Way-Too-Early National High School Football Top 25 Rankings

The 2024 high school campaign was one of the most exciting to date and this upcoming 2025 season looks to be no different as the national powerhouses are shaping into form. Here’s a way-too-early look at the top 25 teams in the country according to the Massey Ratings, which ranks teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

1. Mater Dei (Calif.)

Coming off an undefeated season in California’s vaunted CIF Southern Section and winning another Open Division Championship, Mater Dei is loaded once again. This is especially true on offense where head coach Raul Lara brings back a host of talented players.

Minnesota commitment Furian Inferrera will be at the controls after completing 12-of-16 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown last season. The wide receiving corps is second to none, featuring five-star Ohio State commitment Chris Henry Jr. along with four-star wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and all-world tight end Mark Bowman, who is committed to the University of Southern California. This offense is scary and could be the best in the country.

The Monarchs’ place atop these rankings will be tested right out of the gates this fall when they open their season on the road against 17-time FHSAA state champion St. Thomas Aquinas on Aug. 23.

2. Duncanville (Texas)

Duncanville lost a handful of starters on both sides of the football from last season’s team, but they bring back more than enough to warrant a spot in the national conversation.

Having a defense that can stuff just about anything right back in your face is a massive luxury and that’s what the Panthers will be able to do to most opponents on Friday nights. Coming off the edges are a pair of 2026 four-stars in Kevin Ford and Landon Barnes that combined for 28.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in 2024.

The biggest question surrounding the team will be who is in line to replace Alabama freshman Keelon Russell at quarterback. It will likely come down to last year’s backup, rising senior J’Coryon Rivers or 2027 standout Maximus The Great Denson.

3. DeSoto (Texas)

The DeSoto Eagles are one of the most decorated high school football programs in Texas, but they’re coming off of a bit of a roller coaster 2024 campaign.

A 57-51 loss to eventual Class 6A, Division 1 champion North Crowley toward the beginning of the season was the first of three decisions that didn’t go the Eagles’ way. Now they’ll be looking to rebound from last year’s 11-3 mark and work at making another state title run.

They’ll look to do so behind the talents of multiple four-star athletes in 2026 wide receiver Boobie Feaster and 2027 athlete Myson Johnson-Cook, who rushed for over 900 yards in 2024. Both players played major roles on the offensive end of the ball and will have to step up as the team graduates Deondrae Riden Jr., who went for over 2,000 yards last fall.

4. North Crowley (Texas)

The defending UIL Class 6A, Division 1 state champions may not have the all-world talents of wide receiver Quentin Gibson, who is now off the play for Deion Sanders at Colorado. But, North Crowley is still plenty capable of a repeat with some of the talent they bring back across the board.

What specifically stands out about this team is the talent in the defensive secondary, which may be one of the most talented units in these rankings. Senior safety Aaron Bradshaw, a Texas Tech commit, and 2027 cornerback Jerry Outhouse lead the way . Both players are among the state’s best in the defensive backfield and should keep the Panthers right there with the tops in the UIL.

Four-star 2026 offensive lineman John Turntine anchors a stout North Crowley front that will look to push people around this fall, while four-star 2026 tight end Jeramie Cooper looks to be one of the team’s top targets in the passing game.

5. St. John Bosco (Calif.)

Some may think last year’s 11-2 campaign was some sort of a down season for St. John Bosco, but if anything it was a learning experience for a young, talented roster. Oh, and that youth saw plenty of meaningful playing time and came within a touchdown of Mater Dei in the CIF Division I Southern Section playoffs.

There’s a bevy of talent returning to the offensive side of the ball and orchestrating the offense will be sophomore Koa Malau’ulu, who threw for 1,812 yards and 19 touchdowns last fall. The youngster behind center is joined by an uber talented receiving room, led by Texas A&M commit Madden Williams and Oklahoma commit Daniel Odom.

6. North Shore (Texas)

North Shore saw its 2024 season come to an end in the state semifinals with a 35-10 loss to eventual state runner-up Westlake. While the Eagles fell just short of their goal last season, there’s optimism they can be right back where they want to be come December.

A lot of that plays into that they are one of the few elite Texas teams that return an experienced quarterback. Senior Kaleb Maryland will take the helm of the North Shore offense after throwing for nearly 700 yards and five touchdowns last fall in relief of 2024 starter Kaleb Bailey.

7. St. Frances Academy (Md.)

How can you not see this St. Frances Academy team in the top 10 of the national rankings? It’s easy to create the argument that they should be a tad higher than this, but with the kind of schedule Messay Hailemariam puts together on an annual basis, the Panthers will get a chance early on to prove to folks where they should be ranked.

St. Frances Academy’s defense might be just a notch ahead of the offense and that’s not by much. They’re led by 2026 five-star bookend Zion Elee, who is staying in-state with his commitment to the Maryland Terrapins. Looking what’s around Elee on defense and you quickly realize this unit is loaded with talent thanks to 2026 five-star Jireh Edwards and another two future Terps in Hakim Satterwhite and Raylaun Henry.

8. Bishop Gorman (Nev.)

When you have Kobe Bryant’s nephew, Oregon commit Jett Washington, as one of your top returning players, you could easily argue that your team should be higher in these ratings.

But it’s more than just Washington that makes Bishop Gorman‘s roster so imposing. Hawaii commit Maika Eugenio returns for his senior season after throwing for over 2,000 yards and 31 touchdowns a year ago. Eugenio is joined in the backfield by 2027 running back Terrance Grant, who rushed for nearly 500 yards last season.

Bishop Gorman will have a chance to avenge its only loss from last season, and sky-rocket up these rankings, on Sept. 19 when it hosts top-ranked Mater Dei.

9. Southlake Carroll (Texas)

The Dragons have a plethora of talent returning for this upcoming season, making them arguably the favorites to win it all in Texas’ UIL Class 6A, Division 2.

It’s a quarterback-driven sport these days in high school football and Southlake Carroll has a good one in Angelo Renda, who’s already committed to Pittsburgh. Renda threw for 3,901 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2024 and has his top target back in the fold in Ohio State commit Brock Boyd.

When we said this offense is loaded, we meant it. Next to Boyd is 2027 wide receiver Brody Knowles, who hauled in 37 passes for 539 yards and eight touchdowns. Alongside Renda in the backfield will be senior multi-purpose back Davis Penn, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and scored 18 times in 2024.

10. Bixby (Okla.)

Bixby has won 10 state championships over the last 11 seasons and the abundance of talent on its roster makes it clear that the Spartans are favored to win another this fall and remain a fixture in the national rankings.

We actually start at quarterback where Carson Kirby heads into his fourth season on varsity with three state titles already under his belt. Kirby threw for 2,976 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2024 and kept a clean jersey thanks to 2026 four-star offense tackle Kaeden Penny.

Bixby’s defensive front makes this unit one of the most feared around thanks to a trio of future Big 12 defenders: linebackers Trey McGothlin (Oklahoma State) and Cord Nolan (Texas Tech) and safety Emory Snyder (West Virginia).

11. Centennial (Calif.)

12. Summer Creek (Texas)

13. Buford (Ga.)

14. Atascocita (Texas)

15. IMG Academy (Fla.)

16. Westlake (Texas)

17. Orange Lutheran (Calif.)

18. Allen (Texas)

19. Bryant (Ark.)

20. Thompson (Ala.)

21. Dutch Fork (S.C.)

22. Carrollton (Ga.)

23. Mission Viejo (Calif.)

24. Coppell (Texas)

25. Longview (Texas)