All 50 ranked teams written up with explanations for why they were placed in these positions with comparisons to preseason ranking. The FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com is the official rankings of the National Sports News Service, which date back to the 1952 season. Montverde Academy of Florida is the 2023-24 mythical national champion, as the program captured its seventh FAB 50 title since 2013, tying Oak Hill Academy of Virginia for most all-time No. 1 finishes.
Compiled by Ronnie Flores
(Preseason ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included.)
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1. (1) Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 33-0
This team made history for a variety of reasons, as it became the third team under coach Kevin Boyle (344-26 at MVA, 854-158 overall) to claim a FAB 50 title with an unbeaten record. The 2020 team didn’t get an opportunity to compete in Chipotle Nationals because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year’s team was able to match the 2018 team by going wire-to-wire as the FAB 50 No. 1 team. The 2021 MVA team also went wire-to-wire No. 1 but was not unbeaten. The Eagles closed out their season with a Chipotle Nationals crown, courtesy of a 79-63 win over No. 3 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) in the championship game, their second victory over that same club. Curtis Givens came off the bench to nail 6-of-9 3-pointers and score 24 points while All-Americans Cooper Flagg and Derik Queen added 16 and 19 points, respectively, as the program upped its record to 29-6 all-time at the end-of-season tournament. Between those three players, there was only nine shots missed while Flagg (16.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.7 bpg, 1.6 spg) blocked six shots. Flagg averaged 20.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg in three Chipotle Nationals victories, as the Eagles recorded a whopping 24 victories over teams that were FAB 50 ranked at some point during the 2023-24 season. Queen was the Eagles’ leading scorer (16.4 ppg) and shot 68.3 percent from the field while attempting only three 3-pointers, as this club had uncanny balance and thrived by taking quality shots from the field. Montverde Academy’s other three starters averaged double figures for a team that played as tough a schedule as any MVA team ever and only had three games decided by single-digits. For its dominance, this club will ultimately be compared to its 2020 unit and by living up to expectations was able to claim the program’s seventh Chipotle Nationals crown and seventh No. 1 FAB 50 crown. The No. 1 finish means MVA ties Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) for the most all-time FAB 50 national titles. Regardless of where it stands on the list of most dominant teams the program has ever produced, it will be remembered for playing up to expectations against one of the toughest schedules ever seen among FAB 50 ranked teams.
2. (3) Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 28-5
Similar to No. 3 Paul VI and No. 5 Long Island Lutheran, the Explorers lost to No. 1 Montverde Academy twice, but are able to finish one spot ahead of Paul VI because of their 70-61 victory over the Panthers at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. Columbus lost to Montverde Academy in the semifinals of Chipotle Nationals after falling behind big just as it did in its first matchup with the eventual FAB 50 champions. Junior Cameron Boozer finished with 29 points and seven rebounds in Columbus’ final game of the season and was remarkably consistent throughout the year for a team that lived up to expectations, averaging 22.2 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 2.7 apg and 2.1 bpg. Columbus qualified for Chipotle Nationals by defeating No. 15 Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) in overtime, 72-67, in the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 7A championship game. Boozer’s slam dunk with five seconds remaining sent the game into overtime and he finished it with 24 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Columbus also got strong seasons from Cam’s brother, Cayden Boozer (12.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 7.6 apg) and Michigan St.-bound Jase Richardson (15.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 spg). In addition to defeating No. 3 Paul VI, the Explorers also downed No. 4 No. 4 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.), No. 6 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) and No. 8 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), the latter in the title game of the Les Schwab Invitational in Portland, Ore.
