We switch over from the gridiron to the hardwood as it’s high school basketball time throughout the country and there’s plenty of great hoop action going on in the Sunshine State.
With Thanksgiving now behind us and Christmas/New Year fast approaching, national tournaments will be place around the state that involving many of the top teams.
Who are those top teams everyone should be watching out for? We’ve got you covered with our first set of Power 25 rankings for girls basketball in Florida.
Here’s the complete breakdown of Florida’s elite girls high school basketball teams for the 2024-2025 season, as we see it for rankings.
Returning as the No. 1 team in the Sunshine State for the 2024-2025 season are the Eagles. Though they have a loss on their record, Montverde Academy has notched impressive victories this season over state powers Dr. Phillips and St. Thomas Aquinas.
We’re really looking forward to the end of the season matchup between Montverde Academy and IMG Academy. The Ascenders’ two losses have come to national powers Hebron Christian (Georgia) and Bishop McNamara (Maryland).
Among the Florida teams listed just on the outside looking in of the latest High School On SI national rankings, DME Academy has been playing about as good as anyone to start off the season.
The only losses sustained by Central Pointe Christian so far this season are to Bishop McNamara (Maryland), PHH Pre National (Arizona) and Shining Star Sports Academy (Virginia).
The defending Class 3A state champs from a year ago have already pulled off some impressive victories to date, beating Cardinal Mooney, Dr. Phillips and St. Thomas Aquinas. Not a bad trio to upend so far in the early going.
There’s no doubting how good are the Pirates when you stack them up against the other teams in these rankings. Only loss to an in-state team came to Central Pointe Christian.
You knew the Blue Devils would be right up here in the mix with everyone else in the state. Winter Haven’s only loss was 45-44 to Palm Bay (see above).
Of the four losses the Panthers have on the season, three of the four have come against teams from Florida. Lone out-of-state loss was to Mt. Zion Prep Academy.
After a 1-2 start to the season, with losses to Mt. Zion Prep Academy and Potter’s House Christian, the Raiders have gone 4-2 in the following six games.
The Cougars have been snakebitten in narrow losses to state powers like Dr. Phillips and Winter Haven.
The Firebirds have made a strong case to be higher up on our first set of rankings because of how they’ve played so far. Only couple of losses have come to Central Pointe Christian and DME Academy.
Other than a loss to Cardinal Mooney earlier in the season, the Stallions have been one of Northeast Florida’s top clubs.
Senior shooting guard Abby Knauff has impressed this season, averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game.
Senior combo guard Chardae Rumph leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game for Somerset Prep.
The Lions have been impressive down in South Florida, with King’s Academy’s only loss coming against Somerset Prep (see above).
The Lions have made a huge jump from last season and handing Plantation American Heritage a loss this season spoke volumes of where they’re at now.
Only three losses of the season far have come against St. Thomas Aquinas, Westminster Academy and Winter Haven.
Hard to not rank these guys in the early going of the season as the Barracudas have impressive wins over Blanche Ely and Mainland.
The Tigers are another team on this list who has only suffered one loss to a Florida-based team on the season. Blanche Ely fell 49-28 against New Smyrna Beach.
Another Northeast Florida team that’s been pretty impressive so far is the Trojans of Jacksonville. Ribault has a solid victory over Bishop Kenny to its record this season.
A hot start to the season has propelled this Crusaders team into the state championship conversation in Class 3A. Only loss so far is a 72-21 decision against Bolles.
Through eleven games played thus far, only one has been decided by single digits for the Bulls, a 62-55 victory over Sickles. Other than that, every other contest has been a rout for the most part.
The Lions have come right out of the gates with impressive victories lined up and down their schedule. Most impressive win was against Evangelical Christian, though they have split the season series so far.
The Wildcats are off to a sizzling start to the season, with eight straight victories highlight by a win over Lakewood.
It’s difficult to keep a team away from these rankings that has only fallen twice to out-of-state foes. Losses have come against Norcross (Georgia) and Brewbaker Tech (Alabama).
Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school girls basketball news.
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— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolsi
