St. Xavier, MSJ Debut in High School Boys' National Top 25

Khalif Hocker has been a big-name player for St. Xavier (Ohio). Now the Bombers have a big-time win, too. 

St. Xavier defeated Culver Academy (Ind.) in overtime to make a huge impact in this week’s USA Lacrosse High School Boys' National Top 25. Mount St. Joseph (Md.) also joined the ranking after its 7-2 start and strong showing in the MIAA conference.

Based on the reputation of Culver, which had been ranked in the top 10, St. Xavier joins the national ranking, but only at No. 20 because the Bombers already lost to Upper Arlington (Ohio), which itself lost to a couple of Mid-Atlantic teams.

The St. Xavier win caused the most significant movement in the Top 25, though there were others on the go. Loomis Chaffee (Conn.) climbed a couple spots after stopping Brunswick (Conn.) in a key matchup. Both St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) and Lawrenceville (N.J.) reinforced their top-four rankings with wins over Malvern Prep (Pa.).

» National Top 25    
» Northeast Top 10  
» Mid-Atlantic Top 10  
» South Top 10  
» Midwest Top 10  
» West Top 10  
» Public Schools

Mount St. Joseph enters after winning seven of its first nine games. It lost by only one goal to a Landon (Md.) team that has been ranked all year, and it has a win over perennially strong Georgetown Prep (Md.). Last week, it knocked off a St. Paul’s (Md.) team that was missing players but has been good all spring.

The net effect of the week is that some very good teams like IMG Academy (Fla.), Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.), Darien (Conn.), Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) and Don Bosco (N.J.) have been squeezed out of the Top 25. Fortunately, it’s an exciting part of the season with everyone now immersed in their schedules and plenty of opportunities to rise. 

Florida has playoffs beginning already, while states like Connecticut, Minnesota and New Jersey are just rounding into form.

Scroll below for this week's USA Lacrosse High School Boys' National Top 25 and Regional Top 10 rankings, with each team's previous ranking denoted in parenthesis.

Compiled by USA Lacrosse writers with input from coaches around the country, rankings and records reflect results as of previous Sunday. 

National Top 25

1. St. Anthony's (N.Y.), 5-0 (1)    
2. Calvert Hall (Md.), 8-0 (2)    
3. Salisbury (Conn.), 4-0 (3)    
4. Lawrenceville (N.J.), 7-1 (5)    
5. Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), 3-1 (7)    
6. Brunswick (Conn.), 3-1 (6)    
7. Malvern Prep (Pa.), 6-4 (8)    
8. St. Sebastian’s (Mass.), 3-1 (9)    
9. Boys' Latin (Md.), 6-3 (10)    
10. Archbishop Spalding (Md.), 9-1 (11)    
11. Choate (Conn.), 4-1 (12)    
12. Chaminade (N.Y.), 4-1 (13)    
13. McDonogh (Md.), 7-3 (14)    
14. Delbarton (N.J.), 3-1 (15)    
15. Haverford School (Pa.), 5-2 (16)    
16. Loyola Blakefield (Md.), 6-3 (17)
17. Landon (Md.), 9-1 (18)    
18. Benjamin (Fla.), 17-1 (19)    
19. Fairfield Prep (Conn.), 1-0 (20)    
20. St. Xavier (Ohio), 4-1 (NR)    
21. Culver Academy (Ind.), 6-2 (4)    
22. Western Reserve (Ohio), 8-2 (21)    
23. Mount St. Joseph (Md.), 7-2 (NR)    
24. St. Paul's (Md.), 4-3 (22)    
25. Bullis (Md.), 9-2 (23) 

Also considered (alphabetical order): Belmont Hill (Mass.), Darien (Conn.), Deerfield (Mass.), Don Bosco (N.J.), Episcopal Dallas (Texas), Garden City (N.Y.), Georgetown Prep (Md.), Gilman (Md.), Gonzaga (D.C.), Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.), IMG Academy (Fla.), Lake Mary (Fla.), La Salle (Pa.), La Salle (R.I.), McQuaid Jesuit (N.Y.), Mount St. Joseph (Md.), Radnor (Pa.), Salesianum (Del.), Seton Hall Prep (N.J.), Severna Park (Md.), Springfield-Delco (Pa.), Springside Chestnut Hill (Pa.), Staples (Conn.), St. John's College (D.C.), St. Mary's (Md.), St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), Summit (N.J.), Taft (Conn.), Valor Christian (Colo.), Wantagh (N.Y.)

Regional Rankings

Northeast Top 10 
Week 2

1. St. Anthony's (N.Y.), 5-0 (1)
2. Salisbury (Conn.), 4-0 (2) 
3. Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), 3-1 (4) 
4. Brunswick (Conn.), 3-1 (3) 
5. St. Sebastian's (Mass.), 3-1 (5) 
6. Choate (Conn.), 4-1 (6) 
7. Chaminade (N.Y.), 4-1 (7)
8. Fairfield Prep (Conn.), 1-0 (8) 
9. Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.), 4-0 (NR)
10. Darien (Conn.), 0-1 (10)

Mid-Atlantic Top 10
Week 5

1. Calvert Hall (Md.), 8-0 (1) 
2. Lawrenceville (N.J.), 7-1 (2) 
3. Malvern Prep (Pa.), 6-4 (3) 
4. Boys' Latin (Md.), 6-3 (4) 
5. Archbishop Spalding (Md.), 9-1 (5)  
6. McDonogh (Md.), 7-3 (6) 
7. Delbarton (N.J.), 3-1 (7) 
8. Haverford School (Pa.), 5-2 (8) 
9. Loyola Blakefield (Md.), 6-3 (9) 
10. Landon (Md.), 9-1 (10) 

South Top 10
Week 6

1. Benjamin (Fla.), 17-1 (1) 
2. IMG Academy (Fla.), 11-0 (2) 
3. Lake Mary (Fla.), 14-0 (3) 
4. Episcopal Dallas (Texas), 12-1 (4) 
5. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), 14-3 (5) 
6. Highland Park (Texas), 11-2 (6) 
7. St. Andrew's (Fla.), 12-6 (7) 
8. Westlake (Texas), 7-3 (8) 
9. Lambert (Ga.), 12-0 (9) 
10. The Woodlands (Texas), 8-3 (10)

Midwest Top 10
Week 4

1. St. Xavier (Ohio), 4-1 (6) 
2. Culver Academy (Ind.), 6-2 (1)  
3. Western Reserve (Ohio), 8-2 (2)  
4. Upper Arlington (Ohio), 1-2 (5) 
5. Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.), 5-0 (3)
6. Olentangy Liberty (Ohio), 3-0 (4) 
7. Hamilton Southeastern (Ind.), 8-0 (7) 
8. Rockhurst Jesuit (Mo.), 6-0 (8) 
9. Lake Forest (Ill.), 4-1 (9) 
10. Brother Rice (Mich.), 6-1 (NR)

West Top 10
Week 6

1. Loyola-Los Angeles (Calif.), 15-3 (1) 
2. St. Ignatius (Calif.), 11-1 (2) 
3. Cherry Creek (Colo.), 8-0 (3) 
4. Torrey Pines (Calif.), 6-4 (4) 
5. Valor Christian (Colo.), 6-1 (5)  
6. Marin Catholic (Calif.), 12-4 (7) 
7. De La Salle (Calif.), 9-3 (8) 
8. Sacred Heart (Calif.), 7-4 (6)
9. Arapahoe (Colo.), 7-0 (9) 
10. Mater Dei (Calif.), 7-3 (NR)