Bishop Kenny still atop girls basketball regional rankings as postseason begins

The girls high school basketball regular season has once again flown by, and now it’s time for the postseason. 

Sometimes also called the real season. But the beat goes on for Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) as the Crusaders are once again on top of The Prep Zone Girls Basketball Power Poll. 

Bishop Kenny (20-4) won six out of seven games since the last poll with their only loss by three points at 3A No. 3 Seffner Christian. The Crusaders received nine out of 10 first-place votes to easily stay on top of the rankings. Bishop Kenny picked up wins over No. 20 San Jose Prep (Jacksonville), No. 3 Bolles (Jacksonville), and RV (receiving votes) Mandarin (Jacksonville). 

Providence (Jacksonville) remains No. 2 and picks up the other first-place vote. The Stallions (21-2) were 4-0 the last few weeks with wins over San Jose Prep and RV Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine). 

Bolles (Jacksonville) remains is at No. 3. The Bulldogs (17-7) lost to No. 1 Bishop Kenny and No. 4 Ribault (Jacksonville), but also defeated then-No. 8 University Christian (Jacksonville) and Creekside (St. Johns). 

Speaking of Ribault, the Trojans (13-5) remain in the fourth spot. Ribault defeated Bolles and Fletcher (Neptune Beach), while losing by one point at No. 11 Paxon (Jacksonville) and lost to the No. 20 team overall in Florida according to Max Preps, Rutherford (Panama City). 

Rounding out the top five is the top team in 1A, Wildwood. The Wildcats (15-3) were 5-0 since the last ranking with wins over RV Trinity Catholic (Ocala) and RV P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) as well as Mount Dora Christian Academy and Eastside (Gainesville) on the road. 

Beachside (St. Johns) moves up a spot into the No. 6 position. The Barracudas (18-4) switch places with Spruce Creek (Port Orange), who drops into a tie for No. 7 with St. Augustine (18-2). 

Leesburg (20-1) and Ridgeview (Orange Park) (12-5) round out the top 10 as the two teams are tied at No. 9 this week. 

Among the Mainstreet Daily News area teams in the second 10 are Hawthorne, who has won 13 games in a row heading into the postseason and moves up to No. 13. P.K. Yonge and Trenton are receiving votes. 

New to the poll this week are North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) and Springstead (Spring Hill), who are tied at No. 18 and San Jose Prep, who moves in at No. 20. 

Dropping out from the previous poll are Orange Park, who fell from No. 11 previously all the way out of the rankings, along with Trinity Catholic (Ocala) and P.K. Yonge.

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.

THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2023-24 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #4

(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 2/2, and total voting points)

Teams in bold are inside the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area

1. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (9) (20-4) – 199

2. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (1) (21-2) – 189

3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (17-7) – 161

4. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-5) – 160

5. Wildwood (1A) (15-3) – 159

6. Beachside (St. Johns) (6A) (18-4) – 131

7T. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (16-8) – 118

7T. St. Augustine (5A) (18-2) – 118

9T. Leesburg (5A) (20-1) – 95

9T. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (5A) (12-5) – 95

11. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (15-7) – 91

12. Ponte Vedra (6A) (16-8) – 65

13. Hawthorne (1A) (16-3) – 64

14. Mainland (Jacksonville) (5A) (12-12) – 57

15. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (16-8) – 52

16T. Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (19-3) – 50

16T. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (2A) (18-6) – 50

18T. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (11-5) – 48

18T. Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (20-3) – 48

20. San Jose Prep (Jacksonville) (3A) (13-8) – 46

Also receiving votes:  Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (15-9) – 30; Madison County (1A) (18-4) – 23; Dunnellon (4A) (20-3) – 22; P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (12-7) – 12; Lake Minneola (6A) (15-7) – 5; Orange Park (6A) (11-11) – 5; Mandarin (Jacksonville) (7A) (10-6) – 4; Trenton (1A) (20-3) – 2; Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (7A) (18-6) – 1.