Who’s No. 1 in the first ‘Elite 16’ boys high school basketball media rankings?
Below are the Kentucky Media Elite 16 boys high school basketball teams for the 2025-26 season, according to the first (Jan. 6) poll of media members from each of Kentucky’s 16 regions as compiled by the Courier Journal’s Jason Frakes.
In addition, see how Herald-Leader high school sports writer Jared Peck (@HLpreps on X.com) voted and the media’s region-by-region top fives.
Boys Elite 16
Teams are listed with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday’s games, total rankings points and their Herald-Leader preseason ranking (H-L).
Rank-school (FPV)…Record…Pts…H-L
1. Male (14)…10-2…238…8
2. St. Xavier…9-4…229…1
3. Madison Central…12-1…217…5
4. Covington Catholic…11-1…210…3
5. Daviess County…12-3…187…10
6. Frederick Douglass…7-3…151…2
7. Warren Central (2)…8-1…149…13
8. George Rogers Clark…8-3…145…4
9. North Laurel…9-4…74…6
10. North Oldham…8-4…67…12
11. McCracken County…10-3…62…NR
12. Butler…10-3…61…19
13. Boyd County…9-4…51…20
14. Lexington Catholic…8-4…47…21
15. Ballard…8-4…45…9
16. Eastern…12-2…42…17
Others receiving votes: Jeffersontown 24, Seneca 24, Covington Holy Cross 21, Highlands 21, Bryan Station 18, Pikeville 17, Caverna 14, Marshall County 9, Pleasure Ridge Park 9, Montgomery County 8, Ashland Blazer 7, Bell County 7, Evangel Christian 6, Grayson County 6, Butler County 3, Danville Christian 3, Adair County 2, Christian Academy-Louisville 2.
How @HLpreps voted
1. Male; 2. St. Xavier; 3. Covington Catholic; 4. Daviess County; 5. Madison Central; 6. Frederick Douglass; 7. George Rogers Clark; 8. Warren Central; 9. North Laurel; 10. Bryan Station; 11. Ballard; 12. Caverna; 13. North Oldham; 14. Jeffersontown; 15. Butler; 16. Boyd County.
Region-by-region top fives
1st Region (Steve Springer, Murray Ledger & Times): 1. McCracken County; 2. Marshall County; 3. Murray; 4. Carlisle County; 5. Graves County.
2nd Region (Edward Marlowe, WKDZ-FM): 1. Lyon County; 2. Webster County; 3. Henderson County; 4. Hopkins County Central; 5. Hopkinsville.
3rd Region (Mark Mathis, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer): 1. Daviess County; 2. Grayson County; 3. Ohio County; 4. Muhlenberg County; 5. Apollo.
4th Region (Micheal Compton, Bowling Green Daily News): 1. Warren Central; 2. Clinton County; 3. South Warren; 4. Barren County; 5. Bowling Green.
5th Region (Josh Claywell, Bardstown Kentucky Standard/LaRue County Herald News): 1. Adair County; 2. LaRue County; 3. Taylor County; 4. Caverna; 5. North Hardin.
6th Region (Demetrius Stanton, DeadStock Visuals): 1. Butler; 2. Jeffersontown; 3. Fairdale; 4. DuBois; 5. Pleasure Ridge Park.
7th Region (Jason Frakes, The Courier Journal): 1. Male; 2. St. Xavier; 3. Seneca; 4. Ballard; 5. Eastern.
8th Region (James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer): 1. North Oldham; 2. South Oldham; 3. Anderson County; 4. Woodford County; 5. Grant County.
9th Region (Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer): 1. Covington Catholic; 2. Covington Holy Cross; 3. Highlands; 4. Lloyd Memorial; 5. Ryle.
10th Region (Evan Dennison, LinkNKY.com): 1. George Rogers Clark; 2. Montgomery County; 3. Campbell County; 4. Nicholas County; 5. Bishop Brossart.
11th Region (Jared Peck, Herald-Leader): 1. Madison Central; 2. Frederick Douglass; 3. Bryan Station; 4. Lexington Catholic; 5. Henry Clay.
12th Region (Mike Marsee, Danville freelancer): 1. Danville Christian; 2. Pulaski County; 3. West Jessamine; 4. Lincoln County; 5. Wayne County.
13th Region (Les Dixon, 13thRegionMediaNetwork.com): 1. North Laurel; 2. Bell County; 3. Clay County; 4. Whitley County; 5. South Laurel.
14th Region (Brendon Miller, Bluegrass Sports Nation): 1. Hazard; 2. Knott County Central; 3. Powell County; 4. Perry County Central; 5. Letcher County Central.
15th Region (Randy White, Appalachian News-Express): 1. Pikeville; 2. Martin County; 3. Johnson Central; 4. Lawrence County; 5. Paintsville.
16th Region (James Collier, WLGC-FM): 1. Ashland Blazer; 2. Boyd County; 3. Russell; 4. Raceland; 5. Lewis County.
