Welcome to the first edition of the Baltimore Sports Report top 15 high school boys basketball rankings for the Baltimore metro area.
While most rankings tend to be about hype and potential, these rankings are all about results and consistency. As a result, you’ll see a lot of fluctuation, as a team could go up several spots with a big win one week, and drop completely out of the top 15 the next week after a bad loss. With that said, the first couple weeks of rankings rely a bit on hype and reputation, until a nice sample size of games have been accumulated.
We released our preseason rankings in the high school boys basketball preview, with Aquille Carr’s Patterson Clippers holding the top spot. The top 15 will be posted each Monday, with a short write-up following the rankings.
Boys Basketball Top 15: 12/12/11
- Mount St. Joseph’s, 7-0 (Last Week: #5)
- Patterson, 2-0 (LW: #1)
- St. Frances, 2-1 (LW: #2)
- Milford Mill, 0-0 (LW: #3)
- Dunbar, 2-0 (LW: #8)
- John Carroll, 9-1 (LW: #6)
- Edmondson, 3-0 (LW: #9)
- Lake Clifton, 2-0 (LW: #7)
- Archbishop Spalding, 3-2 (LW: Unranked)
- Owings Mills, 2-0 (LW: #15)
- Poly, 1-0 (LW: Unranked)
- Arundel, 2-0 (LW: Unranked)
- City, 2-0 (LW: #13)
- Glenelg Country, 4-2 (LW: #14)
- McDonogh, 4-2 (LW: #6)
Usually the opening weeks of the high school basketball season are fairly slow, as teams don’t play many games, and try to get up to game speed. On top of that, the top programs tend to schedule lesser opponents to get a few wins under their belt, akin to a high-major college basketball team. This year was an exception.
Although most privates had been playing for about a week and a half, I considered this week the “real” first week of the season, as publics began play and privates started to face legitimate MIAA opponents.
Mount St. Joseph’shas ripped the top spot in the rankings from Patterson, after bursting out of the gates to an 8-0 record. Friday night’s 78-76 overtime victory over St. Frances propelled the Gaels to pole position in the rankings, and a win over a touch Archbishop Spalding team on Sunday justified the spot.

Behind MSJ, Patterson comes in at No. 2 with two wins over formidable D.C. teams. The Clippers have not been a one-horse show behind Aquille Carr this year, as several new transfers have put up solid numbers to open the season.
After those top two, the field is very cloudy at this point, with seemingly strong teams losing games left and right. St. Frances and Milford Mill retain spots in the top five, and Dunbar joins them in the fifth position. John Carroll dropped a tough one in overtime to a quality Sagemont (FL) team at the Gonzaga Classic, but holds at No. 6. Edmondson and Lake Clifton, two Baltimore City squads, round out the top 8 in this week’s rankings.
Behind those top eight teams, the rankings are quite a mess. Some of the preseason favorites have not started their seasons well, and have shown that talent isn’t the be-all end-all in high school basketball. McDonogh has been inconsistent so far, as have St. Paul’s and Digital Harbor. Some dark horses to watch out for include Owings Mills (who started off the season with a bang by blowing out Oakland Mills), along with Archbishop Spalding and Glenelg Country, two teams making some noise in the MIAA A conference, and Poly, a fairly experienced and balanced Baltimore City squad that will surprise some people this year. If Digital, Calvert Hall, and Forest Park can string a few wins together, they should see themselves back in the top 15.
Top Games This Week:
- #4 Milford Mill at Calvert Hall, Tuesday, 12/13, 7pm
- #3 St. Frances at #6 John Carroll, Wednesday, 12/14, 7pm
- Thomas Stone at #12 Arundel, Wednesday, 12/14, 7pm
- #10 Owings Mills vs. #4 Milford Mill, Friday, 12/16, 7pm (at Stevenson)
- #3 St. Frances vs. Quality Education Academy (NC), 12/17, 6 pm (at Towson Center)**
- #2 Patterson vs. Lincoln (NY), 12/17, 8 pm (at Towson Center)**