Boys basketball rankings: 4 No. 1 teams in the hunt for first championships
Four boys basketball teams that have never won state championships have finished the regular season ranked No. 1.
Those chasing history are St. Pius (Class 4A), KIPP Atlanta Collegiate (2A), Rabun County (A Division I) and Chattahoochee (A Division II).
Joining them with No. 1 rankings are defending champions Wheeler (6A), Sandy Creek (3A) and Holy Innocents’ (3A-A Private). Gainesville, seeking its first championship since 1984, is No. 1 in 5A.
The state tournament begins Tuesday, although most first-round games will be Wednesday.
Seven of the No. 1 teams just won region tournaments with victories over other top-10 opponents.
The exception was KIPP Atlanta, which lost in the Region 5-2A final to Holy Innocents’ 56-46 in a battle of No. 1 teams. Those two Atlanta teams will play in separate state-tournament brackets, as Holy Innocents’ is a private school and KIPP Atlanta is a public charter school.
As a region runner-up, KIPP will be seeded no higher than No. 6 overall in its quest for a first title, meaning KIPP will have home-court advantage only in the first two rounds.
All eight No. 1 teams faced quality competition in their region tournaments.
The most contested final among them was Rabun County’s 58-53 overtime victory over No. 5 Commerce in Region 8-A Division I. Commerce made a 3-point shot at the buzzer to tie the game in regulation.
In the other region finals, Wheeler beat No. 5 Cherokee 85-62; Gainesville beat No. 6 Johns Creek 58-46; St. Pius beat No. 5 Tucker 79-54; Sandy Creek beat No. 7 Troup 64-57; and Chattahoochee County beat No. 10 Taylor County 40-32.
The state tournament is five rounds ending in March 11-14 finals in Macon.
Class 6A
- Wheeler (22-6)
- McEachern (22-4)
- Grayson (25-2)
- Hillgrove (20-7)
- Cherokee (19-8)
- Pebblebrook (19-8)
- Meadowcreek (22-6)
- Westlake (19-7)
- Walton (23-6)
- Peachtree Ridge (16-11)
Class 5A
- Gainesville (27-0)
- Alexander (25-2)
- Woodward Academy (21-6)
- Hughes (17-6)
- Decatur (23-5)
- Johns Creek (22-6)
- Newnan (24-4)
- Dutchtown (20-6)
- Lassiter (24-3)
- Woodstock (24-3)
Class 4A
- St. Pius (28-0)
- North Oconee (24-3)
- Pace Academy (20-7)
- Jonesboro (20-7)
- Tucker (20-8)
- Griffin (23-3)
- Westminster (21-4)
- Southwest DeKalb (21-6)
- Eastside (20-8)
- Mays (20-8)
Class 3A
- Sandy Creek (25-2)
- Cross Creek (22-5)
- Cedar Grove (21-6)
- Baldwin (23-4)
- Westover (23-2)
- Douglass (19-8)
- Troup (21-7)
- Monroe (21-6)
- Harlem (19-9)
- Calhoun (21-2)
Class 2A
- KIPP Atlanta Collegiate (21-5)
- Carver-Columbus (23-3)
- Butler (21-4)
- South Atlanta (21-6)
- Columbia (20-6)
- Therrell (16-12)
- Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (20-5)
- Morgan County (21-6)
- Spencer (20-6)
- Salem (16-12)
Class A Division I
- Rabun County (25-2)
- Putnam County (21-7)
- Vidalia (23-2)
- Model (20-4)
- Commerce (21-6)
- Southwest (23-6)
- Fitzgerald (22-4)
- Washington County (18-9)
- Swainsboro (19-7)
- Dodge County (17-7)
Class A Division II
- Chattahoochee County (24-1)
- Turner County (23-4)
- Clinch County (24-3)
- Seminole County (25-2)
- Mitchell County (20-7)
- Portal (22-5)
- Early County (20-7)
- Bowdon (23-4)
- Hancock Central (19-6)
- Taylor County (20-5)
Class 3A-A Private
- Holy Innocents’ (22-3)
- Greenforest Christian (23-5)
- Mount Vernon (25-3)
- North Cobb Christian (24-3)
- Darlington (25-2)
- Walker (22-5)
- Hebron Christian (22-4)
- Mount Bethel Christian (20-6)
- Calvary Day (21-7)
- Christian Heritage (21-3)
About the Author
Todd Holcomb covers high school sports across the state. He rejoined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025 and has worked with the AJC in varying capacities since 1985. He is a co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
