High school football rankings: St. John Bosco takes No. 1 spot in preseason media composite top 25

St. Frances Academy sits at No. 2 while IMG Academy, Buford and Bishop Gorman round out top five.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Thomas Frey
By
Jul 31, 2026, 10:00am
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) begins the 2026 high school football season as the No. 1 team in the media composite top 25 rankings.

The composite rankings span a spectrum of methodologies from the MaxPreps Top 25, High School Football America, National HSFB, Massey, SB Live, SC Next and USA Today rankings.

St. John Bosco will be tested early in the MaxPreps Game of the Week against composite No. 5 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) on Aug. 21.

St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) is close behind at No. 2. The Panthers were ranked No. 1 by National HSFB and in the top six of the remaining media outlets. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and Buford (Ga.) round out the top four.

St. John Bosco and IMG Academy were ranked No. 1 by two media outlets. Buford, DeSoto (Texas) and St. Frances Academy earned the top spot from the remaining three outlets used in the composite.

Overall, eight teams were ranked in all seven polls.

To be considered for the media composite top 25, a team must be ranked by two or more outlets. Teams were assigned a score of 40 for each media outlet that did not recognize them as part of their top 25, rewarding teams that received consensus acclaim.
St. John Bosco senior Isala Wily-Ava patrols the secondary for the No. 1 Braves. The Washington commit has 115 tackles and eight interceptions in his career. (PHOTO: Rene Morales)
St. John Bosco senior Isala Wily-Ava patrols the secondary for the No. 1 Braves. The Washington commit has 115 tackles and eight interceptions in his career. (PHOTO: Rene Morales)
Media composite top 25

1. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
Average rank: 3.14
MaxPreps Top 25: 1
Massey: 9
SB Live: 4
National HSFB: 3
USA Today: 2
SC Next: 2
HSFA: 1

2. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)
Average rank: 3.57
MaxPreps Top 25: 4
Massey: 4
SB Live: 2
National HSFB: 1
USA Today: 4
SC Next: 4
HSFA: 6

3. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Average rank: 3.86
MaxPreps Top 25: 5
Massey: 10
SB Live: 1
National HSFB: 2
USA Today: 1
SC Next: 5
HSFA: 3

4. Buford (Ga.)
Average rank: 5.71
MaxPreps Top 25: 7
Massey: 7
SB Live: 3
National HSFB: 6
USA Today: 11
SC Next: 1
HSFA: 5

5. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Average rank: 8.71
MaxPreps Top 25: 2
Massey: NR
SB Live: 7
National HSFB: 4
USA Today: 3
SC Next: 3
HSFA: 2

6. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Average rank: 8.86
MaxPreps Top 25: 9
Massey: 5
SB Live: 10
National HSFB: 8
USA Today: 6
SC Next: 14
HSFA: 10

7. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Average rank: 10.0
MaxPreps Top 25: 3
Massey: NR
SB Live: 5
National HSFB: 5
USA Today: 7
SC Next: 6
HSFA: 4

8. Centennial (Corona, Calif.)
Average rank: 10.86
MaxPreps Top 25: 8
Massey: 24
SB Live: 6
National HSFB: 7
USA Today: 5
SC Next: 17
HSFA: 9

9. Duncanville (Texas)
Average rank: 13.86
MaxPreps Top 25: 10
Massey: 2
SB Live: 11
National HSFB: 23
USA Today: 17
SC Next: 19
HSFA: 15

10. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
Average rank: 14.14
MaxPreps Top 25: 6
Massey: 18
SB Live: 8
National HSFB: 9
USA Today: NR
SC Next: 11
HSFA: 7

11. Carrollton (Ga.)
Average rank: 16.71
MaxPreps Top 25: 20
Massey: 12
SB Live: 15
National HSFB: NR
USA Today: 15
SC Next: 7
HSFA: 8

Average rank: 16.86
MaxPreps Top 25: 13
Massey: 19
SB Live: 12
National HSFB: NR
USA Today: 12
SC Next: 8
HSFA: 14

13. Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Average rank: 17.14
MaxPreps Top 25: 12
Massey: NR
SB Live: 9
National HSFB: 17
USA Today: 13
SC Next: 18
HSFA: 11

14. Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.)
Average rank: 17.57
MaxPreps Top 25: 25
Massey: 15
SB Live: 21
National HSFB: 24
USA Today: 9
SC Next: 13
HSFA: 16

15. Basha (Chandler, Ariz.)
Average rank: 20.0
MaxPreps Top 25: 15
Massey: NR
SB Live: 13
National HSFB: 19
USA Today: 8
SC Next: 24
HSFA: 21

T16. Creekside (Fairburn, Ga.)
Average rank: 24.57
MaxPreps Top 25: 22
Massey: NR
SB Live: 17
National HSFB: 10
USA Today: 19
SC Next: NR
HSFA: 24

T16. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Average rank: 24.57
MaxPreps Top 25: 17
Massey: NR
SB Live: 14
National HSFB: 11
USA Today: NR
SC Next: 10
HSFA: NR

18. Carol City (Miami, Fla.)
Average rank: 24.71
MaxPreps Top 25: 11
Massey: NR
SB Live: 22
National HSFB: 20
USA Today: 20
SC Next: 20
HSFA: NR

19. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
Average rank: 25.14
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
Massey: NR
SB Live: NR
National HSFB: 13
USA Today: 16
SC Next: 15
HSFA: 12

20. North Shore (Houston, Texas)
Average rank: 25.29
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
Massey: 6
SB Live: NR
National HSFB: 22
USA Today: NR
SC Next: 16
HSFA: 13

21. DeSoto (Texas)
Average rank: 28.43
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
Massey: 1
SB Live: 16
National HSFB: NR
USA Today: NR
SC Next: NR
HSFA: 22

22. Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.)
Average rank: 28.86
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
Massey: NR
SB Live: 19
National HSFB: 14
USA Today: NR
SC Next: 9
HSFA: NR

23. American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)
Average rank: 30.14
MaxPreps Top 25: 16
Massey: NR
SB Live: NR
National HSFB: NR
USA Today: 23
SC Next: 12
HSFA: NR

24. Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.)
Average rank: 30.71
MaxPreps Top 25: 14
Massey: NR
SB Live: 23
National HSFB: NR
USA Today: 18
SC Next: NR
HSFA: NR

25. Brownsburg (Ind.)
Average rank: 31.57
MaxPreps Top 25: 24
Massey: NR
SB Live: 20
National HSFB: NR
USA Today: NR
SC Next: NR
HSFA: 17

Ranked by three media outlets
Chandler (Ariz.)
Chicago Mt. Carmel (Chicago, Ill.)
Edna Karr (New Orleans, La.)

Ranked by two media outlets
Allen (Texas)
Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)
Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
Thomas County Central (Thomasville, Ga.)
Waxahachie (Texas)

Ranked by one media outlet
Aledo (Texas)
Anderson (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Bixby (Okla.)
Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.)
Central (Miami, Fla.)
Clay-Chalkville (Pinson, Ala.)
Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)
East St. Louis (Ill.)
Folsom (Calif.)
Gainesville (Ga.)
Guyer (Denton, Texas)
Hough (Cornelius, N.C.)
King (Houston, Texas)
La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pa.)
North Crowley (Fort Worth, Texas)
Oakland (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
South Oak Cliff (Dallas, Texas)
Summer Creek (Houston, Texas)
St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.)

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