ESPN National High School Boys Basketball Rankings: Dec. 31

ESPN has updated its national high school basketball rankings heading into the new year. Teams all across the country have been engaged in holiday tournaments and some of the country’s best programs have faced stiff competition in the month of December.

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy is the No. 1 boys high school basketball team in America, per ESPN’s Paul Biancardi. Two other Sunshine State programs made the top five.

Here are the top 25 teams in ESPN’s updated high school basketball rankings.

1. IMG Academy (Fla.)

Peppered with talent up and down the roster, the Ascenders are led by five-star senior point guard and Arkansas signee Darius Acuff. Also featuring in the class of 2025 is Syracuse signee Sadiq White and Georgia signee Kareem Stagg, while the junior class includes top-40 prospects Felipe Quinones and Chase Foster. IMG is 10-3 this season with a pair of wins over La Lumiere (Ind.) and a six-point loss to Columbus (Fla.).

2. Prolific Prep (Calif.)

Prolific Prep is 16-3 on the season and beat Columbus (Fla.) 66-54 back in November to start the year off with a bang. The Crew is headlined by Five-Star Plus+ Kansas SG signee Darryn Peterson, the No. 3 prospect in the 2025 class. Other signees from the senior class include Washington PF Niko Bundalo, Michigan SF Winters Grady and LSU SG Mazi Mosley.

3. Link Academy (Mo.)

Link Academy is 10-2 in 2024 and fresh off of a huge 57-49 win over Columbus (Fla.) on Sunday in the Jordan Holiday Classic. Five-Star Plus+ PF Chris Cenac signed with Houston earlier this fall while Davion Hannah signed with Alabama, Jerry Easter with USC and John Clark with Texas.

4. Columbus (Fla.)

Led by Duke signee Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the Explorers have played a gauntlet of a schedule early this season. After their win over Montverde, they faced two other top-25 opponents in Link Academy (Mo.) and Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.). They dropped both of those contests at the Jordan Holiday Classic and will be looking to get rebooted in the new year.

5. Montverde Academy (Fla.)

The Eagles are coming off a 59-57 loss to Sunshine State powerhouse Columbus (Fla.) last week, but have otherwise been pretty dominant outside of a loss to Brewster Academy. They’ll return to action Jan. 6 against Southeastern Prep Academy out of Orlando.

6. Dynamic Prep (Texas)

An Irving-based private school that only offers basketball programs, Dynamic has become one of the top prep teams in the country. They notched an impressive 75-56 victory over Bishop McNamara earlier this week. Jacobe Coleman, four-star center Jaden Toombs and four-star small forward Jermaine O’Neal Jr. lead a roster coached by former NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal.

7. Utah Prep (Utah)

Utah Prep is home to the nation’s No. 1 basketball prospect in Five-Star Plus+ PF AJ Dybantsa, who signed with BYU earlier in December. Utah Prep is 13-4 and coming off of a 63-52 win over Oak Hill Academy (Va.) in the Iolani Classic.

8. Brewster Academy (N.H.)

Home to top-20 recruit and Arizona signee Dwayne Aristode, Brewster has dropped just two games this season to Compass Prep (Ariz.) and Utah Prep (Utah.) The Bobcats have beaten ranked teams like Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.) and Montverde Academy (Fla.). Legacy Charter (S.C.) is on the schedule for Jan. 9.

9. St. John Bosco (Calif.)

After dropping a 56-55 heartbreaker to Roosevelt (Calif.) on Monday, the Braves drop to 14-1 on the year. They’ll look to rebound quickly against Phoenix O’Connor on Thursday, though.

10. Gonzaga (D.C.)

The Eagles have been as impressive as any team in the country thus far, with a recent win over national powerhouse La Lumiere (Ind.) as the latest example. Gonzaga has also topped top-30 Oak Ridge (Fla.) and took Columbus (Fla.) to three overtimes before falling 85-79.

Teams 11-25 in the updated ESPN high school boys basketball rankings

11. William J. Brennan (Texas)
12. La Lumiere School (Ind.)
13. Harvard-Westlake (Calif.)
14. Roosevelt (Calif.)
15. Mt. Zion Prep (Md.)

16. Grayson (Ga.)
17. Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.)
18. Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.)
19. Compass Prep (Ariz.)
20. Perry (Ariz.)

21. Allen (Texas)
22. Wheeler (Ga.)
23. Oak Hill Academy (Va.)
24. Sidwell Friends (D.C.)
25. Hoover (Ala.)