoff games by an average of 37 ppg. For Vashon, it was the program’s 16th overall state title and its sixth straight dating back to 2019. It could very well be seven consecutive, but the 2020 MSHSAA playoffs were not completed because of the outbreak of COVID-19.
This is the first state title under first year coach Jimmy McKinney II, the son of the team’s highly-regarded sophomore. McKinney II also was a standout on Vashon’s 2002 state title-winning team. Vashon’s only two losses were to Oak Park and to No. 46 DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.).
*In New York, FAB 50 No. 30 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) held on to defeat No. 44 Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 69-67, in the CHSAA vs. PSAL Challenge on Sunday afternoon. The New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) “AA” champs were leading throughout before Jefferson, the Public School Athletic League (PSAL) champions, made a late push. Stepinac was able to hit its free throws down the stretch to win the defacto New York State Championship game played at LIU in Brooklyn.
Danny Carbuccia had a terrific game for the Crusaders with 15 points and seven assists. Hassan Koureissi made eight free throws in the fourth period and went 9-of-9 for the game for Stepinac, which handed Jefferson its first in-state loss. The 6-foot-5 junior scored a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds. Junior Dylan Perry added 14 points and sophomore Josh Rivera 11 points for Stepinac.
Jefferson was hurt by the foul trouble of Jah’da Swann, who eventually fouled out. He finished with 12 points. The PSAL champs, who dropped one spot in the FAB 50 this week, were led by Connor Sprattley with 17 points, while Malachi Wilson added 16.
* In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) D1 title was won by Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.), which moves back into the FAB 50 to take the spot of previous No. 36 Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.), which was blown out in its title game by Wayzata. Wisconsin Lutheran won two close games at the Kohl Center to claim the D1 state title and enter the FAB 50 at No. 50 after being previously ranked.
The Vikings defeated Oshkosh North, 58-57, in the semifinals and Marshfield in the championship game, 57-55. Balance and quality shooting was the name of the game for Wisconsin Lutheran. In the close semifinal victory, Kager Knueppel led the way by knocking down 3-of-5 3-pointers and scoring a team-high 13 points to go along with three blocked shots. Alex Greene added 11 points. In the title game, Wisconsin Lutheran trialed at halftime just as it did in the semifinals, but instead of the deficit being 10 it was only two and the Vikings were once again able to close out. Knueppel, the younger brother of Duke’s Kon Knueppel, made 5-of-6 field goals and finished with 10 points while, Greene nailed 2-of-3 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
Last season with Kon Knueppel leading the way, the Vikings went 30-0 and finished No. 10 in the final 2023-24 FAB 50. This season Wisconsin Lutheran lost two games, one to Breck (Golden Valley, Minn.) in overtime and to West Allis Central (Wis.). The Vikings avenged the loss to West Allis Central, 72-53, in the state quarterfinals.
WIAA D3 state champ Milwaukee Academy of Science (Milwaukee, Wis.) was also considered for the FAB 50. That club finished 21-1 while capturing its first WIAA state title and lost only to De Pere (Wis.) in overtime. Wisconsin Lutheran beat De Pere, 72-59, at the Vikings Classic.
Prolific Prep Wins Grind Session World Championship
FAB 50 No. 9 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) captured the The Grind Session World Championships for the third consecutive year with a 77-50 victory over Ft. Erie (Ontario, Canada) on Sunday afternoon. That Canadian club upset previous No. 22 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) in the semifinals, 64-61. Ft. Erie upset No. 2 seed and previous FAB 50 ranked Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.) in the quarterfinals.
Prolific Prep will compete at Chipotle Nationals, set for April 2-5, at Hamilton Southeastern High School (Fishers, Ind.). The 10-team field was announced on March 13.
Updated FAB 50 National Team RankingsPowered by Ballislife.com
(14th poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 23; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates season not complete)
Boys BB FAB50 032325
No. Prev. High School (City)Record
11Columbus (Miami, Fla.)27-3***
22Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)20-8***
33Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)21-6***
44Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)35-2
55Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)27-4***
66CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)21-5***
77Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)19-7***
88Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)24-5**
99Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.)34-5***
1011Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)30-0***
1110Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)22-1
1212Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)28-8
1314Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)27-6
1414Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)31-3
1515Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 29-5
1616John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)24-2
1717St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)31-2
1818Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) 27-2
1919Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)16-7
2020IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)21-7***
2123Highland (Warrenton, Va.)39-6
2221AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)15-7
2324Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)29-3
2422Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) 22-12
2525Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas)27-7
2626Hoover (Hoover, Ala.)35-0
2727Bellaire (Bellaire, Texas)26-11
2828Brennan (San Antonio, Texas)33-3
2929Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.)23-10
3030Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)26-4
3131Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.)31-1
3232Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.)34-2
3333Bullis (Potomac, Md.)23-7
3434Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.)24-6
3535DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)24-12
3637Allen (Allen, Texas)34-2
3738Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.)34-4
3839St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)30-2
3940North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.)30-3
4041Chris School (Arden, N.C.)28-3
4144Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.)31-0
4242Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.)35-7
4346DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.)33-4
4443Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.)30-2
4545Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.)29-7
4647Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.)27-2
4748Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio)26-2
4849East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.)27-1**
4950St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.)31-2***
50NRWisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.)28-2
Dropped Out: Previous No. 36 Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.).
Bubble Teams: Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 29-2; Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) 33-5; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 27-5; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 24-5; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 22-3; Chambers (Charlotte, N.C.) 23-9; Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) 21-7; Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 29-2; De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 28-5; DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 23-7; Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.) 23-9; Eaglecrest (Centennial, Col.) 26-2; Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 23-7***; Ft. Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas) 37-3; Glens Falls (Glens Falls, N.Y.) 27-0; Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) 31-4***; Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 27-5; Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.) 26-2; Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 28-3; Guyer (Denton, Texas) 34-7; Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.) 32-2; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 26-6; Jordan (Fulshear, Texas) 35-4; Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.) 31-2; Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) 27-1**; Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas) 34-2**; Lincoln (Warren, Mich.) 23-4; Mansfield Summit (Arlington, Texas) 33-7; Milwaukee Academy of Science (Milwaukee, Wis.) 21-1; New Hanover (Wilmington, N.C.) 30-3; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 26-2; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 17-11; Olympus (Salt Lake City, Utah) 24-3; Owasso (Owasso, Okla.) 24-5; Quincy (Quincy, Ill.) 31-4; Principia (St. Louis, Mo.) 31-1; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 28-6; Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) 26-2; Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) 25-5***; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 27-4; Shadow Creek (Pearland, Texas) 32-3; Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 27-7; Stranahan (Stranahan, Fla.) 25-7; St. Augustine (New Orleans, La.) 29-4; St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) 21-11; St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 26-7; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 19-7; St. Michael’s (Austin, Texas) 32-4; Tartan (Oakdale, Minn.) 27-1; Tri-Cities (East Point, Ga.) 26-6; U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) 22-3**; Wayne Memorial (Wayne, Mich.) 25-4; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 28-4; Weatherford (Weatherford, Okla.) 31-1; Windermere (Windermere, Fla.) 26-6; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 27-5.
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
