- Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) moved up to No. 1 with a 14-1 record and eight of ten first-place votes in the 2025-26 girls basketball regional rankings.
- Bolles (Jacksonville) climbed to No. 2 after going 10-4 and moving up four spots in the rankings.
- Williston and Newberry, both in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area, are ranked at No. 6 and No. 7.
- Buchholz (Gainesville) entered the rankings at No. 19 with an 8-4 record, marking their first ranking this season.
For the third consecutive poll, there is a new No. 1 in the girls basketball all-classification regional rankings.
Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), a Class 4A region finalist last season, went 8-0 since the Dec. 11 rankings. That includes a 2-0 record at this past weekend’s She Got Game Classic in Atlanta, along with wins against previous No. 2 Wildwood, 58-20, and current No. 14 San Jose Prep, 54-49.
The Lady Crusaders (14-1) moved up two spots to No. 1 and received eight of the 10 first-place votes to start 2026 on top of The Prep Zone Power Poll, which ranks the top 20 teams across 26 counties in Florida.
Their rival, Bolles (Jacksonville), moved up four spots and is now ranked No. 2.
The Class 3A Bulldogs (10-4) went 7-1, including a 3-0 record to win the Battle on the Island at Fleming Island (Orange Park) in December.
Their only loss during that stretch was against the No. 14 overall team in Maryland, Elizabeth Seton (Bladensburg), 59-45, at the She Got Game Classic in Washington, DC.
The ‘Dogs, who received the other two first-place votes, knocked off previous No. 1 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine), 58-56. They also defeated current No. 15 Ribault (Jacksonville), 66-40, and No. 17 Nease (Ponte Vedra), 67-48.
Defending Rural state champion Wildwood (8-2) dropped one spot to No. 3. The Wildcats (8-2) had wins at current No. 20 Leesburg, 65-28, vs. RV (receiving votes) Forest (Ocala), 72-45, and at RV Gainesville High, 77-47.
Tocoi Creek (11-4), a Class 6A state semifinalist last year, dropped three spots and is tied for fourth with Providence (Jacksonville) to round out the top five. The Stallions (9-3), last year’s 2A state runner-up, remained fourth after a 5-0 record.
Two teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are ranked in the top 10.
Williston (9-2) moved up one spot to No. 6.
The Lady Red Devils, who went 5-1, lost at 3A No. 3 and No. 13 overall in Florida, Tampa Catholic, 59-53. They had wins at 3A Florida High (Tallahassee), 56-49, vs. current No. 7 Newberry, 92-73, at Santa Fe (Alachua), 63-13, at Eastside, 58-20, and vs. Buchholz, 60-29, in the True Force Shootout championship game.
Newberry moved up two spots from ninth.
The Class 3A Panthers (11-1) bounced back from the loss at Williston to defeat previous No. 15 Fort White, 73-39, and West Port (Ocala), 75-34.
Williston and Newberry are two of six teams in the coverage area who are either ranked or received votes.
Class 6A Buchholz moved into the rankings for the first time this season at No. 19.
The Bobcats (8-4) had their five-game winning streak snapped by No. 7 Williston, 60-29, in the True Force Shootout championship game in Alachua to finish 2-1. They also had wins in Alachua against The Rock (Gainesville), 66-40, and RV Forest (Ocala), 54-49.
Buchholz also defeated rival GHS, 47-40, on Dec. 12. They will play the Hurricanes again at The Purple Palace on Jan. 22.
GHS (7-5), which was previously ranked 18th, dropped out of the rankings.
In addition to GHS, Fort White (8-5) and Chiefland (10-1) also received votes.
Williston, which is No. 1 in the MaxPreps Rural rankings, and Newberry lead off the second five, followed by 5A Ponte Vedra, defending 5A state champion New Smyrna Beach, and Orange Park in the top 10.
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 by sportswriters and sportscasters, and it is powered by Be Well Fitness.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2025-26 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/4, and total voting points)
Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold
1. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (8) (14-1) – 198
2. Bolles (Jacksonville) (3A) (2) (10-4) – 179
3. Wildwood (Rural) (8-2) – 172
4T. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (11-4) – 163
4T. Providence (Jacksonville) (2A) (9-3) – 163
6. Williston (Rural) (9-2) – 157
7. Newberry (3A) (11-1) – 133
8. Ponte Vedra (5A) (12-3) – 123
9. New Smyrna Beach (5A) (7-5) – 114
10. Orange Park (5A) (11-3) – 111
11. Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (12-3) – 97
12. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (8-5) – 85
13. The Villages Charter (3A) (10-5) – 84
14. San Jose Prep (Jacksonville) (2A) (12-7) – 78
15. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (11-5) – 68
16. Hilliard (Rural) (9-4) – 67
17. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (8-4) – 18
18. Eustis (4A) (9-4) – 14
19. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (8-4) – 13
20. Leesburg (5A) (6-4) – 12
Also receiving votes: Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (10-5) – 9; Chiefland (Rural) (10-1) – 8; Gainesville (5A) (7-5) – 7; North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (1A) (5-8) – 6; Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (3A) (9-7) – 6; DeLand (7A) (8-6) – 5; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (2A) (5-4) – 3; Forest (Ocala) (6A) (7-4) – 3; Fort White (Rural) (8-5) – 2; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (3A) – 2.