There is plenty of movement in this week’s FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, as EYBL Scholastic League teams continue to play a key role in movement while playoff upsets in California shake things up. The playoffs are in full swing around most of the country and as the pressure tightens, the best teams have begun to separate themselves from the pack. There are six newcomers, led by No. 34 La Mirada (Calif.), which is looking to advance to Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Open Division championship game.
By Ronnie Flores
In many regions of the country, winning a section or league title is a huge accomplishment, but championship teams must remain focused because the season continues on afterwards, as team look to capture state titles.
In the Nike EYBL Scholastic League, just getting through the gauntlet of division and league play is tough enough. As it stands now, FAB 50 No. 1 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) leads the West Division with a 8-0 mark, while FAB 50 No. 4 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) leads the East Division with a 8-0 mark with No. 2 Spire Academy (Geneva, Ohio) at 7-1.
This past weekend, previous No. 5 Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and No. 6 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) both dropped games, as Brewster Academy fell to La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.), 66-58, at the Christ School Invitational in North Carolina. Link Academy fell to Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.), 74-68, at the Utah Prep Classic.
Jonathan Sanderson and Jacob Webber each scored 18 points for LaLu in its win, while wing Malachi Jordan led the way for Dream City Christian with 18 points and eight rebounds in its big win. Dream City Christian also defeated previous No. 43 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.), 50-45, as guard Ikenna Alozie led the way with 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists. With those two wins, Dream City Christian is one of six newcomers this week, checking in at No. 41.
With its win over Brewster Academy, LaLu is one of the fastest risers this week, as the Lakers have done enough to overcome its loss to now unranked and .500 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) and jump up 19 spots to No. 20. Because of a loss to unranked Utah Prep (3-10 in conference play), the Lakers still remain behind Brewster Academy, while Link Academy remains in front of Dream City Christian. Link Academy lost to Brewster, but owns a win over No. 14 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.).
No. 1 AZ Compass Prep defeated No. 3 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah), 58-55, behind a combined 38 points from brothers Kaden and Kalek House. Wasatch stays put in the rankings because of its win over Montverde Academy.
Photo: @capitolhoops
Historic Run For No. 6 Paul VI
The panthers of Paul VI in Virginia advanced to Monday’s Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship game by defeating Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), 62-54, and bubble club Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.), 57-51. With the losses suffered by EYBL Scholastic teams, the Panthers move up two spots to No. 6 this week.
On Monday evening, Paul VI faced No. 50 and second-seeded St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) for the title and things looked bleak for the Panthers heading into the final period. But the resilient Panthers were able to erase a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to eventually defeat St. John’s in double overtime, 82-76.
Paul VI tied the game on an offensive rebound put back with under forty seconds remaining in regulation and Mr. Basketball USA candidate and 2026 WCAC Player of the Year Jordan Smith Jr. willed his team to victory in the extra eight minutes of play. In the second overtime, Smith drove the lane and made a contested lay-up to give his team the lead at 78-76 and added one more free throw to give him 39 points for the game. The Arkansas-bound power guard finished 10-of-22 from the field, 18-of-25 from the free throw line and also collected seven assists and seven steals as Paul VI won its third WCAC title in a row and fourth in five seasons.
0:42 2OT | JORDAN SMITH JR TIME AND TIME AGAIN! 38 POINTS as he gives PVI the lead agai! pic.twitter.com/48n074c3eK
— Capitol Hoops (@CapitolHoops) February 24, 2026
“Paul VI overcame a 16 point deficit to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in WCAC championship history,” said Marc Stern of CapitolHoops.com. “Jordan Smith Jr. showed why he is one of the top players in the country as he willed his team to victory.
“Smith went for 39 points and SJC had no answer for Smith after Kareem Smith-Bey, who had done a very solid job defensively on the Arkansas commit, fouled out. Smith finishes his WCAC career with one loss (in WCAC games he played in).”
The Panthers’ 30th win of the season will be reflected in next week’s FAB 50.
On Monday night they celebrated the gut-check victory, but the season is not over. Paul VI opens play in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) Division I quarterfinals on Wednesday. The semifinals and final are this weekend in Richmond.
CIF Southern Semifinals Set
Plenty of the movement in this week’s FAB 50 centers around the results of the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs. After two pool play games, the top two finishers in each pool were placed in a 8-team bracket of four quarterfinal games. The pools were not re-seeded in bracket play and since previous No. 30 Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.) lost in Pool “B” to then bubble club Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), 83-62, it actually had to face top seeded and FAB 50 No. 10 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) in the quarterfinals even though though the Eagles were the second overall seed because Harvard-Westlake won the pool.
Santa Margarita was no match for Sierra Canyon, losing 71-47, as McDonald’s All-American Brandon McCoy Jr. had 17 points and seven rebounds and was part of a hellacious defensive effort. Sophomores J.J. Sati-Greer (8 points), Jordan Mize (10) and Josh Lowery (7) all had big moments in the easy win that helped Sierra Canyon rise four spots in this week’s rankings.
Santa Margarita had to drop out, as does previous No. 17 Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), after the latter was upset by No. 12 seed (of 12 teams) La Mirada (Calif.), 73-70, in the CIFSS open quarterfinals. In the state rankings by Cal-Hi Sports, La Mirada was much higher at No. 7 overall and should have been a higher seed, but not only were the Sea Hawks going against a foe that never gave up, they were slowed but the foot injury to Pepperdine-bound guard Chace Holley. Redondo Union was outscored, 16-8, for the rest of the game after the Mats’ leading player Gene Roebuck fouled out.
Santa Margarita and Redondo Union now have to wait two weeks from the day of the losses to play in the SoCal D1 regional playoffs, while the four CIFSS open semifinalists will be slated for the CIF SoCal open playoffs.
We almost placed Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) in front of No. 24 St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) in the FAB 50 as it advanced to the CIFSS semifinals, but decided to keep St. Joe’s in front for now. St. Joseph is not part of the CIFSS playoffs and has a much easier path to the SoCal or NorCal open playoffs, as teams from the CIF Central Section can be placed in either regional. St. Joe’s is likely to go South, provided it wins the section D1 title.
For now Notre Dame jumps up 14 spots to No. 27 after winning Pool “D”, which included La Mirada, a team it beat 76-60 in its first pool play game. In one CIFSS open semifinal on Tuesday, Sierra Canyon hosts Notre Dame, a team it beat once during the regular season, in what can be viewed as a defacto Mission League title game. That title game was never played because of a traffic accident that claimed the life of a Sierra Canyon student the night before the game. In the other semifinal game, La Mirada, the highest ranked of six newcomers this week at No. 34, will be on the road (the higher seeds host) at Harvard-Westlake, which checks in to the FAB 50 at No. 48.
Harvard-Westlake defeated Crespi (Encino, Calif.), 49-46, in its quarterfinal contest. Yes, La Mirada defeated the higher ranked team, but Harvard-Westlake was seeded higher (at No. 7), so the Mats will hit the road in what will be a difficult game to win for the visitor. La Mirada is the lone semifinalist not part of the Southern Section’s Mission League. Should Notre Dame upset Sierra Canyon and go on to win the CIFSS open crown, it will hop St. Joseph and be ranked No. 1 in the state of California.
The CIFSS title game is set for 6 pm PT on Saturday at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif.
After that game, the season is not over, as many of the same teams will battle in the SoCal open playoffs for a chance to represent the South in the CIF open title game on March 15 in Sacramento. There is a possibility teams such as Santa Margarita and Redondo Union could move back into the FAB 50, or that the two semifinal losers on Tuesday could bounce back and win the CIF open title.
The rankings, however, are based on what has happened so far and as the completion stiffens, expect more movement in the coming weeks.
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(10th poll of 2025-26 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, Feb. 22; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
No. Prev. High School (City)Record
11AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)21-1**
22Spire Academy (Geneva, Ohio)26-2
33Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)24-5
44Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)20-5
57Prolific Prep (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) 30-3
68Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)29-2
712Seven Lakes (Katy, Texas)33-0
813Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)22-0
99Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 21-1
1014Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)25-1
1111Principia (St. Louis, Mo.)23-2
125Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) 27-5
136Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)22-3
1410CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)18-4
1515Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.)23-0
1616Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)30-1
1718Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.)34-2
1819Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)22-4
1920Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.)25-4
2039La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.)20-4
2121Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)23-5**
2222Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.)30-2
2325Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas)25-9
2431St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)29-2
2523Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.)23-3
2624Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.)25-2
2741Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 22-6
2832IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)21-8
2940Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio) 21-1
3033Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.)25-1
3126North Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas)29-3
3227Concord Academy (Concord, N.C.)28-2
3328Gainesville (Gainesville, Ga.)27-0
34NRLa Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.)24-7
3534Salesian (Richmond, Calif.)25-3
3635Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 23-6
3736St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)33-6
3838Southeastern Prep Academy (Orlando, Fla.) 38-8
3944DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.)27-3
4042East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.)21-1
41NRDream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.)18-8
4245Kankakee (Kankakee, Ill.)26-1
4346Curie (Chicago, Ill.)25-1**
44NRLake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.)28-1
4543Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)15-10
4647Heritage (Frisco, Texas)28-2
4750Richland (Richland, Wash.)24-0
48NRHarvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)25-5
49NRSilver Creek (Sellersburg, Ind.)24-1
50NRSt. John’s (Washington, D.C.)24-7
Dropped Out: No. 17 Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), No. 29 Timpview (Provo, Utah), No. 30 Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.), No. 37 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.), No. 48 Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.), No. 49 East St. Louis (East St. Louis, Ill.).
Bubble Teams: Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 22-1**; Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) 17-7; Arvada West (Arvada, Col) 21-2; Atascocita (Humble, Texas) 26-6; Bearden (Knoxville, Tenn.) 31-1; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 25-3; Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) 21-9; Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) 21-1; Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) 28-3; Bryant (Bryant, Ark.) 24-4; Cathedral Prep (Erie, Pa.) 22-1; Cedar Falls (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 20-0; Chaparral (Parker, Col.) 21-2; Crown Point (Crown Point, Ind.) 18-1; DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 22-8; East Kentwood (Kentwood, Mich.) 19-2; East St. Louis (East St. Louis, Ill.) 26-4; Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 15-10; Forsyth Country Day (Lewisville, N.C.) 27-3; Houston (Germantown, Tenn.) 18-7; Layton Christian (Layton, Utah) 21-6; Little Elm (Little Elm, Texas) 31-2; Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 11-11; Millwood (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.) 21-2; Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 30-6; Mt. Vernon (Fortville, Ind.) 20-3; Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 19-5; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.) 27-10; Petersburg (Petersburg, Va.) 16-4; Pike (Indianapolis, Ind.) 20-3; Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.) 26-3; Ralston Valley (Arvada, Col.) 22-1; Rangeview (Aurora, Col.) 20-3; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 27-4; Riviera Prep (Miami, Fla.) 19-9; Rockford (Rockford, Mich.) 18-3; Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.) 27-5; Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) 20-6; Silver Creek (Sellersburg, Ind.) 24-1; South (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 18-1; Southern School of Energy & Sustainability (Durham, N.C.) 23-3; St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 21-9; St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 25-4; Tartan (Oakdale, Minn.) 24-0; The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.) 22-9; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 21-3; Warren Township (Gurnee, Ill.) 28-3; West Allis Central (West Allis, Wis.) 21-2.
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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