The top five teams in the National Top 20 continue to own their lofty standing, but there are a handful of teams looking to move in as shakeups down the rankings see teams ready to make their case for that elite status.
A pair of matchups between National Top 20 opponents shaped this week's rankings as Prolific Prep defeated previous No. 6 AZ Compass Prep 65-63 at the Crush in the Valley and Patrick School dismantled previous No. 13 Hillcrest Prep 58-35 at the Big North Shootout. Prolific Prep replaced the Dragons at No. 6 this week, while Patrick School jumps up four spots to No. 12.
Previous No. 18 Huntington Prep (Huntington, W. Va.) drops out of the rankings for the first time this season after a poor showing at the Quincy Shootout dropped their record fall below .500 on the season. The Irish recently lost highly regarded sophomore prospect Trentyn Flowers to transfer.
The Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament headlines action this week from Thursday through Saturday as No. 4 Montverde Academy is joined by MaxPreps Top 25 No. 3 Calvary Christian Academy (Fort
Lauderdale, Fla.), No. 14 Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.), No.
22 Dr. Phillips (Orlando), American Fork (Utah) and Kimball (Dallas) in a strong six-team field.
After the Montverde tournament, all attention turns to GEICO Nationals as teams jockey for position and continue to make their case for the anticipated March announcement.
Prolific Prep rises to No. 6 in the National Top 20 after a big win over AZ Compass Prep.
Photo by Darin Sicurello
Record: 14-1 | Last week: 1
The Buffaloes were the lone National Top 20 team to feature two players features on MaxPreps National Player of the Year Watch list as Kansas signee
Gradey Dick (19 points, five rebounds) and Duke signee
Mark Mitchell (19 points, seven rebounds and three assists) each made the cut.
Record: 16-2 | Last week: 2
Picked up a pair of quality victories at the Ascender Classic, defeating MaxPreps Top 25 No. 20 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) 88-69 and Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Baltimore) 85-57. The Ascenders leading scorers on the season are Houston signee
Jarace Walker (16.5) and Baylor signee
Keyonte George (15.1).
Record: 26-0 | Last week: 3
First-year program continues to establish itself among game's elite, securing victories at the Quincy Shootout over MaxPreps Top 25 No. 19 The Burlington School (Burlington, N.C.) 59-53 and St. Rita (Chicago) 72-56.
Record: 13-4 | Last week: 4
Host the Montverde Academy Invitational this weekend, opening play against Kimball on Thursday.
Record: 13-3 | Last week: 5
Looking ahead to next weekend, the Lakers travel to the New Jersey to face No. 2 IMG Academy, No. 4 Montverde Academy and Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone, N.J.) on Feb. 3-5 at the Metro Classic.
Record: 21-3 | Last week: 9
Registered a signature victory over No. 7 AZ Compass Prep 65-63 at the Crush in the Valley led by 20 points and six rebounds from USC signee
Tre White. The Crew followed up their big win by defeating Denver Prep (Denver) 82-64 behind Kansas signee
M.J. Rice's 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Record: 20-3 | Last week: 6
Finished the weekend 1-1 at the Crush in the Valley, falling to No. 6 Prolific Prep 65-63 before knocking off Donda Academy (Simi Valley, Calif.) 72-71 behind 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists from Vanderbilt signee
Colin Smith.
Record: 18-7 | Last week: 7
The Warriors have 15 games remaining on their 40-game regular-season slate beginning with Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, N.C.) on Tuesday. Next weekend's slate includes No. 12 Wasatch Academy and MaxPreps Top 25 No. 8 Roselle Catholic at the Metro Classic.
Record: 16-3 | Last week: 8
An influx of talented transfers came in right around the GEICO Nationals transfer deadline, leaving the Rams eligibility for the national championship event in question. Michigan State signee
Jaxon Kohler has put together a strong senior season for the Rams, averaging 20 points and 9.8 rebounds.
Record: 12-4 | Last week: 11
Return to the court after nearly two weeks off to face unbeaten New Hanover (Wilmington, N.C.) on Saturday. The Goats have competed at a high level against top competition this season behind the senior leadership of Illinois signee
Jayden Epps and Florida State signee
Patrick Wessler.
Record: 11-8 | Last week: 12
Three games remain against ranked opponents as the Tigers face MaxPreps Top 25 No. 13 Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) on Feb. 3, No. 8 Oak Hill Academy on Feb. 4 and No. 3 Link Academy on Feb. 12.
Record: 12-5 | Last week: 16
Secured a pair of victories over ranked opponents to bolster their resume, defeating No. 17 Hillcrest Prep 58-35 and Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 33-32. Junior guard
Korbyn Samuels produced a game-high 24 points in the Celtics' win over Hillcrest Prep.
Record: 11-1 | Last week: 14
Junior
Ty-Laur Johnson continued his stellar junior season with a game-high 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals in the Gray Bees' 71-27 victory over William Penn (New Castle, Del.).
Record: 19-3 | Last week: 15
Ride a seven-game winning streak ahead of their Tuesday SIAA showdown against No. 18 The Rock. The White Tigers are the only remaining unbeaten team in SIAA play.
Record: 10-3 | Last week: 17
Under-the-radar senior guard
Maurice Odum has put together an impressive senior campaign, leading the Flames in scoring with 22 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Record: 19-3
| Last week: 13
It is highly unlikely the Bruins receive GEICO Nationals consideration after a pair of losses to No. 13 Patrick School 58-35 and MaxPreps Top 25 No. 8 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 83-82 leaves the program void of a signature win on the season.
Record: 15-5 | Last week: 10
Suffered a pair of tough out-of-state losses, falling to North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek, Fla.) 73-71 before being upset by Central Catholic (Toledo, Ohio) 76-73 in overtime. Although the Holy Rams have been a tough out most of the season against top national competition, the number of head-scratching losses are starting to mount.
Record: 15-6 | Last week: 19
The SIAA contender has struggled to find any consistency this season, losing to Trinity Catholic (Ocala, Fla.) 65-59 after reeling off five straight wins. An opportunity to rebound awaits Tuesday, hosting No. 14 Central Pointe Christian Academy.
Record: 16-5
| Last week: NR
Enter the national rankings for the first time as the Eagles went 2-1 last week with wins over Rock Creek Christian Academy (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 48-39 and Highland (Warrenton, Va.) 61-57.
Record: 13-7 | Last week: 20
Barely cling to the final spot after suffering three straight losses to No. 18 The Rock 93-89, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Baltimore) 68-62 and MaxPreps Top 25 No. 20 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) 74-57. DME Academy has also lost six of their last eight games and are in need of a major rebound to remain ranked.
Prior to the 2021-22 season, MaxPreps adopted a split approach to
the rankings. The MaxPreps Top 25 is a measure of public and private
schools belonging to recognized governing bodies that compete for state
championships. The National Top 20 encompasses a broad spectrum of
sub-collegiate programs that in most cases are not full members of
state-level governing bodies and do not compete for state championships.
