NEW FAB 50: Top Teams Hold Ground!

A overwhelming majority of the nation’s high groups gained their video games final week, with No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) beating defending FAB 50 Nationwide Champion Montverde Academy (Fla.) for the second time this season. There’s some change within the newest FAB 50 Nationwide Group Rankings powered by Ballislife.com based mostly on outcomes, plus state and native rankings, and three newcomers, led by No. 48 Kenwood (Chicago, Unwell.), as two of the groups that dropped are from Illinois.

By Ronnie Flores

Following the Martin Luther King Jr. Vacation, high-powered groups often return to convention and league play throughout the brief week, so there may be often loads of successful on the high and never a lot change. That’s the case in 2025, as a overwhelming majority of one of the best groups within the FAB 50 Nationwide Group Rankings powered by Ballislife.com gained their video games to remain put or barely transfer up within the weekly rankings.

No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) really performed an enormous made-for-television sport and got here away with a 79-59 dwelling victory over No. 6 Montverde Academy (Fla.), final season’s undefeated FAB 50 nationwide champ. Duke-bound Cam Boozer, the 2023 Mr. Basketball USA and a significant candidate to seize the distinguished honor in 2025 as a senior, led the best way with 25 factors and 14 rebounds. His twin trouble Cayden Boozer, additionally headed to Duke, added 13 factors within the win for the Explorers, which play No. 17 Hyperlink Academy (Branson, Mo.) on Jan. 31. Columbus beat MVA by two factors earlier within the season.

No. 2 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) performs within the tradition-rich Washington Catholic Athletic Convention (WCAC), which often has three or 4 FAB 50 ranked groups on a weekly foundation. This week was no cakewalk for the Purple Eagles, which performed then No. 22 St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) after which No. 23 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) in video games final week after defeating No. 12 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) on MLK Monday. Gonzaga gained at St. John’s, 69-59, and defeated the Stags at dwelling, 74-62, to solidify its No. 2 rating. Gonzaga cannot let up as a result of its hosts No. 15 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) on Jan. 28 in a matchup with first place within the WCAC on the road.

As for Gonzaga and DeMatha, they do not drop a lot, however do fall two spots apiece to make room for brand spanking new No. 22 Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and No. 23 St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.). Led by McDonald’s All-American Shon Abaev, Calvary Christian Academy continues to be unbeaten and has handed St. Joseph its solely loss to this point this season. St. Joseph has performed video games this season in Manila, Phillipines, Redondo Seaside, Calif., San Luis Obispo, Calif., Ft. Myers, Fla., Bristol, Tenn. (the place they misplaced to Calvary Christian), Inglewood, Calif., Springfield, Mass. and final weekend in San Pablo, Calif. on the Crush within the Valley at Contra Costa Faculty. There the Knights handed bubble membership Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) its second loss, 76-67.

Baylor-bound Tounde Yessoufou, additionally a McDonald’s All-American, completed with 23 factors, seven rebounds, 4 assists, three blocks and two steals. He’s now the No. 2 all-time main scorer in California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) historical past with 3,372 factors in 4 seasons, which based on the Cal-Hello Sports activities State Document Guide, places him 90 factors away from tying the all-time state mark of three,462 factors of DeMarcus Nelson, a 2004 McDonald’s All-American who went on to Duke.

One other swap was shifting down No. 19 Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) one spot after capturing the Alaska Airways Traditional. The Bucs wanted extra time and a final second shot at regulation to be off to get by Heritage Christian (Northridge, Calif.) within the semifinals, 51-45. Hoover gained the ultimate by 32 factors, however Heritage Christian is presently ranked No. 15 within the Cal-Hello Sports activities State Prime 25 and has three losses, together with to No. 18 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) by 9 factors (52-43) and to bubble membership Redondo Union (Redondo Seaside, Calif.), so the flip is warranted.

It is also time to reward groups comparable to U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.), which nonetheless hasn’t misplaced on the court docket (it took a forfeit loss) and unbeaten Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio), which continues to be unbeaten and the highest ranked staff in Ohio. U of D Jesuit is up six spots to No. 33 and Reynoldsburg is up eight spots to No. 35.

There might be extra explosive motion subsequent week after the Montverde Academy Invitational (MAIT) in Florida and after groups start league tourney play and post-season play within the subsequent three weeks. The MAIT contains the host Eagles, No. 5 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), No. 7 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.), No. 13 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah), and Calvary Christian Academy.

Essentially the most enticing first spherical matchup on Jan. 30 pits AZ Compass Prep vs. Calvary Christian Academy. The winner will face the winner of Montverde Academy vs. Windmere Prep (Fla.) within the semifinals. The opposite facet of the bracket pits CIA Bella Vista vs. Riviera Prep (Miami) and Utah Prep vs. Sagemont Prep (Weston, Fla.)

RELATED:   Preseason 2024-25 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | “In The Paint” Podcast (Spotify) |  “In The Paint” Podcast (YouTube) 

Up to date FAB 50 Nationwide Group RankingsPowered by Ballislife.com

(sixth ballot of 2024-25 common season; By means of video games performed on Monday, January 26; *Signifies forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Signifies forfeits and defaults not included)

No. Prev. Excessive College (Metropolis)Document

11Columbus (Miami, Fla.)18-3

22Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)22-1

33Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)19-2

44Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)19-2

55AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)9-5

66Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)12-4

77CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)15-2

88Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.)20-5

99Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.)17-2

1010Brennan (San Antonio, Texas)24-2

1111Allen (Allen, Texas)25-1

1212Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)25-2

1313Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah)16-5

1414Wasatch Academy (Mt. Nice, Utah)17-4

1515Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)15-3

1616IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)13-4

1717Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)14-5

1819St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)21-3

1918Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 27-0

2020Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)11-3

2121Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)13-5

2224Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)13-0

2325St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)22-1

2422St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)15-6

2523DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.)14-5

2626Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)16-0

2727Owasso (Owasso, Okla.)15-3

2828Winstom-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.)26-4

2929DME Academy (Daytona Seaside, Fla.)14-8

3030Dream Metropolis Christian (Glendale, Ariz.)18-5

3131Christ College (Arden, N.C.)18-1

3238Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.)27-1

3339U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.)13-1**

3440John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)20-6

3543Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio)15-0

3632Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)18-4

3733Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)19-2

3834Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.)20-6

3935Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.)16-0

4036Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)13-5

4137Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)18-3

4241Patrick College (Hackettstown, N.J.)18-3

4342Highland (Warrenton, Va.)22-5

4446Cretin-Derham Corridor (St. Paul, Minn.)16-0

4547Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas)27-2

4648Oak Park (Kansas Metropolis, Mo.)13-1**

4749Webb (Knoxville, Md.)23-2

48NRKenwood (Chicago, Unwell.)21-1

49NRCatholic (Baton Rouge, La.)25-1

50NRCrown Level (Crown Level, Ind.)12-0

Dropped Out: No. 44 DePaul Faculty Prep (Chicago, Unwell.), No. 45 Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.), No. 50 Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Unwell.).

Bubble Groups:  Annie Wright (Tacoma, Wash.) 14-1; Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 15-1; Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 15-3; Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) 16-5; Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.) 21-2; Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Unwell.) 21-3; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 14-1; Bullis (Potomac, Md.) 13-6; Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 20-0; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 9-6; DePaul Faculty Prep (Chicago, Unwell.) 20-3; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 12-1; DeSmet (St. Louis, Mo.) 16-1; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 13-1**; Evans (Orlando, Fla.) 18-4; Ft. Bend Marshall (Missouri Metropolis, Texas) 28-2; Higher Johnstown (Johnstown, Pa.) 15-0; Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 19-4; Homewood Flossmor (Flossmor, Unwell.) 21-2; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 15-1; JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) 19-5; Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) 17-1; La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 13-10; La Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.) 21-4; Northwest (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 8-2; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 11-2; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Heart, Ohio) 14-2; Orem (Provo, Utah) 15-3; Our Girl of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.) 21-3; Plainfield (Plainfield, N.J.) 15-1; Quincy (Quincy, Unwell.) 19-2; Redondo Union (Redondo Seaside, Calif.) 22-2; Richland (Richland, Wash.) 15-0; Rockford (Rockford, Mich.) 13-1; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 19-2; Shadow Creek (Pearland, Texas) 25-2; Sidwell Pals (Washington, D.C.) 13-4; St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) 12-4; St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) 13-3; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 8-6; Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 21-1; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 14-4; Higher Dublin (Ft. Washington, Pa.) 18-1; Higher St. Claire (Higher St. Claire, Pa.) 16-1; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 14-2; Veterans Memorial (Corpus Christi, Texas) 31-0; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 14-2; Weatherford (Weatherford, Okla.) 17-1; Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) 13-1; Woodside (Newport Information, Va.) 13-0; Woodward Academy (Faculty Park, Ga.) 17-3.

Notice: The FAB 50 powered by Ballislife.com is a continuation of the Nationwide Sports activities Information Service rankings that started in 1952. These had been the primary nationwide highschool rankings and the late Artwork Johlfs of Minnesota compiled them. They had been compiled for a few years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 25 years in the past.

Ronnie Flores is the nationwide Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He will be reached at [email protected]. Do not forget to observe him on Twitter: @RonMFlores