HS: Winter FAB 50, Jan. 9

by Sheldon Shealer

January 9, 2018

It took only one week to thin the heard among the Texas contenders.

As is the case every year, Texas teams that are 0-0 move up the rankings while the California and Florida programs take losses and fall into a logical pecking order behind the "undefeated" Texas squads. And, every year, Texas teams with lofty expectations stumble in the first week of the season, thus repositioning themselves in the national spectrum. This year, however, the fall out was significant. Of the 30 Texas teams that appeared in the boys and girls FAB 50 Top 25 last week, only 12 remain. Brophy Prep (Ariz.) traveled to Texas and won the North Texas Elite Showcase for boys. Carondelet (Concord, Calif.) traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, and went 4-0 at the National Elite Prep Showcase for girls, knocking off three former FAB 50 Top 10 teams.

Florida boys, with eight new teams in the FAB 50, and California girls, with four new FAB 50 teams, seemed to benefit the most this week. Florida's situation was aided by the fact Tampa Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.) topped former Top 25-ranked Strake Jesuit (Houston, Texas) in the Tampa Bay Invitational final.

CHANGE AT NO. 1: The two Texas teams that held No. 1 rankings faltered last week, with Sam Houston (Arlington, Texas) boys losing in the final of the North Texas Elite Showcase and Highland Park (Dallas, Texas) girls taking a tie to an unranked team in its kickoff event. Those results allowed California programs -- Torrey Pines (Calif.) boys and JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) girls -- to move into the No. 1 rankings this week.

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BIG MOVERS: BOYS: Alisal (Salinas, Calif.). Alisal's 4-0 win over a Watsonville (Calif.) team that has competed at some of the nation's top high school events the past two years sent a clear message that Alisal is for real again this year. Alisal moved from No. 32 to No. 16 this week. ... GIRLS: Carondelet (Concord, Calif.). Carondelet went 4-0 at the National Elite Prep Showcase in Texas, resulting in a 17-spot move to No. 27. With another strong week, Carondelet is likely to be back in the Top 25.

NEWCOMERS: BOYS: No. 7 Alief Elsik (Houston, Texas), No. 29 Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), No. 30 Tupelo (Miss.), No. 31 Cypress Bay (Weston, Fla.), No. 32 [Seminole (Sanford) fl-m] (Sanford, Fla.), No. 37 Clovis (Calif.), No. 38 Madison Central (Madison, Miss.), No. 40 Newsome (Lithia, Fla.), No. 41 John I. Leonard (Greenacres, Fla.), No. 42 Palm Harbor University (Palm Harbor, Fla.), No. 43 Bellarmine Prep (San Jose, Calif.), No. 45 Galt (Calif.), No. 46 Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.), No. 47 Chandler (Ariz.), No. 48 Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) and No. 49 Tampa Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.). ... GIRLS: No. 7 Flower Mound (Texas), No. 29 Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas), No. 44 Granite Hills (El Cajon, Calif.), No. 45 Rio Americano (Sacramento, Calif.), No. 46 Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, Calif.), No. 48 Kamehameha-Kapalama (Honolulu, Hawaii), No. 49 Lourdes (Miami, Fla.) and No. 50 Montgomery (Santa Rosa, Calif.).