Indiana and Minnesota are the two states still going and will determine their champions this upcoming weekend. State championships were captured in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin and those results caused some change in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. The field is also set for Chipotle Nationals, where ten teams hope to capture a championship more national in scope. There is one lone newcomer this week from the state of Indiana playing for the Class 4A title on March 28.
By Ronnie Flores
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The 2025-26 season is quickly wrapping up, but the two states still going are Indiana and Minnesota. This past weekend Silver Creek (Sellersburg, Ind.), the No. 29 team in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, fell in the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Class 3A semi-state, 73-68, to finish its season at 29-2.
The other team the Dragons lost to is FAB 50 No. 31 Crown Point (Crown Point, Ind.), currently No. 31 in the latest FAB 50 and a team playing for the IHSAA Class 4A state title March 28. The Bulldogs will face Mt. Vernon (Fortville, Ind.), the lone newcomer in this week’s FAB 50 at No. 47, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the coveted 4A title.
State Championship Wrap-Up
Other states that wrapped up their version of March Madness also caused some change to the FAB 50.
In the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) Class 4A D1 title game, No. 17 Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.) downed Walker Valley (Cleveland, Tenn.), 69-47, to wrap up their season with 18 consecutive victories. The Panthers were led to victory by senior Axton Perry with 15 points, while junior Dylan Jones was named the MVP of the state tournament. It was the first TSSAA state crown for Bartlett since 2000-01, when in finished No. 15 in the Southeast Region rankings.
In the semifinals, Bartlett downed previous No. 47 Bearden (Knoxville, Tenn.), 71-61, as Jones and sophomore Braylon Williams combined for 42 points. Williams netted 20 points and only missed one shot from the field. Bearden remains in the FAB 50, dropping two spots as it remains in front of No. 50 Petersburg (Petersburg, Va.). Petersburg lost to Bartlett by 19 points (63-44). Bearden’s other loss on the season was to No. 45 St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.).
Bartlett lost to No. 15 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), twice to No. 11 Principia (St. Louis, Mo.), and to No. 3 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.), the latter which is participating in Chipotle Nationals.
Only Delaware and Kentucky still have a one-class system and we still advocate for it or an open division in every state. Bluegrass Country doesn’t have a FAB 50 club as of now, but its Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) UK HealthCare Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena is always memorable. In the end, it was George Rogers Clark (Winchester, Ky.) outlasting St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) in overtime, 58-50. According to the Louisville Courier Journal, George Rogers Clark became the first program to win the Sweet 16 in both boys and girls since Ashland in 1928.
George Rogers Clark rallied down the stretch and then hit 14 of 16 free throws in overtime to clinch the title. GRC, which was led by Malachi Ashford with 18 points and Jamylyn Johnson by 15, outscored St. X, 14-6, in overtime.
No. 12 Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) wrapped up a 30-0 season by capturing the Wisconsin Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) D1 title with a 57-37 victory over Madison Memorial (Madison, Wisconsin). State Mr. Basketball Xavier Zens led the way by making 8-of-9 field goal attempts to finish with 20 points. Kager Knueppel, the young brother of the Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel, added 16 points and seven rebounds.
The Vikings won their third consecutive WIAA title, and second consecutive in D1, and will crack the Top 15 in the final rankings after just missing last season, finishing No. 7 in the final Midwest Region Top 20 with a 28-2 mark. in 2023-24, Kon Knueppel led the Vikings to a 30-0 mark and final No. 10 Ranking.
Wisconsin Lutheran defeated No. 22 North Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas) and George Rodgers Clark. The Vikings’ final ranking is still not determined because seven teams ranked ahead of it are competing at Chipotle Nationals.
Prolific Prep Leads Chipotle Nationals Field
FAB 50 No. 1 Prolific Prep (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) will go into Chipotle Nationals with some good momentum after capturing the Grind Session World Championships at Owensboro Sportscenter (Owensboro, Ky.) with a 68-62 victory over FAB 50 No. 27 Southeastern Prep Academy (Orlando, Fla.). Sunday’s title game was a game of runs, and Prolific Prep got the final 6-0 one, as the game was tied 62-62 with under a minute to go.
The Crew, which defeated bubble club DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) in Saturday’s semifinal, was led by player of the game Alex Smith with five 3-pointers and 15 total points, while forward Davion Adkins added 16 points and six rebounds. Smith hit three in a row in the second quarter to propel Prolific Prep’s comeback. It’s the fourth consecutive Grind Session World Championship for the No. 1 team in the FAB 50. It was SEPA’s second loss of the season to Prolific Prep.
Seven of the top eight teams in the FAB 50 will play at Chipotle Nationals, set for April 1-4 at Hamilton Southeastern High School (Fishers, Ind.). That means there is likely to be some movement in the final 2025-26 FAB 50 rankings set to be published April 6.
Prolific Prep is the No. 4 seed in the event, and will open with FAB 50 No. 7 Montverde Academy (Fla.), the No. 5 seed. The top seeded club is FAB 50 No. 1 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), which lost in the EYBL Scholastic Conference Tournament title game to No. 2 seed CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.). For a complete bracket rundown and a breakdown on each of the 10 teams at Chipotle Nationals, CLICK HERE.
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(14th poll of 2025-26 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 22; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates season not complete)
No. Prev. High School (City)Record
11Prolific Prep (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) 38-3***
22CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)23-4***
33Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)33-2***
44AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) 24-2**
55Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)25-6***
66Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)30-1
77Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)21-6***
88Spire Academy (Geneva, Ohio)28-4***
99La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.)22-5
1010Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)24-1
1111 Principia (St. Louis, Mo.)29-2
1212Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.)30-0
1313Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas)27-11
1414Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)30-6
1515Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)26-4***
1616Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)23-4***
1717Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.)33-4**
1818 Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.) 36-2
1919Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.)28-2
2020Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)28-5**
2121Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.)29-1
2222North Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas)35-3
2323Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)27-7
2424IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)21-8
2525St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)31-3
2626Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 26-6
2727Southeastern Prep Academy (Orlando, Fla.) 42-9
2828Richland (Richland, Wash.)28-0
2930Forsyth Country Day (Lewisville, N.C.)29-3
3031Ridgeview (Columbia, S.C.)27-3
3132Crown Point (Crown Point, Ind.) 25-1
3233St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)36-7
3334Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.)30-11
3435St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)27-8
3536Heritage (Frisco, Texas) 34-2
3637Marist (Chicago, Ill.)33-5
3738Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.) 18-10
3839Little Elm (Little Elm, Texas)37-2
3940Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)36-2
4041Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)16-11
4142Olympus (Salt Lake City, Utah25-2
4243Salesian (Richmond, Calif.)29-4
4344East St. Louis (East St. Louis, Ill.)33-4
4445Rockford (Rockford, Mich.)25-3
4546St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)28-4
4649Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)29-3
47NRMt. Vernon (Fortville, Ind.)27-3
4848East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.)27-2
4947Bearden (Knoxville, Tenn.)37-2
5050Petersburg (Petersburg, Va.)22-4
Dropped Out: Previous No. 29 Silver Creek (Sellersburg, Ind.).
Bubble Teams: Academy of Central Florida (Kissimmee, Fla.) 30-8; Alexander (Douglasville, Ga.) 30-2; Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville, Fla.) 28-2; Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 26-2**; Ashland-Greenwood (Ashland, Neb.) 28-1; Atascocita (Humble, Texas) 30-7; Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) 23-10; Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) 24-2; Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) 33-4; Bryant (Bryant, Ark.) 29-4; Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) 29-5; Cedar Falls (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 25-0; Central Dauphin (Harrisburg, Pa.) 30-3; Concord Academy (Concord, N.C.) 29-3; Curie (Chicago, Ill.) 28-2**; DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.) 33-4; DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 25-10; Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 18-12; Fishers (Fishers, Ind.) 24-1; Gainesville (Gainesville, Ga.) 30-1; George Rogers Clark (Winchester, Ky.) 32-4**; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 26-7; La Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.) 24-9; Layton Christian (Layton, Utah) 21-6; Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 12-12; MacArthur (Decatur, Ill.) 34-2; Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) 24-4; Millwood (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.) 27-2; Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 31-7; Newcastle (Newcastle, Okla.) 29-2; Norman (Norman, Okla.) 26-4; Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 22-8; Ogallala (Ogallala, Neb.) 27-1; Olathe North (Olathe, Kan.) 24-4; Olympus (Salt Lake City, Utah) 25-2; Princeton (Cincinnati, Ohio) 23-3; Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.) 29-3; Ralston Valley (Arvada, Col.) 25-2; Rangeview (Aurora, Col.) 23-4; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 27-5; Rock Canyon (Highland Ranch, Col.) 25-3; Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.) 28-6; Seven Lakes (Katy, Texas) 35-1; Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) 22-7; South (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 22-2; Southern School of Energy & Sustainability (Durham, N.C.) 28-3; St. Mary’s (Phoenix, Ariz.) 23-7; Tartan (Oakdale, Minn.) 28-0***; The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.) 24-10; The Villages Charter (The Villages, Fla.) 24-8; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 21-3; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 24-3***; Westlake (Saratoga Springs, Utah) 24-3; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 25-7.
Note: 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 26 years ago.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at ronnie@ballislife.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
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