MaxPreps Top 25 national high school boys basketball rankings

MaxPreps will recognize its 2013-14 national champion in conjunction with next Monday's (April 7) final Xcellent 25 rankings.

With top-ranked Mater Dei winning its fourth-consecutive California state crown over the weekend and capping an unbeaten (35-0) season, will that announcement hold any mystery?

Stay tuned.

Eight of the nation's top 15 teams – including three unbeatens – meet in New York City this week for the Dick's Sporting Goods High School National Tournament. While the No. 1 ranking will be tough to pry away from Mater Dei, we will let the season play out to its conclusion before handing out any hardware.


1. (No. 1 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 35-0
With a 71-61 win over then-No. 23 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) in California's Open Division final, the Monarchs capped their first unbeaten season since 1985 and may give legendary head coach Gary McKnight his first national title. The prevailing thought seems to be that Montverde Academy has played a significantly more challenging schedule than Mater Dei, but that's a debatable position. Mater Dei beat five state champions this season, went 9-0 against teams that played for state titles and 17-0 in tournament play.

2. (2) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 25-0 *
Montverde Academy is the top seed for the Dick's Sporting Goods High School National Tournament later this week in New York City. The Eagles face No. 4 Sagemont in the opening round.

3. (3) Rainier Beach (Seattle), 29-0
Also headed to Dick's Nationals, the Vikings will meet No. 15 Findlay Prep on Thursday in quarterfinal play.

4. (4) Sagemont (Weston, Fla.), 33-0
Despite their unbeaten record, the Lions head to Dick's Nationals as a No. 8 seed and a heavy underdog in the first round against Montverde Academy.

5. (5) Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.), 28-1
Another program headed to Dick's Nationals, the Knights will meet storied No. 10 Oak Hill Academy in opening-round action.

* Record includes forfeit victory