High school basketball rankings: Despite first loss in 44 games, Montverde Academy remains No. 1 in MaxPreps Top 25

By Jordan Divens Feb 9, 2021, 8:30am

Sunrise Christian Academy hands Florida power first loss since April 2019.

Despite a loss Friday to Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.), Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) remains No. 1 in this week's MaxPreps Top 25 high school basketball rankings. The setback ended a 44-game win streak dating back to April 2019 for the Sunshine State juggernaut and opened the door for some healthy debate around which program is the nation's best.

For now, that title still belongs to Montverde Academy thanks to a resume that includes wins over No. 2 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy in the first meeting between the two teams and No. 4 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). The Eagles are 7-1 in meetings against MaxPreps Top 25 teams.

Sunrise Christian Academy, which got big performances from Baylor-bound Kendall Brown and Tennessee pledge Kennedy Chandler in the win over Montverde, is 6-2 against ranked opponents while AZ Compass Prep has a 3-1 mark.

Lake Norman Christian (Davidson, N.C.) pulled off another upset over the weekend that helped shape this week's rankings, rallying from an eight-point deficit with two minutes remaining to beat previous No. 13 Ypsi Prep Academy (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 68-64. The Ospreys used a 13-1 run to end the game as sophomore Trey Green knocked down the go ahead 3-pointer with 50 seconds left.
UConn commit Rahsool Diggins has helped Archbishop Wood jump out to a 3-0 start in Pennsylvania.
UConn commit Rahsool Diggins has helped Archbishop Wood jump out to a 3-0 start in Pennsylvania.
Photo by Robert Barnes
MaxPreps Top 25 High School Basketball Rankings


Record: 20-1 | Last week: 1
The Eagles remain atop the MaxPreps Top 25 with the strongest resume in high school basketball. Montverde rebounded Saturday with a 73-66 victory over No. 12 Wasatch Academy.

Record: 19-1 | Last week: 2
Player of the Year contender TyTy Washington recorded his second triple-double of the season, dropping 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 99-48 win over Bella Vista Prep (Scottsdale, Ariz.). The Dragons face No. 15 Prolific Prep on Tuesday.

Record: 17-2 | Last week: 3
Along with the Montverde Academy win, the Buffaloes downed No. 16 Oak Hill Academy 84-66 and Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 61-54 at the Montverde Academy Invitational.

Record: 20-2 | Last week: 4
Ascenders grabbed first win over a ranked opponent this season, getting 21 points from junior guard Jaden Bradley in a 73-53 win over No. 11 Minnehaha Academy.

Record: 7-0 | Last week: 5
Beat Washington Catholic Athletic Conference rivals Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 95-79 and No. 19 Paul VI 89-77. Tyrell Ward finished with a career-high 26 points in the victory over Paul VI.

Record: 3-0 | Last week: 6
Top-ranked sophomore prospect D.J. Wagner poured in a season-high 29 points in an 83-66 victory over Rutgers Prep (Somerset, N.J.).

Record: 3-0 | Last week: 8
Escaped with an 80-79 overtime victory against Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia). All five starters scored in double figures, led by Muneer Newton (17 points), Rahsool Diggins (16 points) and Marcus Randolph (15 points).

Record: 15-2 | Last week: 9
COVID-19 related issues have sidelined the Indians until their Feb. 12 contest against DeSoto. A rematch with No. 9 Duncanville was rescheduled for Feb. 15.



Record: 20-1 | Last week: 10
Sam Houston State signee Damon Nicholas Jr. dropped 22 points and SMU signee Zhuric Phelps added 20 to spark a 93-71 win over Cedar Hill.

Record: 21-2 | Last week: 11
On a quest for their first state crown since 2012, the Eagles have rattled off 19 consecutive victories.

Record: 5-1 | Last week: 7
Top senior prospect Chet Holmgren tallied 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks in Minnehaha's loss to IMG.

Record: 18-6 | Last week: 15
Avenged two previous losses over the weekend, beating La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 72-59 and No. 16 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 84-69 while going 2-1 at the Montverde Academy Invitational.

Record: 0-0 | Last week: 14
Started practice last week.

Record: 19-0 | Last week: 16
Senior Illinois signee Luke Goode pumped in 21 points and hit a three at the buzzer to help the Spartans prevail 56-53 over Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers).

Record: 25-2 | Last week: 17
The Crew defeated Our Saviour Lutheran (Bronx, N.Y.) 87-83 powered by 20 points and eight rebounds from five-star junior Adem Bona.



Record: 14-6 | Last week: 12
The Warriors are 1-5 over the past two weekends at the Montverde Academy Invitational with all five losses against ranked opponents.

Record: 15-0 | Last week: 19
After 11 losses in 2019-20, the Purple Wave look like the team to beat in Tennessee.

Record: 21-1 | Last week: 18
Closed out the regular season with 21 consecutive victories after an opening-night loss to Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Ga.) in November. Florida State signee Matthew Cleveland was the catalyst, averaging 23.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

Record: 6-3 | Last week: 20
Five-star senior prospect Trevor Keels went off for 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Saturday's loss to No. 5 DeMatha.

Record: 0-0 | Last week: 21
Awaiting Chicago Public Schools official ruling on the upcoming season.

Record: 17-3 | Last week: 22
Returned to the court over the weekend following a 20-day, virus-related layoff. The Rams defeated Brookwood (Snellville) 68-34 and Parkview (Lilburn) 74-65.

Record: 18-1 | Last week: 23
The Thunderbirds face their steepest challenge Saturday at the Heartland Hoops Classic against No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy.



Record: 20-0 | Last week: 24
Warriors open postseason play Tuesday after closing out an unbeaten regular season.

Record: 19-1 | Last week: 25
In another contest at the aforementioned Heartland Hoops Classic, the Mustangs face Oak Hill Academy.

Record: 20-1 | Last week: NR
The third Lone Star State team in the rankings, the Eagles have reeled off 18 straight since a three-point loss on Dec. 4 to No. 8 Waxahachie.