State playoffs around the country begin to wrap up and with some in deep rounds, we have two highly-ranked unbeaten teams go down that causes plenty of change to this week’s FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. Teams with unblemished records deserve to be ranked high, but how far must they drop after an untimely loss? Some teams that have wrapped up state titles are hopeful to an invite to Chipotle Nationals, set for April 1-4 in Indianapolis. There are seven newcomers this week, led by No. 35 Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.).
By Ronnie Flores
For weeks we’ve explained that unbeaten teams, especially those from power states, deserved to be ranked high in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. Of course, if those teams lose they often have to tumble down, unless they have played a national schedule or are part of loaded leagues or conferences where unbeaten records are uncommon.
Two Top 10 teams went down in flames last week and one of them dropped all the way out of the latest rankings, while the other dropped 36 spots. Both losses were not considered huge upsets locally, but they did shake up the national rankings.
Photo courtesy of Atascocita High School
The team that dropped 36 spots to No. 42 was Seven Lakes (Katy, Texas), which fell to then bubble club Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 78-66 in a University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A D1 regional semifinal contest. Seven Lakes beat Atascocita early in the season by a point, but the playoff loss ends the Spartans’ season at 35-1. New Mexico State-bound Jachai Cantave netted 26 points in the win, while Louisiana Tech-bound Adam Boyd added 23.
Atascocita went on to defeat North Shore (Houston, Texas) in the regional final, 68-60, and will face bubble club Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) in Tuesday’s state semifinal contest at Manor High School. The other semifinal on Tuesday at Wilkerson Greines Activity Center pits FAB 50 No. 25 North Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas) vs. traditional state power Duncanville (Texas).
Obviously, it would bode well for snake-bit Seven Lakes if Atascocita were to win the UIL 6A D1 title, but if the team falters it’s unlikely Seven Lakes will finish the season FAB 50 ranked. The Eagles’ season might be finished, but no team’s final ranking is determined until all games are in the books.
One of North Crowley’s losses is to Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.), which is still unbeaten and moves up five spots to No. 11 this week.
The other Top 10 team that fell was No. 9 Fishers (Fishers, Ind.), which is no longer ranked after losing to playoff nemesis Carmel (Carmel, Ind.), 50-49, in the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Class 4A Section 8 final. Evan Harrell led the way for Carmel with 18 points, as that program has now knocked out an unbeaten Fishers club in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Because the IHSAA playoffs are now in the semi-state semifinals and there is still three rounds to go, Fishers falls all the way out of the rankings from No. 9.
Another unbeaten club that fell out of the FAB 50 was previous No. 30 Gainesville (Gainesville, Ga.), which fell to Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.), 62-61, in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) AAAAA semifinals.
The other clubs to fall out this week were from Arizona, California and Illinois. It was a tough decision to move out previous No. 23 Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.), but the St. Mary’s (Phoenix, Ariz.) team it lost to, 66-64, in the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Open Division semifinals on a dramatic, buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Mick Riordan doesn’t quite have the resume to be FAB 50 ranked at this time. That doesn’t mean those circumstances can change, and it’s pretty obvious if St. Mary’s had upset No. 20 Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.) in the open final, all three Arizona teams would be FAB 50 ranked this week.
EYBL Scholastic Conference Tournament Set
The teams and bracket for the second annual EYBL Scholastic Conference Tournament are now set. The event featuring 12 teams from the powerful conference, the top five from each of two divisions (East-West) plus to at-large teams, is scheduled for March 12-15 in Augusta, Ga.
The winner of bubble club Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) vs. FAB 50 No. 14 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) will face No. 3 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) on March 13 in one quarterfinal. The other quarterfinal on the same side of the bracket will feature No. 13 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) taking on the winner of No. 44 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) vs. No. 7 Spire Academy (Geneva, Ohio).
The other side of the bracket will pit a March 13 quarterfinal between No. 6 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) vs. the winner of No. 2 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) and No. 38 Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.). The other quarterfinal will be top-ranked AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) taking on the No. 12 Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) vs. No. 24 Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas) winner. The championship game is set for March 15 at 12 pm ET.
Championship Teams Hopeful
The top teams to emerge from the EYBL Scholastic Conference Tournament will be selected to Chipotle Nationals, set for April 1-4 in Indianapolis The end-of-the season tournament will feature 10 teams, including two play-in games for seeds 7-10 on April 1, the day after the 2026 McDonald’s All-American Game in Phoenix.
In the FAB 50 and its bubble clubs, teams whose seasons are now finished such as Seven Lakes are marked by asterisk (***). There are some teams who have already won state titles who are hopeful for a Chipotle Nationals invite. Those teams don’t have the asterisk by their won-loss record until the field is officially announced. Those state champions eligible for the event include, among others, No. 16 Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), No. 20 Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.), and No. 22 Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.), which won the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Class 3A state crown with a 75-53 win over Lincoln (Tacoma, Wash.) on Saturday evening.
Salute to Chris Lawlor
It’s with sadness that we report long-time national rankings compiler and high school sports journalist Chris Lawlor passed away on Feb. 28 at the age of 63. Lawlor, of Clifton, N.J., attended McQuaid Jesuit (Rochester, N.Y.) and St. Bonaventure University.
Chris was well known for taking over the USA Today Super 25 rankings from original compiler Dave Krider in 2000 before taking a job with ESPN in 2007. Krider passed away in July 2018 and the Super 25 was discontinued in December of 2019.
In recent years, Lawlor compiled rankings for Blue Star Media and was always a friendly voice for us even though the USA Today Super 25 and FAB 50 were head-to-head competitors when Lawlor compiled them. We before even more friendly with him at grassroots events over the years such as the Pangos All-American Camp. Chris will be missed.
For more on the history of U.S. high school basketball rankings, CLICK HERE.
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(12th poll of 2025-26 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 8; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates season complete)
No. Prev. High School (City)Record
11AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)22-1**
22Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)23-5
33Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)21-5
44Prolific Prep (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) 34-3
55Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)33-2
67La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.)22-4
78Spire Academy (Geneva, Ohio)26-3
811Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)28-1
910Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)22-1
1012Principia (St. Louis, Mo.)27-2
1116Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.)26-0
1213Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)30-5
1314Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)23-3
1415CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)19-4
1517Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)34-1
1618Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.)36-2
1719Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)25-4
1820Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.)29-4
1922Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio) 23-1
2024Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.)28-2
2121Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)27-5**
2227Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.)29-1
2328Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)27-6
2425Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas)26-10
2531North Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas)33-3
2626St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)31-3***
2733East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.)25-1
2839IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)21-8
2932DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.)31-3
3036Forsyth Country Day (Lewisville, N.C.)29-3***
3138Salesian (Richmond, Calif.)28-3
3245Richland (Richland, Wash.)28-0***
3339Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 24-6
3440Southeastern Prep Academy (Orlando, Fla.) 39-8
35NRArchbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.)26-1**
3643St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)36-7***
3742Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Baltimore, Md.)30-11***
3844Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.) 18-9
39NRRidgeview (Columbia, S.C.)27-3
4048Silver Creek (Sellersburg, Ind.)27-1
41NRAtascocita (Humble, Texas)30-6
426Seven Lakes (Katy, Texas)35-1***
43NRCrown Point (Crown Point, Ind.)22-1
4446Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)16-10
4549St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)27-8***
4647Heritage (Frisco, Texas) 32-2
4750Little Elm (Little Elm, Texas)35-2
48NROlympus (Salt Lake City, Utah)25-2***
49NRSt. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.)29-1
50NRMacArthur (Decatur, Ill.)34-1
Dropped Out: Previous No. 9 Fishers (Fishers, Ind.), No. 23 Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.), No. 30 Gainesville (Gainesville, Ga.), No. 34 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), No. 35 Kankakee (Kankakee, Ill.), No. 37 La Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.), No. 41 Curie (Chicago, Ill.).
Bubble Teams: Alexander (Douglasville, Ga.) 29-2; Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville, Fla.) 28-1; Bearden (Knoxville, Tenn.) 35-1; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 27-3; Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) 23-10***; Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) 24-1; Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) 32-3; Bryant (Bryant, Ark.) 28-4; Carmel (Carmel, Ind.) 18-5; Cathedral Prep (Erie, Pa.) 25-1; Cedar Falls (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 22-0; Chaparral (Parker, Col.) 24-2; Concord Academy (Concord, N.C.) 29-3***; Curie (Chicago, Ill.) 28-2**; DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 23-9***; East St. Louis (East St. Louis, Ill.) 30-4; Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 16-11; Fishers (Fishers, Ind.) 24-1***; Gainesville (Gainesville, Ga.) 30-1***; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 22-6; La Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.) 24-9***; Layton Christian (Layton, Utah) 21-6***; Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 12-11; Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) 24-4***; Millwood (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.) 24-2; Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 31-7***; Mt. Vernon (Fortville, Ind.) 24-3; Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 21-5; Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 22-8***; Ogallala (Ogallala, Neb.) 25-0; Petersburg (Petersburg, Va.) 21-4***; Pike (Indianapolis, Ind.) 23-3; Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.) 29-3***; Ralston Valley (Arvada, Col.) 25-1; Rangeview (Aurora, Col.) 23-3; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 27-5***; Rockford (Rockford, Mich.) 22-3; Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.) 28-6***; Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) 22-7***; South (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 20-1; Southern School of Energy & Sustainability (Durham, N.C.) 27-3; St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 24-9; St. Mary’s (Phoenix, Ariz.) 23-7***; St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 26-4; Tartan (Oakdale, Minn.) 27-0; The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.) 24-10***; The Villages Charter (The Villages, Fla.) 23-7; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 21-3***; Westlake (Saratoga Springs, Utah) 24-3***; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 25-6.
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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