Week 1 PrepNation National Prep Basketball Poll

WAUKEE, Iowa – Three-time national champion Montverde Academy (Fla.) starts off the 2017-18 season ranked No. 1 in the PrepNation National Prep Basketball Poll.  

This is the Eagles’ most impressive collection of talent since they won three consecutive Prep Poll titles 2013-15. Those teams featured future No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Ben Simmons. Leading the way this season is senior R.J. Barrett, a 6-foot-6 Duke commit who is the No. 1 overall player in the nation according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.  

Another key returner from last season’s team, which went 26-5 and was runner-up at the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School Nationals, is 6-4 senior point guard Andrew Nembhard (Florida). The rest of Montverde’s top players come from a pool of talented transfers that include seniors 6-10 Serbia native Filip Petrusev (Gonzaga), 6-4 guard Mike Devoe (Georgia Tech.) and 6-9 junior twins Makhel and Makhi Mitchell (Maryland).

Once again Montverde Academy will challenge itself against a tough national schedule. This year’s slate features standalone games against No. 10 Simeon (Chicago), No. 13 La Lumiere (Ind.), No. 14 Mater Dei (Calif.) and No. 15 Roselle Catholic (N.J.). In December, the Eagles will rack up the frequent flyer miles traveling between the Iolani Classic in Honolulu and Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Capping off the season is a likely invitation to the Dick’s Sporting Goods Nationals, a tournament Montverde won in each of its national championship seasons.

Kevin Boyle has compiled a spectacular 159-11 record his first six seasons at Montverde Academy. Before that, he won more than 400 games and captured five Tournament of Champions state titles at St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.). Overall, Boyle-coached teams have finished in the National Prep Poll’s final Top 25 in 13 consecutive seasons.

The National Prep Basketball Poll is compiled by high school sports experts Jamie DeMoney of XOS Digital and Dr. Jeremy Plowman with input from sportswriters, experts, and coaches. The preseason national Top 25 and regional Top 10's follow:

NATIONAL TOP 25

1. Montverde Academy (Fla.)  

2. Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)

3. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)

4. Cypress Falls HS (Houston)

5. McEachern HS (Powder Springs, Ga.)

6. Memphis East HS (Tenn.)

7. Clarkston HS (Mich.)

8. Hudson Catholic HS (Jersey City, N.J.)

9. Gonzaga College HS (Washington)

10. Simeon HS (Chicago)

11. Webster Groves HS (Mo.)

12. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

13. La Lumiere HS (LaPorte, Ind.)

14. Mater Dei HS (Santa Ana, Calif.)

15. Roselle Catholic HS (N.J.)

16. Garfield HS (Seattle)

17. Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.)

18. Bishop Montgomery HS (Torrance, Calif.)

19. Fern Creek HS (Louisville, Ky.)

20. Stevens Point HS (Wis.)

21. Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.)

22. Wesleyan Christian HS (High Point, N.C.)

23. Greensboro Day School (N.C.)

24. Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia)

25. University School (Davie, Fla.)

NORTHEAST

1. Hudson Catholic HS (Jersey City, N.J.)

2. Roselle Catholic HS (N.J.)

3. Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.)

4. Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.)

5. Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia)

6. Archbishop Molloy HS (Briarwood, N.Y.)

7. Don Bosco Prep HS (Ramsey, N.J.)

8. Cardinal Hayes HS (Bronx, N.Y.)

9. Archbishop Wood HS (Warminster, Pa.)

10. Hillhouse HS (New Haven, Conn.)

EAST COAST

1. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)

2. Gonzaga College HS (Washington)

3. Wesleyan Christian HS (High Point, N.C.)

4. Greensboro Day School (N.C.)

5. Paul VI HS (Fairfax, Va.)

6. Mount St. Joseph HS (Baltimore)

7. Rock Creek Christian HS (Upper Marlboro, Md.)

8. DeMatha HS (Hyattsville, Md.)

9. Cox Mill HS (Concord, N.C.)

10. Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.)

SOUTHEAST

1. Montverde Academy (Fla.)

2. McEachern HS (Powder Springs, Ga.)

3. Memphis East HS (Tenn.)

4. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

5. University School (Davie, Fla.)

6. Brentwood Academy (Tenn.)

7. Scotlandville HS (Baton Rouge, La.)

8. Wheeler HS (Marietta, Ga.)

9. Mountain Brook HS (Ala.)

10. Olive Branch HS (Miss.)

MIDWEST

1. Clarkston HS (Mich.)

2. Simeon HS (Chicago)

3. La Lumiere HS (LaPorte, Ind.)

4. Fern Creek HS (Louisville, Ky.)

5. Stevens Point HS (Wis.)

6. Morgan Park HS (Chicago)

7. New Albany HS (Ind.)

8. Moeller HS (Cincinnati)

9. Covington Catholic HS (Ky.)

10. Oshkosh North (Wis.)

MIDLANDS

1. Webster Groves HS (Mo.)

2. Sunrise Christian Academy (Wichita, Kan.)

3. Apple Valley HS (Minn.)

4. Pleasant Grove HS (Utah)

5. Cretin-Derham Hall HS (St. Paul, Minn.)

6. Iowa City West HS (Iowa)

7. George Washington HS (Denver)

8. Papillion-La Vista HS (Papillion, Neb.)

9. Lee’s Summit West HS (Mo.)

10. Rock Canyon HS (Lone Tree, Colo.)

SOUTHWEST

1. Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)

2. Cypress Falls HS (Houston)

3. Westlake HS (Austin, Texas)

4. Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology HS (Houston)

5. Guyer HS (Denton, Texas)

6. Shadow Mountain HS (Phoenix)

7. South Garland HS (Garland, Texas)

8. Clark HS (Las Vegas)

9. Wagner HS (San Antonio)

10. Bush HS (Richmond, Texas)

WEST COAST

1. Mater Dei HS (Santa Ana, Calif.)

2. Garfield HS (Seattle)

3. Bishop Montgomery HS (Torrance, Calif.)

4. Sierra Canyon HS (Chatsworth, Calif.)

5. Prolific Prep HS (Napa, Calif.)

6. Jefferson HS (Portland, Ore.)

7. Chino Hills HS (Calif.)

8. Rainier Beach HS (Seattle)

9. Capital Christian HS (Sacramento, Calif.)

10. St. Augustine HS (San Diego)

All-time National Prep Poll champs, with records and coaches*:

1988--Bronx, N.Y., Tolentine (30-1), John Sarandrea

1989--Jersey City, N.J., St. Anthony (32-0), Bob Hurley

1990--Chicago, King (32-0), Landon Cox

1991--Philadelphia, Simon Gratz (27-1), Bill Ellerbee

1992--Baltimore, Dunbar (29-0), Pete Pompey

1993--Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill (30-0), Steve Smith

1994--Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill (30-1), Steve Smith

1995--New Orleans, St. Augustine (37-1), Bernard Griffith

1996--Jersey City, N.J., St. Anthony (31-0), Bob Hurley

1997--Peoria, Ill., Manual (31-1), Wayne McClain

1998--Frederick, Md., St. John's at Prospect Hall (25-0), Stu Vetter

1999--Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill (31-0), Steve Smith

2000--Compton, Calif., Dominguez (35-2), Russell Otis

2001--Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill (32-1), Steve Smith

2002--Dallas, Lincoln (40-0), Leonard Bishop

2003--Akron, Ohio, St. Vincent-St. Mary (25-1), Dru Joyce II

2004--Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill (38-0), Steve Smith

2005--Niagara Falls, N.Y. (28-1), Dan Bazzani

2006--Indianapolis, Lawrence North (29-0), Jack Keefer

2007--Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill (40-1), Steve Smith

2008--Jersey City, N.J., St. Anthony (32-0), Bob Hurley

2009--Henderson, Nev., Findlay (33-0), Michael Peck

2010--Houston, Yates (34-0), Greg Wise

2011--Jersey City, N.J., St. Anthony (33-0), Bob Hurley

2012--Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill (44-0), Steve Smith

2013--Montverde, Fla., Montverde Academy (26-2), Kevin Boyle

2014--Montverde, Fla., Montverde Academy (28-0), Kevin Boyle

2015--Montverde, Fla., Montverde Academy (31-1), Kevin Boyle

2016--Chino Hills, Calif. (35-0), Steve Baik

2017--Nathan Hale (Seattle) (29-0), Brandon Roy

*From 1987-2014, the National Prep Poll was published by World Features Syndicate and distributed to news outlets by the Associated Press.

All content Copyright 2017 Jamie DeMoney/PrepNation.com

About the PrepNation National Prep Poll

The PrepNation National Prep Poll is a continuation of World Feature Syndicate’s National Prep Poll, which was published and distributed to the Associated Press and other news organizations from 1987 to 2015.

The National Prep Poll is second only to the USA Today Super 25 as the longest continually published weekly high school rankings. While a product of World Features Syndicate (1987-2015), the National Prep Poll was the only high school poll distributed to newspapers and websites around the United States by the Associated Press.

Before authoring rankings for Student Sports and ESPN, National High School Sports Hall of Fame journalist Doug Huff compiled the National Prep Poll rankings from 1987 until 1999. Current author Jamie DeMoney has compiled the poll since the start of the 1999 basketball season to the present.

Among the criteria used in the weekly compilation of the National Prep Poll rankings are strength of schedule, the ability to accomplish the ultimate goal on a team's schedule (i.e. winning a championship), impact players and performers, a team's coaching and recent tradition.

About PrepNation.com

PrepNation.com was originally launched August 1, 2001 by Jamie DeMoney for the purpose of creating a permanent online home for the National Prep Poll football and boys basketball rankings.