SIMPLY THE BEST: No. 1 Montverde Academy (FL) rises above rest to Blue Star Media Elite 25 Boys’ National Championship; coach Kevin Boyle’s dynasty continues for foreseeable future

BENSALEM, Pa. — There comes a time when it’s right to declare the obvious: Montverde (Fla.) Academy Eagles are the Blue Star Media Elite 25 National Champions.

We delayed the announcement by two weeks to allow other states to finish up their seasons. When Minnesota and Michigan were done on the weekend of April 9-10, it was time to pull the trigger. For the second straight year and third time in the last four years, the Eagles ascended to the summit of the Elite 25. Coach Kevin Boyle’s team is 49-1 in the last two seasons and won the GEICO High School National and the inaugural National Interscholastic Basketball Conference championships.

The Eagles suffered one loss to No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) during the NIBC regular season—halting a win streak at 44 games—by rebounded to hand the Buffaloes losses in the GEICO National and NIBC championship games. Montverde started the season at No. 1 way back in November, dropped to No. 2 after the loss in February and wrested the top spot from No. 2 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.).

When the final buzzer blared at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida on April 3, Montverde completed its season-long mission of remaining the gold standard and new paradigm for high school boys’ basketball.

Credit DeMatha and its wonderful coach Mike Jones. The Stags went unbeaten and battled league rivals No. 23 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) during the truncated COVID-19 season. If the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference played a normal schedule and the Stag went unbeaten then it would have been quite the conundrum. Another reason we kept the Stags atop the Elite 25 for nearly two months were the GEICO Nationals. There was strong belief the Stags would be attending the event. But the talks stalled and the school would not bend on an athletic team traveling to Florida. Ironically, the nationally-rank Paul VI girls’ team competed at GEICO and advanced to the championship game after taking down the top-ranked team in the semifinals.

Hopefully the WCAC powers will allow boys teams to attend in the near future. That would certainly add cache to the event that will have a different look in 2022.

Last week Blue Star Media broke the hot news from New York City the Catholic High Schools Athletic Association will conduct a shortened season over six weeks at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains.

The plan said, teams will play at least four games within four pools and all games will be played at the Westchester County school, which sits over the Bronx borough line. All games will be streamed by LocalLive.tv. No spectators will be allowed but approved media can attend. Only team personnel, school officials and league representatives will be permitted in the gym.

The games began May and a tournament and playoffs would cap the season in late May. This tournament is a sanctioned CHSAA event and schools will wear their school uniforms and can be coached by their varsity coach.

Blue Star Media will provide updated scores, coverage and standings from the CHSAA Springtime Tournament. Click here more information.

We are happy to see several California sectionals are up and running. No. 24 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) has played six games. Later this month others will join them. Ditto for Washington and Oregon. Washington gets underway in early May, playing league schedules of nine or 10 games. Oregon won’t start until mid-May. New Mexico and West Virginia are also playing in the spring. We look at it this way: At least there are games, especially for seniors who definitely were hosed.

More news from California, where the Los Angeles United School District gave the okay to start the basketball season starting this week. That means CIF-City Section powers Westchester and Fairfax will get after this year. The coaches are hoping for a postseason sectional tournament but there are no guarantees. For now, the players need to be cleared, workouts must be held, safety protocols need to be followed and then games in an abbreviated campaign.

We really are cheering for Los Angeles to pull it off. All the best moving forward.

In recruiting news from the Elite 25, 6-3 TyTy Washington of No. 5 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) announced he pared his college list to six schools: Arizona, Baylor, Kentucky, Kansas, LSU and Oregon. Washington’s stock spiked this season and he de-committed from Creighton in March.

We can’t wait for the corona-racked 2020-21 school year to end. Some states soldiered through the pandemic and others whiffed.

So, moving forward we will continue the rankings until the last game is played in June. We’ll go to a two-week rotation with all the remaining action from four aforementioned states from the Far West Region.

The Blue Star Media Elite 25 boys’ rankings return on May 4. Remember we will skip a week for boys’ and girls’ hoops but will updated the Elite 25 spring football rankings.

Until then keep safe, mask up, practice social distancing, wash your hands regularly, get vaccinated when you get the call and support your local businesses.

Hope to see you at a game soon. – Christopher Lawlor

Blue Star Media Elite 25 Boys’ Basketball Rankings, April 20, 2021

1. Montverde (Fla.) Academy (24-1)* ! @

Previous rank: 1.

Low-down: Blue Star Media Elite 25 National Champions! The Eagles won the GEICO High School Nationals championship for the fifth time in nine years.

2. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (11-0)

Previous: 2.

Low-down: The Stags completed an unbeaten season and spent nearly two months atop the Elite 25.

3. Sunrise Christian Academy, Bel Aire, Kan. (21-4)

Previous: 3.

Low-down: Advanced to the GEICO Nationals final. Three losses were to No. 1 Montverde.

4. IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. (21-3)

Previous: 4.

Low-down: Advanced to GEICO Nationals semifinals.

5. AZ Compass Prep, Chandler, Ariz. (29-2)*

Previous: 5.

Low-down: Advanced to GEICO Nationals semifinals and won the Grind Session World Championship.

6. Minnehaha Academy, Minneapolis (20-1)*

Previous: 6.

Low-down: Won Minnesota Class AAA state championship.

7. Duncanville, Texas (29-1)*

Previous: 7.

Low-down: Won the Class 6A state championship.

 8. Milton, Alpharetta, Ga. (28-3)*

Previous: 8.

Low-down: Won Georgia Class AAAAAAA state championship and played at the GEICO Nationals.

9. Camden, N.J. (13-0)

Previous: 9.

Low-down: There were no New Jersey state playoffs but the Panthers were the state’s top-ranked team.

10. Wasatch Academy, Mount Pleasant, Utah (18-7)

Previous: 10.

Low-down: Earned an invitation to the GEICO Nationals.

11. Orlando (Fla.) Christian Prep (27-0)*

Previous: 11.

Low-down: Won FHSAA Class 2A state championship.

12. Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Va. (21-9)

Previous: 12.

Low-down: Coach Steve Smith is one win short of 1,200 career victories and the Warriors advanced to the GEICO Nationals quarterfinals.

13. Carmel, Ind. (26-2)*

Previous: 13.

Low-down: Won Class 4A state championship.

14. Pace Academy, Atlanta (30-2)*

Previous: 14.

Low-down: Won Georgia Class AA state championship and earned an invite to the GEICO Nationals.

15. Long Island Lutheran, Brookville, N.Y. (3-0)

Previous: 15.

Low-down: New York did not hold Federation State championships.

16. The Patrick School, Hillside, N.J. (14-1)

Previous: 16.

Low-down: The Celtics were upended once but rebounded with a strong lineup.

17. Prolific Prep, Napa, Calif. (31-4)

Previous: 17.

Low-down: Advanced to the GEICO Nationals quarterfinals.

18. DePaul Prep, Chicago (14-2)

Previous: 18.

Low-down: In a season when Illinois canceled state tournaments, the Rams won the Chipotle Clash of Champions, a tournament featuring Chicago’s top teams.

19. Simeon, Chicago (12-1)

Previous: 19.

Low-down: The Wolverines went unbeaten against Chicago Public League rivals.

20. Reading, Pa. (26-2)*

Previous: 21.

Low-down: Won PIAA Class AAAAAA state championship.

21. Archbishop Wood, Warminster, Pa. (20-1)

Previous: 21.

Low-down: Won the Philadelphia Catholic League and District XII titles but lost in Class AAAAAA final.

22. St. Frances Academy, Baltimore (15-1)

Previous: 22.

Low-down: The MIAA A Conference regular-season champions lost in the Baltimore Catholic League final.

23. Paul VI, Chantilly, Va. (7-4)

Previous: 23.

Low-down: The Panthers played a competitive schedule with elite players, including Duke-bound Trevor Keels.

24. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (6-0)^

Previous: 24.

Low-down: In the Matt Denning Nike Hoops Classic, the Monarchs crushed Cypress, 81-42. Also downed Pacific Christian/Orange County (Newport Beach), 81-34, as the Monarchs stormed to a 22-2 lead after one period.

25. Catholic Central, Grand Rapids, Mich. (20-0)*

Previous: 25.

Low-down: Won Division 2 state championship.

Dropped: None.

High-Fives by Region

East

1. Archbishop Stepinac, White Plains, N.Y. (4-2)^
2. St. Raymond, Bronx, N.Y. (0-0)^
3. Roselle (N.J.) Catholic (12-3)
4. Stone Bridge, Ashburn, Va. (16-1)*
5. Bristol (Conn.) Central (15-0)

Geography: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

Midwest

1. La Lumiere School, La Porte, Ind. (6-9)
2. Vashon, St. Louis (16-1)*
3. St. Vincent-St. Mary, Akron, Ohio (25-2)*
4. Whitney Young, Chicago (15-1)
5. Millard North, Omaha, Neb. (27-2)*

Geography: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Southland

1. Millbrook, Raleigh, N.C. (19-0)*
2. Beaumont (Texas) United (31-0)*
3. Highlands, Fort Thomas, Ky. (30-4)*
4. Westlake, Austin, Texas (30-2)
5. Richardson, Texas (26-2)

Geography: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Far West

1. Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, Calif. (0-0)^
2. St. Mary’s, Phoenix (20-1)*
3. Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland, Calif. (0-0)^….A29-30
4. Ribet Academy, Los Angeles (0-0)^ A23
5. Sunnyslope, Phoenix (21-1)*

Geography: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

@ Blue Star Media Elite 25 National Champion

! GEICO High School Nationals champion

* Won state championship or major postseason tournament title

^ Currently playing a spring season

Records are through Sunday

About: The Blue Star Media Elite 25 High School Boys Basketball Rankings are released weekly from November until the conclusion of the high school season. Criteria considered are the quality of the team and its players, strength of schedule, tradition, and quality of the team’s league, conference, region or district. The rankings are compiled by Blue Star Media’s Christopher Lawlor, who consults with a national network of coaches, talent evaluators and prep sports writers. Follow him on Twitter at @clawlor