High school basketball is upon us, and Southwest Florida is loaded with talent.
Last season saw two teams from the tri-county area claim regional championships and advance to the state final four. Three others advanced to the regional finals. And all those teams have plenty of star players returning.
But which team is the best in Southwest Florida? As the season gets under way, SBLive is ranking the Top 10 programs in the area:
The Griffins went 22-8 last season, won a championship in a loaded Class 3A-District 12, and were four points shy of a regional title. This year they return their top two scorers, including 6-foot-7 monster in the middle Patrick Johnson, who averaged 17 points and 11.7 rebounds last season. Gateway Charter has stacked its schedule against in-state powers hoping to prepare for a deep playoff run.
The Tarpons won a regional championship last season without one single senior on the roster. Because of that youth, Charlotte was 9-10 in January before catching fire and winning nine straight on the way to the Class 6A final four. Now every single player who scored a point for the Tarpons returns and Charlotte is looking for back to back regional titles.
The Vikings were perhaps the biggest turnaround story in the state last season. After going 2-23 in 2022-23, Bishop Verot was 22-7 last season and made the regional playoffs for the first time in five years. And the Vikings had just one senior among their top six scorers. Jerry Ashley, a 6-8 senior who averaged 14 and 10 last year, in back. So is Gavin Williams, the team’s leading scorer last season at 19 points a game.
The Lions went 21-6 last year but had to rely on an at-large berth to regionals because they played in a loaded 3A-District 12 with Gateway Charter and Bishop Verot. This year FBA is in just a three-team district with Collier County rivals Community School and St. John Neumann. Leading scorer Adrian Rodriguez graduated, but the next three leading scorers are back, including 6-5 future Division I college football receiver Jayden Petit.
Barron Collier has three straight 20-win seasons and five straight playoff appearances under coach David Watts. With leading scorer Spencer Clayton back, the Cougars expect to continue those streaks this season. Clayton averaged 17.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.9 steals last season and should be one of the top players in Collier County again.
The public school in Fort Myers is entering just its fourth varsity season, yet Gateway has established itself as a consistent winner. The Eagles have won 19 games or more all three of their previous fulltime varsity seasons, including a 22-4 record last year. They graduated leading scorer Tavian Cook (23.6 points per game), but seniors Christopher Davis (averaged 12 points, 6 rounds and 3 steals) and 6-6 Andrew Leopold (10.2-4.8) are ready to shoulder the load.
Coach John Solak has turned Palmetto Ridge into one of the strongest programs in Collier County. The Bears have won two straight district titles and have gone 22-4 in back to back years. They graduated two stars in Calven Charles and Sean Gomez, who averaged more than 30 points combined. But Palmetto Ridge returns key players Jeriah Muldrow and Jaydon Soto, plus Solak has proven himself a winner.
The Celtics were 15-12 last year, which was good enough to make regionals in a rugged Class 2A region. And Neumann has been steadily improving under coach Zach Ward. The Celtics’ top two scorers are back in Michael Nevill (10.5 points) and Issa Issaku (9.8 points, 6.9 rebounds), and 6-7 junior Kris Trpevski is poised for a breakout year.
The Pirates were a mediocre 13-12 last season with a first round loss in the regional playoffs. However, they did it with just one senior on the roster. The other top 10 scorers from last year are back for Port Charlotte. The Pirates also haven’t had a losing season since 2011, so history says they’ll be competitive once again.
The King’s were 14-12 last year, but that record came against strong competition among local Class 2A teams. SFCA’s strength of schedule was good enough to get into regionals. Even though the King’s lost four key seniors, they crack the Top 10 because they return one of the most prolific scorers in the area in Asa Rogosich (24.3 points per game).
