Chipotle Nationals closed out the 2024-25 season and it’s now time to publish our final FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. Columbus of Florida met its season-long goal of winning the prestigious tournament to cap off a season in which it finished ranked No. 1 in the country. The results of the 10-team event causes some movement within the Top 20.
By Ronnie Flores
Columbus Quest Is Complete
The theme of 2025 Chipotle Nationals was the quest of FAB 50 No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) holding off a strong group of teams it was very familiar with to capture the prestigious end-of-season tournament this past weekend in Indiana. After losing in last year’s tournament to season-long FAB 50 No. 1 Montverde Academy in the semifinals, Columbus had its eye on the prize, but also a bulls eye on its back after opening the 2024-25 season as the pre-season No. 1 team in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com.
Led by Duke-bound twin brothers Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer, Columbus wouldn’t be denied in 2025. The Explorers used their experience, motivation and the big-game ability of Cayden, a 6-foot-4 senior point guard, to propel the team to the event title and finish No. 1 in this season’s final rankings.
After opening as preseason FAB 50 No. 1, Columbus fell from the perch after taking losses to Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) and Link Academy (Branson, Mo.). Coach Andrew Moran’s club eventually re-gained the top perch against a challenging schedule, but these three clubs, Dynamic Prep (Dallas) and five others from the Nike EYBL Scholastic League joined the Explorers at Hamilton Southeastern High School (Fishers, Ind.).
Link Academy came into the event as the No. 2 seed behind top seed Columbus after capturing the inaugural EYBL Scholastic Tournament crown. The Lions’ season-long inconsistencies, however, reared their ugly head as they were routed by No. 10 seed Dynamic Prep in the quarterfinals, 74-55, behind a 22-point, seven-rebound performance by SMU-bound big man Jaden Toombs. Dynamic Prep entered the event as the lowest seed, but won its play-in contest versus No. 7 seed and defending champion Montverde Academy (Fla.), 67-52, as Toombs had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
In the other play-in contest, FAB 50 No. 8 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah), the event’s No. 9 seed, dispatched FAB 50 No. 22 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), the No. 8 seed, 75-57, as five players scored in double-digits for the Tigers. Wasatch Academy took on Columbus in its quarterfinal contest and fell to the Explorers, 76-62, as Cameron Boozer had 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and two steals, while Cayden Boozer added 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Dynamic Prep met FAB 50 No. 9 Prolific Prep in its semifinal contest after The Crew, the No. 6 seed, took down FAB 50 No. 3 and third seeded Long Island Lutheran in overtime, 81-80. Mr. Basketball USA candidate Darryn Peterson led the way for Prolific Prep with 28 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and two steals. The Crew’s other McDonald’s All-American, Nikola Bundalo, only played five minutes versus Long Island Lutheran because of an injured groin and hip flexor and his absence came to light in the semifinals.
Dynamic Prep just proved to be too much for The Crew, especially with Toombs going to work in Bundalo’s absence. Dynamic Prep led 23-10 after one period and 46-20 at halftime en route to a 83-64 victory to advance to the championship round as a tenth seed. Toombs had 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Rutgers-bound Chris Nwuli added 20 points.
In its semifinal, Columbus took on FAB 50 No. 5 and No. 4 seed Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.), which won its quarterfinal contest 70-60 over No. 5 seed and FAB 50 No. 6 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) in a battle of two teams playing in the event for the first time. In the semifinals, Brewster Academy gave Columbus all it could handle.
The game came down to the closing seconds, and after a series of offensive rebounds and a tap pass, Brewster junior forward Sebastian Wilkins (who had 22 points and 14 rebounds in the quarterfinals) nailed a corner 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds remaining to tie the game at 45-45, only to see Cayden Boozer win the game, 47-45. At the buzzer, Columbus’ point guard converted a downhill, pull-up 17-footer in which coach Moran didn’t call a timeout to let the Brewster defense set up. Cayden Boozer finished with nine points and nine assists, while his brother, a power forward, had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.
Boozer’s shot set up a Chipotle Nationals championship game filled with storylines, as the No. 10 and final seed playing in the event for the first time and coached by former NBA all-star Jermaine O’Neal took on a veteran team whose goal all season was to capture a FAB 50 National title. For a half, the upstart club gave Columbus a game, trialing by one (28-27) at halftime. The third quarter, however, proved to be the difference, as Columbus’ defense and the shot-making of Cayden Boozer led the way to a 67-49 victory after a 20-9 advantage in the third.
Columbus out-rebounded Dynamic Prep (which finished its season 34-5) 34-26, and made 15-of-17 free throws to Dynamic’s 3-of-4. Cayden Boozer finished with 27 points, making all seven of his free throws, and 2-of-3 3-pointers, while Cam Boozer had 11 points and eight rebounds. The nation’s top ranked team also got a big boost from guard Marcellous Jackson, who had 12 points and seven rebounds, while Jaxon Richardson added nine points and 12 rebounds.
For the event, Cayden Boozer averaged 20 ppg and 5 apg, while Cameron Boozer averaged 17 ppg and 9.3 rpg.
Columbus Makes History
The Explorers not only made history by finishing as the No. 1 team in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, it became the first non academy-type program to capture Chipotle Nationals in the event’s 16-year history. Columbus, a Marist Catholic all-boys program, now becomes the first parochial school to capture the FAB 50 title since now-defunct St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) in 2010-11.
Columbus was expected to be this good and lived up to expectations, as the Boozers led the program to four consecutive Class 7A state titles, one FAB 50 title, and a 117-16 four-year record against plenty of national competition. Columbus was the first non-academy program to begin as preseason FAB 50 No. 1 since Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) in 2011-12 and the first school to be a full state association member than started and finished No. 1 since Greg Oden-led Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.) in 2005-06.
Brewster Academy, which proved to be Columbus’ best challenge at Chipotle Nationals and a club that tied for first place in the EYBL Scholastic regular season league standings, moves up to No. 2 in the final FAB 50. Prolific Prep, which knocked off previous No. 3 Long Island Lutheran at Chipotle Nationals, moves up six spots to No. 3 right in front of LuHi because that club lost by only one point and its recent performance at the Throne National Championships means it can’t drop any further.
Because of its margin of defeat in its loss to Dynamic Prep and its overall body of work, Link Academy drops 12 spots in the final rankings to No. 14. The Lions lost twice to Dynamic Prep and their split with No. 1 Columbus is offset by losses to No. 20 IMG Academy, No. 21 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) and to No. 23 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah).
Some movement in the final rankings are a result of us reviewing the entire season log for each team that we’ll explain in our Final, Expanded FAB 50 Rankings with detail on each team.
Updated FAB 50 National Team RankingsPowered by Ballislife.com
(16th and final poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Saturday, April 5; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
No. Prev. High School (City)Record
11Columbus (Miami, Fla.)30-3
25Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)28-5
39Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.)35-6
43Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)21-7
54Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)35-2
66CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)21-6
77Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)19-8
88Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)25-6**
910Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)22-1
1011Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)28-8
1112Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)27-6
1213Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)31-3
1314Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 29-5
142Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) 20-9
1515St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)31-2
1616Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) 27-2
1717John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)24-2
1818Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)16-7
1920Highland (Warrenton, Va.) 39-6
2019IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)21-8
2121AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)15-7
2222Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)29-3
2323Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) 22-12
2424Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas)27-7
2525Jeffersonville (Jeffersonville, Ind.)24-5
2626Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)30-1
2727Hoover (Hoover, Ala.)35-0
2828Bellaire (Bellaire, Texas)26-11
2929Brennan (San Antonio, Texas)33-3
3030Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.)23-10
3131Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)26-4
3232Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.)31-1
3333Allen (Allen, Texas)34-2
3434Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.)34-2
3535Bullis (Potomac, Md.)23-7
3636Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.)24-6
3737DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)24-12
3838Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.)34-4
3939St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)30-2
4040North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.)30-3
4141Chris School (Arden, N.C.)28-3
4242Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.)31-0
4343Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.)35-7
4444DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.)33-4
4545Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.)30-2
4646Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.)29-7
4747Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.)27-2
4848Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio)26-2
4949Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.)35-4
5050East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.)27-1**
Dropped Out: None.
Editor’s Note: No bubble clubs are included in the final FAB 50, as the final 2024-25 Top 20 Regional Rankings include all the teams considered for the bubble.
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
