Preseason PrepNation National Prep Football Poll

WAUKEE, Iowa – For the second time in the past three years, Southern California super program Mater Dei (Santa Ana) begins the season ranked No. 1 in the National Prep Poll.

Mater Dei went wire-to-wire as the nation’s top team in 2017 and ended last year ranked No. 2. In the past two seasons, the Monarchs have captured back-to-back Open Division state championships and beat 16 teams that were nationally or regionally ranked. 

Mater Dei has averaged nearly 45 points per game the past two season and will be explosive again in 2019. USC-committed quarterback Bryce Young returns after throwing for 3,846 yards and 39 touchdowns as a junior. Washington-bound tackle Myles Murao heads up a huge – and experienced – offensive line. All five projected starters have scholarship offers from FBS or FCS programs. The Monarchs have less experience on the other side of the ball but every bit as much talent. Leading the way are cornerback Jaylin Davies and linebacker Raesjon Davis, a pair of juniors who have more than 15 Power 5 scholarship offers each, along with defensive back Domani Jackson, the No. 10 prospect in the Class of 2022 according to 247Sports.

If it completes the season unbeaten, strength of schedule should be a slam dunk argument for Mater Dei’s national championship hopes. After opening the season Friday versus No. 17 Centennial (Corona, Calif.), the Monarchs are set to face No. 3 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) and No. 5 St. John’s College (Washington) in September and have a Trinity League grudge match against No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) in late October. Following its daunting regular-season gauntlet, Mater Dei will attempt to three-peat as Open Division state champion with up to five more games through California’s toughest postseason bracket.

Bruce Rollinson begins his 31^st – and potentially final – season as Mater Dei’s coach with a record of 300-85-2. In addition to a National Prep Poll title in 2017 and a pair of USA Today national championships in the 1990s, Rollinson has led his alma mater to three state championships and seven CIF Southern Section titles.

The National Prep Football Poll is compiled by high school sports expert Jamie DeMoney of XOS Digital. The preseason national Top 25 and regional Top 15's follow:

NATIONAL TOP 25

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

2. North Shore HS (Houston)

3. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)

4. St. John Bosco HS (Bellflower, Calif.)

5. St. John’s College HS (Washington)

6. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

7. Central HS (Miami)

8. Lakeland HS (Fla.)

9. Duncanville HS (Texas)

10. St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia)

11. St. Thomas Aquinas HS (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

12. St. Louis HS (Honolulu)

13. Archbishop Hoban HS (Akron, Ohio)

14. Central HS (Phenix City, Ala.)

15. De La Salle HS (Concord, Calif.)

16. Highland Park HS (Dallas)

17. Centennial (Corona, Calif.)

18. Gonzaga College HS (Washington)

19. Dutch Fork HS (Irmo, S.C.)

20. Marietta HS (Ga.)

21. John Curtis HS (River Ridge, La.)

22. St. Joseph Regional HS (Montvale, N.J.)

23. St. Edward HS (Lakewood, Ohio)

24. Eastside Catholic HS (Sammamish, Wash.)

25. Broken Arrow HS (Okla.)

NORTHEAST

1. St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia)

2. St. Joseph Regional HS (Montvale, N.J.)

3. St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, N.J.)

4. Central Catholic HS (Pittsburgh)

5. Coatesville HS (Pa.)

6. Bergen Catholic HS (Oradell, N.J.)

7. Manheim Central HS (Pa.)

8. Mater Dei Prep (Middletown, N.J.)

9. Gateway HS (Monroeville, Pa.)

10. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)

11. Pine-Richland HS (Gibsonia, Pa.)

12. DePaul HS (Wayne, N.J.)

13. Hand HS (Madison, Conn.)

14. Catholic Memorial HS (West Roxbury, Mass.)

15. Aquinas Institute (Rochester, N.Y.)

EAST COAST

1. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)

2. St. John’s College HS (Washington)

3. Gonzaga College HS (Washington)

4. Dutch Fork HS (Irmo, S.C.)

5. DeMatha HS (Hyattsville, Md.)

6. Highland Springs HS (Va.)

7. Mallard Creek HS (Charlotte, N.C.)

8. Gaffney HS (S.C.)

9. Colonial Forge HS (Stafford, Va.)

10. Fort Dorchester HS (North Charleston, S.C.)

11. Myers Park HS (Charlotte, N.C.)

12. Good Counsel HS (Olney, Md.)

13. Wake Forest HS (N.C.)

14. Westfield HS (Chantilly, Va.)

15. Martinsburg HS (W.Va)

SOUTHEAST

1. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

2. Central HS (Miami)

3. Lakeland HS (Fla.)

4. St. Thomas Aquinas HS (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

5. Central HS (Phenix City, Ala.)

6. Marietta HS (Ga.)

7. John Curtis HS (River Ridge, La.)

8. Colquitt County HS (Moultrie, Ga.)

9. Deerfield Beach HS (Fla.)

10. Hoover HS (Ala.)

11. Northwestern HS (Miami)

12. Karr HS (New Orleans)

13. Parkview HS (Lilburn, Ga.)

14. Oakland HS (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)

15. Starkville HS (Miss.)

MIDWEST

1. Archbishop Hoban HS (Akron, Ohio)

2. St. Edward HS (Lakewood, Ohio)

3. Carmel HS (Ind.)

4. Pickerington Central HS (Ohio)

5. Nazareth Academy (LaGrange Park, Ill.)

6. West Bloomfield HS (Mich.)

7. Trinity HS (Louisville, Ky.)

8. Washington HS (Massillon, Ohio)

9. Martin Luther King HS (Detroit)

10. Warren Central HS (Indianapolis)

11. East St. Louis HS (Ill.)

12. Mentor HS (Ohio)

13. Muskego HS (Wis.)

14. Male HS (Louisville, Ky.)

15. Oak Park HS (Mich.)

MIDLANDS

1. Christian Brothers College HS (St. Louis)

2. Valor Christian HS (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)

3. St. Thomas Aquinas HS (Overland Park, Kan.)

4. Bingham HS (South Jordan, Utah)

5. Dowling Catholic HS (West Des Moines, Iowa)

6. DeSmet Jesuit HS (Creve Coeur, Mo.)

7. Lone Peak HS (Highland, Utah)

8. Cherry Creek HS (Greenwood Village, Colo.)

9. Corner Canyon HS (Draper, Utah)

10. Lee’s Summit North HS (Mo.)

11. Bellevue West HS (Neb.)

12. Eden Prairie HS (Minn.)

13. Columbine HS (Littleton, Colo.)

14. Blue Springs HS (Mo.)

15. Bishop Miege HS (Roeland Park, Kan.)

SOUTHWEST

1. North Shore (Houston)

2. Duncanville HS (Texas)

3. Highland Park HS (Dallas)

4. Broken Arrow HS (Okla.)

5. Bishop Gorman HS (Las Vegas)

6. Katy HS (Texas)

7. Aledo HS (Texas)

8. Saguaro HS (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

9. Ryan HS (Denton, Texas)

10. Chandler HS (Ariz.)

11. Carroll HS (Southlake, Texas)

12. Lake Travis HS (Austin, Texas)

13. Guyer HS (Denton, Texas)

14. Marshall HS (Missouri City, Texas)

15. North Little Rock HS (Ark.)

WEST COAST

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

2. St. John Bosco HS (Bellflower, Calif.)

3. St. Louis HS (Honolulu)

4. De La Salle HS (Concord, Calif.)

5. Centennial HS (Corona, Calif.)

6. Eastside Catholic HS (Sammamish, Wash.)

7. Cathedral Catholic HS (San Diego)

8. JSerra Catholic HS (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)

9. Narbonne HS (Harbor City, Calif.)

10. Folsom HS (Calif.)

11. Mission Viejo HS (Calif.)

12. Rancho Cucamonga HS (Calif.)

13. Calabasas HS (Calif.)

14. Upland HS (Calif.)

15. Sheldon HS (Eugene, Ore.)

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

1987--Fontana, Calif. (14-0), Dick Bruich

1988--Prichard, Ala., Vigor (13-0), Harold Clark

1989--Odessa, Texas, Permian (16-0), Gary Gaines

1990--Aldine, Texas (15-0), Bill Smith

1991--Indianapolis, Ben Davis (14-0), Dick Dullaghan

1992--Valdosta, Ga. (14-0), Nick Hyder

1993--Cleveland, St. Ignatius (14-0), Chuck Kyle

1994--Concord, Calif., De La Salle (13-0), Bob Ladouceur

1995--Cleveland, St. Ignatius (14-0), Chuck Kyle

1996--Hampton, Va. (14-0), Mike Smith

1997--Hampton, Va. (13-0), Mike Smith

1998--Concord, Calif., De La Salle (12-0), Bob Ladouceur

1999--Shreveport, La., Evangel (15-0), Dennis Dunn

2000--Concord, Calif., De La Salle (13-0), Bob Ladouceur

2001--Concord, Calif., De La Salle (12-0), Bob Ladouceur

2002--Concord, Calif., De La Salle (13-0), Bob Ladouceur

2003--Concord, Calif., De La Salle (13-0), Bob Ladouceur

2004--Southlake, Texas, Carroll (16-0), Todd Dodge

2005--Southlake, Texas, Carroll (16-0), Todd Dodge

2006--Lakeland, Fla. (15-0), Bill Castle

2007--Cincinnati, St. Xavier (15-0), Steve Specht

2008--Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Thomas Aquinas (15-0), George Smith

2009--Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco (12-0), Greg Toal

2010--Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Thomas Aquinas (15-0), George Smith

2011--Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco (12-0), Greg Toal

2012--River Ridge, La., John Curtis (14-0), J.T. Curtis

2013--Miami, Booker T. Washington (14-0), Tim Harris

2014--Las Vegas, Bishop Gorman (15-0), Tony Sanchez

2015--Katy, Texas (16-0), Gary Joseph

2016--Las Vegas, Bishop Gorman (15-0), Kenny Sanchez

2017--Santa Ana, Calif., Mater Dei (15-0), Bruce Rollinson

2018--Houston, North Shore (16-0), Jon Kay

*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 2019 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.