In the tightest National Prep Coaches Poll of the ’18-’19 season, Chris Chaney’s Scotland Campus program claimed the #1 spot thanks to their 31-0 record. Scotland’s point total (94pts) edged out #2 Putnam Science (93pts) by a single point and their six 1st place votes topped Putnam's by two. They were the only two programs to receive 1st place votes this month. The poll’s point system rewards 10-points for a 1st place vote, 9 points for a 2nd, 8 for a 3rd, 7 for a 4th and so on.
Putnam Science saw their 49-game win streak come to an end at the hands of #10 Sunrise Christian (16-8) at the National Prep School Invitational early in the month. They’ve bounced back to win their last seven games and own a 32-1 record heading into the season’s home stretch.
#3 Woodstock Academy continued to maintain a clear distance between the top-3 and the rest of the pack, something that has remained true throughout the season. Woodstock now sports a 33-1 record with their lone blemish coming against Brewster a few weeks ago.
#4 Hargrave (30-2) continues to improve and could play the unfamiliar dark horse role when the National Prep Championship starts in March. Lee Martin’s squad has kept an outrageous streak of 106-straight home wins in tact and could push it to 110 with W's in their final four. Their two losses have come against #9 New Hampton in the National Prep Showcase and against # 8 Massanutten (26-3), a 108-100 loss at the end of January.
#5 Northfield-Mt Hermon (29-4) plans on peaking at the right time and spoiling somebody’s season when the tourney rolls around. Meanwhile, #7 Brewster (26-6) remains one of the most enigmatic teams in the history of prep basketball. They can beat anyone or get beaten by anyone on any given night. Their highs are ridiculous and their lows are repulsive. But if they can figure it out before the postseason begins, NOBODY would be surprised if Jason Smith raised another National Championship banner in the Wolfeboro gym.
#6 Mt. Zion (24-4) just keeps traveling across the East Coast and picking up wins with Ayinde Hikim as their fearless quarterback, while the rest of the roster picks up scholarship offers. It’s a beautiful dynamic that breeds a rare level of competitive fire. #9 New Hampton (26-6) and #10 Sunrise round out February’s top-10 while Blair (9pts), Cushing (7pts), Link Year (4pts) and IMG (2pts) also received votes from our panel of prep coaches.
Our final '18-'19 National Prep Coaches Poll will hit the streets on March 8th after the 2019 NERR National Prep Championship tournament takes place on March 5th-7th at Connecticut College in New London, CT.
If the tourney resembles the '18-'19 prep season, our eventual-Champ will end up taking a wild ride to the 2019 finish line!