This is the week many ranked teams have been looking forward to the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. Teams part of the EYBL Scholastic League or those that won state titles, hope for a bid to Chipotle Nationals, set for April 3-5, in Indianapolis. Previous No. 3 Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) and No. 4 Allen (Texas) losing in the UIL Class 6A, D1 playoffs, as well as Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) winning the first ever EYBL Scholastic Tournament in South Carolina, shakes up this week’s rankings. There are four newcomers, led by newly-crowned UIL champ Duncanville (Texas) at No. 26.
By Ronnie Flores
This week’s rankings are as much about who fell in big games as who won, as Texas’ University Interscholastic League (UIL) playoffs and the inaugural EYBL Scholastic Tournament held in North Augusta, S.C., over the weekend shook up the nation’s longest running consecutive weekly poll.
When the dust settled, Duncanville (Texas), emerged as the UIL Class 6A D1 state champs with a thrilling 54-52 win over Bellaire (Texas), as TCU commit Kayden “Bug” Edwards led the Panthers with 23 points and six rebounds. Duncanville, which won the 2022 FAB 50 National Title on the court but later had its UIL state title stripped, has now won six UIL state titles. Duncanville was also the UIL’s best and highest-ranked team between 2019 and 2023.
Duncanville bested previous No. 4 Allen (Texas) in the semifinals, 77-74, while Bellaire upset state No. 1 and then FAB 50 No. 3 Brennan (San Antonio), 65-57. Both Allen and Brennan had too successful of seasons to completely drop out of the rankings, but took a big hit, especially Allen since it had no key out-out-state win to judge its resume by.
The results also force us to bring in Bellaire to the fold at No. 29 despite its 11 losses because of its victory over Brennan (which No. 31 Bishop O’Connell of Virginia lost to) and by taking Duncanville down to the last possession. Duncanville is naturally this week’s highest rated of four newcomers at No. 26.
With those two teams losing, obviously previously ranked teams moved up.
EYBL Scholastic Tourney Causes Change To Top 10
The team that moved up the most all the way to No. 2 is Link Academy (Branson, Mo.), which captured the EYBL Scholastic Tournament title by beating four FAB 50 ranked clubs, including No. 3 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) in saturday’s Championship game, 74-71. Amazingly, the Lions needed to win a play-in game vs. No. AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), 46-39, then went on to defeat No. 8 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) in the quarterfinals, 59-51, and No. 21 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) in the semifinals, in overtime, 54-45.
Big man Chris Cenac Jr., bound for Houston, was named EYBLS Tourney MVP after netting 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field with six rebounds and six blocks. Guard Trent Perry added 16 points while Jerry Easter 15 points in the title game win. Easter, a guard bound for USC, had 15 points and Alabama-bound Davion Hannah 13 in the critical OT win over Sunrise Christian Academy.
For this week, the results of the EYBLS tourney were more critical than some of the earlier wins, or the regular season league standings, for teams that participated in the event . The league is balanced with many talent-laden teams and credit must be given to first-year coach Chad Myers and his team at Link Academy for winning the tournament to earn an automatic bid to Chipotle High School Nationals, the annual end-of-season tourney in Indiana, April 3-5.
On the other hand, winning this tourney and coming back to win Chipotle Nationals won’t be an easy task for Link by many means, and the overall body of work of each team will be reflected in the final rankings for 2024-25.
We also contemplated moving up No. 5 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) to No. 2, but that decision was made more difficult after Brennan lost in Texas. One of the Mustangs’ losses is to Brennan and the other is to No. 18 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), one of the many clubs hopeful for an at-large berth to Chipotle Nationals. Gonzaga, for now, must remain behind the Harvard-Westlake club Roosevelt beat in the CIF SoCal Open regional semifinals and lost to in a head-to-head matchup in Arizona in January.
On Tuesday Roosevelt will take on No. 10 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) in the CIF SoCal Open Championship game in the Inland Empire after that San Fernando Valley club defeated No. 15 St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) in its regional semifinal contest. For now, No. 16 Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) is in front of Harvard-Westlake in the FAB 50 and Cal-Hi Sports State rankings, but that may not be the case next week if the Crusdaers don’t win the NorCal open final vs. bubble club De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) and Saturday’s CIF Open Final at the Golden One Center in Sacramento.
Historic Wins For Cam Boozer, Koa Peat
The field for Chipotle Nationals will be unveiled this Wednesday or Thursday, and the likely No. 1 seed should be FAB 50 No. 1 Columbus. The Explorers wrapped up a probable No. 1 seed by defeating bubble club Windermere (Fla.) in the FHSAA Class 7A state title game, 68-36. Cameron Boozer, the 2023 Mr. Basketball USA headed for Duke, led the way with 20 points while twin brother Cayden Boozer added 12 points and six assists.
Cam Boozer, in the running for Mr. Basketball USA for the third consecutive season, has now led Columbus to four consecutive states titles as he puts the finishing touches on one of the most honor-filled high school careers in history. Him and his teammates would like nothing more than to top it off with a FAB 50 National title.
When fans in Arizona think “Four-Peat”, Koa Peat will now and forever come to mind after the star forward wrapped up a brilliant career in leading FAB 50 No. 20 Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) to a fourth consecutive Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) state title in the AIA’s highest classification.
Peat, whose high school career rivals 1996 Mr. Basketball USA Mike Bibby of Shadow Mountain for the best in Arizona history, played his final two games for Perry with a broken hand. Peat gutted it out and made an impact with his presence, scoring 20 points in the 66-44 title game win over Sunnyslope (Phoenix). Underrated De’Andre Harrison also had 20 points for a team which easily downed Sandra Day O’Connor (Phoenix) in the semifinals. The Pumas lost only to Harvard-Westlake and Columbus this year.
Some talented teams will join Columbus and Link Academy in Indianapolis for Chipotle Nationals in April. Until all the results are tallied, however, teams whose seasons are now complete, noted by an asterisk (***), will have the opportunity to move up or down in the FAB 50 based on the championship-level games still to be completed around the country.
Those games include The Grind Session World Championships, a 16-team bracket style event that tip-off this weekend at Highland (Salt Lake City, Utah). The teams that advance to the semifinals will play March 22-23 at Haskell Indian Nations (Topeka, Kan.).
The field includes defending champion and FAB 50 No 9 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), No. 25 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah), No. 42 Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.), No. 43 Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.) and No. 44. Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.). Prolific Prep opens play with Patrick School, one of the four newcomers this week to the FAB 50.
Updated FAB 50 National Team RankingsPowered by Ballislife.com
(12th poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 9; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates season complete)
No. Prev. High School (City)Record
11Columbus (Miami, Fla.)27-3
217Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)20-8
37Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)21-6
42Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)27-4
55Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)33-2
610CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)21-5
79Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)19-7
86Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)24-5**
911Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.)30-5
1014Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)28-7
1118John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)24-2
1212Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)22-1
1320Highland (Warrenton, Va.)36-5
1421Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)27-6
1515St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)31-2***
1635Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.)28-1
1716Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)31-3***
1822Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 29-5
1919Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)27-0
2023Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) 27-2***
2127Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)16-7
228IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)21-7
2313AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)15-7
2425Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 29-3***
2528Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah)20-11
26NRDuncanville (Duncanville, Texas)27-7***
2730Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.)31-1
2824Hoover (Hoover, Ala.)35-0***
29NRBellaire (Bellaire, Texas)26-11***
303Brennan (San Antonio, Texas)33-3***
3130Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.)23-10***
3242Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)25-4
33NRBullis (Potomac, Md.)23-7***
3435Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.)24-6***
3532Owasso (Owasso, Okla.)24-4
3633Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.)27-1
3739Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.)34-2***
3836Christ School (Arden, N.C.) 28-3
394Allen (Allen, Texas)34-2***
4037Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.)29-0
4147DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)22-11
4248Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.)34-6
43NRPatrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.)29-7
4426Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.)22-8
4545Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.)26-1
4644Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.)34-4***
4740St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)26-7***
4844St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)30-2***
4946Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.)23-2
5050Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.)29-1
Dropped Out: Previous No. 38 Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.), No. 39 Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas), No. 41 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.), No. 49 Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.).
Bubble Teams: Aiken (Cincinnati, Ohio) 26-1; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 25-5; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 24-5***; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 22-3***; Chambers (Charlotte, N.C.) 23-8; Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) 21-7***; De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 28-4; DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 23-7***; DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.) 30-4; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 25-1; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 24-1**; Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 20-7; Ft. Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas) 37-3***; Glens Falls (Glens Falls, N.Y.) 23-0; Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) 30-4; Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 27-5***; Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.) 26-2***; Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 28-3***; Guyer (Denton, Texas) 34-7***; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 26-1; Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.) 32-2***; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 24-5; Jordan (Fulshear, Texas) 35-4***; Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) 27-1**; Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas) 34-2**; Liberty Magnet (Baton Rouge, La.) 28-3; Lincoln (Warren, Mich.) 20-4; Mansfield Summit (Arlington, Texas) 33-7***; Milwaukee Academy of Science (Milwaukee, Wis.) 17-1; North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) 28-3; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 24-2; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 17-11***; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio) 24-2; Olympus (Salt Lake City, Utah) 24-3***; Quincy (Quincy, Ill.) 31-3; Principia (St. Louis, Mo.) 29-1; Rangeview (Aurora, Col.) 26-0; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 28-5; Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) 25-1; Rich Township (Olympia Fields, Ill.) 25-8; Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) 22-5; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 27-4***; Shadow Creek (Pearland, Texas) 32-3***; Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 25-7; Stranahan (Stranahan, Fla.) 25-7***; St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) 21-11***; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 18-6; St. Michael’s (Austin, Texas) 32-4***; St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) 30-2; Tartan (Oakdale, Minn.) 27-0; Tri-Cities (East Point, Ga.) 26-6***; Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, Ohio) 24-3; U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) 22-3**; Upper Dublin (Ft. Washington, Pa.) 28-1; Wayne Memorial (Wayne, Mich.) 23-3; Weatherford (Weatherford, Okla.) 28-1; Windermere (Windermere, Fla.) 26-6***; Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) 24-2; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 27-5***.
Note:Â 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
