- Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) remains No. 1 in the Prep Zone Boys Basketball Power Poll with a 19-1 record after their first loss to Impact Christian Academy.
- Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) is ranked No. 2 with a 17-2 record and shares five first-place votes with Andrew Jackson.
- Providence (Jacksonville) moves up to No. 3 with a 16-3 record after winning against No. 6 Bishop Kenny and other teams.
- Newberry rises from No. 8 to No. 5 after finishing 12-1 and performing well in tournaments despite a loss to Stranahan.
The holiday season is over, which is among the busiest of the year in high school boys basketball with a plethora of holiday tournaments.
And the race at the top of The Prep Zone Power Poll has tightened up.
Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) suffered their first loss of the season, 62-60, to then-No. 3 Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville). But that is still the only loss of the season for the Tigers, who are 19-1 and picked up wins over No. 9 Mainland (Daytona Beach), No. 10 Fleming Island (Orange Park), and then-No. 9 Ribault (Jacksonville). That was enough to keep Andrew Jackson on top of the latest rankings, receiving five of the ten first-place votes.
Impact Christian also received five first-place votes but was two points behind Andrew Jackson despite the win over the Tigers. The Lions (17-2) also defeated Fleming Island and Rickards (Tallahassee), with their only loss in the last month coming to a team from Texas.
Providence (Jacksonville) moves up to third. The Stallions (16-3) defeated No. 6 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) along with RV (receiving votes) Raines (Jacksonville), RV University Christian (Jacksonville) and RV St. Augustine. Providence’s only loss came to Grayson, a state-ranked team in Georgia.
The Villages (12-5) fell two spots to No. 4. The Buffalo lost four games since the last poll, but those losses were to a team from New York and Georgia, with a two-point loss to nationally-ranked Bartow and another setback to Montverde Academy.
Newberry rounds out the top five, rising from No. 8 in the last poll. The Panthers (12-1) finally lost a game, losing to defending state champion Stranahan (Fort Lauderdale) at the Kingdom of the Sun in Ocala, but finished third in that tournament and also defeated Dr. Phillips (Orlando), No. 8 North Marion (Citra), No.12 Williston, and RV Atlantic (Port Orange) as well as P.K. Yonge (Gainesville).
Bishop Kenny leads off the second five. The Crusaders (16-3) lost only one game since the last poll, to Providence, and defeated No. 15 Nease (Ponte Vedra), RV Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville), Fletcher (Neptune Beach) and Menendez (St. Augustine).
Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) dropped a couple of spots to No. 7, and North Marion is up seven spots to No. 8.
Mainland (Daytona Beach), unranked in the previous poll, moves all the way up to No. 9 after a 15-2 start with one of those losses by three points to Andrew Jackson.
Fleming Island (Orange Park) rounds out the top 10.
Among the Mainstreet area teams in the second 10 are Williston, which is 12th, and No. 18 Bradford (Starke). The Tornadoes are new to the poll this week after starting the season 11-1.
Trenton, Hawthorne and Columbia (Lake City) are receiving votes.
San Jose Prep (Jacksonville) and Episcopal (Jacksonville) also move up this week at No. 19 and 20, respectively. Wildwood also moves in, tied for 16th with New Smyrna Beach.
Dropping out of the previous poll are Ribault, Leesburg, Buchholz (Gainesville), Hawthorne, and Atlantic.
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 of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2025-26 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record through Jan. 13, and total voting points)
Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold
1. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (3A) (5) (19-1) – 195
2. Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) (1A) (5) (17-2) – 193
3. Providence (Jacksonville) (2A) (16-3) – 179
4. The Villages (3A) (12-5) – 157
5. Newberry (3A) (12-1) – 154
6. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (16-3) – 133
7. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (14-4) – 132
8. North Marion (Citra) (4A) (12-2) – 95
9. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (15-2) – 94
10. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (13-6) – 82
11. Ponte Vedra (5A) (11-5) – 78
12. Williston (Rural) (11-4) – 70
13. Eustis (4A) (12-4) – 65
14. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (12-5) – 58
15. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (14-4) – 56
16T. New Smyrna Beach (5A) (15-3) – 42
16T. Wildwood (Rural) (17-2) – 42
18. Bradford (Starke) (3A) (11-1) – 37
19. San Jose Prep (Jacksonville) (2A) (15-3) – 36
20. Episcopal (Jacksonville) (3A) (15-3) – 35
Also receiving votes: Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (11-5) – 28; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (4A) (17-1) – 24; Trenton (Rural) (12-4) – 22; Leesburg (5A) (10-6) – 16; Hawthorne (Rural) (4-3) – 15; Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (12-6) – 14; St. Augustine (5A) (10-4) – 12; Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (14-5) – 10; Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (12-6) – 10; Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (10-8) – 8; Lecanto (5A) (11-4) – 5; Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (9-8) – 5; University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (8-6) – 3.