Who are Top Teams in Florida - Part One

Who are Top Teams in Florida - Part One By Michael Wholey 11/1/21 9:00 AM EST The start to the 2021-22 high school season is just weeks away. Last year’s season was shortened due to COVID with a number of teams playing half their normal number of games. All appears to be heading back to normalcy and the expectation is a full slate of games. With several Florida teams finishing in the top 50 of national rankings, Florida Prep Hoops is on the map for having some of the country’s top players and teams. We take a look at who the top teams in Florida are. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, FL) <img class=" wp-image-242884 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Nyla-Harris-206x300.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="175" />Any list of teams in the state of Florida, has to start with Lake Highland Prep. LHP finished last season 19-1 with a state championship and a top 10 national ranking with their only loss of the season coming to St. Paul VI in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Invitational in New York in April. Lake Highland Prep is as deep and as talented as any team in Florida. Headlined by University Louisville verbal commit [player_tooltip player_id="91555" first="Nyla" last="Harris"], the 6’2 Forward is a scoring and rebounding machine and is a huge presence inside and one of the state’s top players. UCF verbal commit [player_tooltip player_id="91585" first="Stefanie" last="Ingram"] is the teams beating heart who sets the tone for the team’s energy. She is a capable ball handler who is tough and physical and does all the team’s dirty work. Sophomores [player_tooltip player_id="217664" first="Lexi" last="Blue"] and Brianna Rivera, Junior [player_tooltip player_id="91649" first="Eleecia" last="Carter"], and Senior [player_tooltip player_id="91596" first="Sierra" last="Godbolt"] give the team additional ballhandling, outside shooting, and depth. While Sophomore transfer Camila De Pool-Maisonet and incoming Freshman Ari Woodard might be the added juice and firepower to keep Lake Highland Prep at the top.   Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) <img class="wp-image-204978 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/09/Jordana-Codio-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="123" height="185" /> Montverde Academy and Lake Highland Prep were 1-2 all last season with Montverde finishing the season 21-2 and one of their two losses coming at the hands of Lake Highland Prep. No team has improved more through additions to their roster more than Montverde Academy. Prep Girls Hoops Florida # 1 and # 8 ranked players in the 2022 class [player_tooltip player_id="91554" first="Janiah" last="Barker"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91559" first="Jordana" last="Codio"] along with 5’10 2023 Guard / Wing [player_tooltip player_id="245281" first="Cori" last="Allen"] from Tennessee have all enrolled at Montverde Academy. Barker, Codio, and Allen join a Montverde Academy that was ranked in the top 5 nationally all of last season and welcome back 6’0 Xavier signee [player_tooltip player_id="219953" first="Fernanda" last="Ovalle"] (Xavier signee), 6’5 UCF signee [player_tooltip player_id="219954" first="Fatima" last="Diakhate"] and the 2023 duo of 5’10 [player_tooltip player_id="219934" first="Rusne" last="Augustinaite"] and 5’10 Mjarcle Sheppard. Montverde will once again play one of the toughest schedules in the country, traveling to several tournaments all across the country but mark your calendar of Saturday January 29 when Lake Highland Prep and Montverde Academy will face off for potentially state bragging rights and national ranking implications.   American Heritage (Plantation, FL) <img class=" wp-image-279422 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/04/IMG_5097-186x300.jpeg" alt="" width="119" height="192" />American Heritage Plantation finished last season 25-2 and the 5A state champions. Their two losses came at the hands of Montverde Academy and Winston-Salem Christian National in January. AH took town three Florida State Champions HB Plant, St, Thomas Aquinas and Miami Christian as well as a number of other impressive wins against some of the state’s top teams. The team has lost four of their top 5 scorers with [player_tooltip player_id="91557" first="Sydney" last="Shaw"]’s departure to DME Academy surely will make an impact along with Florida signees [player_tooltip player_id="91549" first="Taliyah" last="Wyche"] and [player_tooltip player_id="145092" first="Tatyana" last="Wyche"] and point guard Daniela Aronsky all graduating. The team will rely heavily on production [player_tooltip player_id="91566" first="Joey" last="Delancy"]. Delancy was the teams 3rd leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points as well as teams leader in assists averaging 7.0 assists per game. [player_tooltip player_id="118146" first="Ta’Niya" last="Latson"] is the highest profile transfer in addition to [player_tooltip player_id="91554" first="Janiah" last="Barker"]. Latson did it all last season for Westlake in Atlanta, GA leading them to a 22-0 record, a Georgia AAAAAA state championship, a Geico National Championship and a # 1 overall national ranking. Latson had 31 points in the 70-50 win over Paul VI to win Geico nationals and averaged 23.2 points on the season.   St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL) <img class="wp-image-339820 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/Jada-Green-HS-Pic-240x300.jpg" alt="" width="132" height="165" /> St Thomas Aquinas finished the season 17-4 and concluded it with a state championship. STA returns one of the deepest rosters in the state that includes University of Richmond verbal commit 6’1 Forward [player_tooltip player_id="154841" first="Jada" last="Green"], Jada’s younger sister 2023 5’9 super athletic guard [player_tooltip player_id="219942" first="Reina" last="Green"], two of the states’ top undecided guards Bre Gustave and [player_tooltip player_id="220011" first="Maya" last="Williams"], as well as 2023 combo guard [player_tooltip player_id="91641" first="Karina" last="Gordon"]. But quite possibly the biggest impacts comes with their two transfers 2023 6’1 Forward [player_tooltip player_id="151282" first="Alancia" last="Ramsey"] and 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id="221678" first="Kamryn" last="Corporan"] and incoming Freshman [player_tooltip player_id="248694" first="Nyla" last="McFadden"]. Very few teams have the option of going 8 deep with as much talent as St. Thomas Aquinas can. With the talent of the returning players and the new additions of transfers and incoming Freshman, St. Thomas is one of the strongest and deepest teams in the state and the favorites to repeat as FHSAA State Champions in 6A.   Central Pointe Academy (Kissimmee, FL) <img class=" wp-image-243329 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Sil-e1609868221983-237x300.jpg" alt="" width="130" height="164" />Central Pointe Academy was one of the state’s top surprises last season going 31-2 with their two losses coming to AZ Compass Prep and Montverde Academy. They lost San Diego signee [player_tooltip player_id="219992" first="Harsimran" last="Kaur"] but return essentially the rest of their entire squad. Some unknowns lie with head coach Wesley Arocho departing during the playoffs last season and it is unknown who will lead the squad. But whoever is leading the way, the teams success will come down to the play of [player_tooltip player_id="219993" first="Silkiari" last="Vazquez"], [player_tooltip player_id="219996" first="Daniela" last="Gonzalez"], [player_tooltip player_id="247485" first="Betzalys" last="Delgado"], and [player_tooltip player_id="219994" first="Naylee" last="Cortes"]. The squad is long, deep, skilled and play extremely unselfish and excellent team ball.   Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, FL) <img class="wp-image-246931 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/JK.jpeg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> Blanche Ely finished 18-2 and after beating St Thomas Aquinas three times during the regular season and playoffs, could not take care of them a fourth time to advance to Lakeland. Ely and St Thomas likely will face each other 4-5 times again this season and have arguably two of the most talented rosters in the entire state. While STA can go 8 deep, Ely might be able to go 9-10 deep and not skip a beat. 2022s [player_tooltip player_id="91561" first="Michiyah" last="Simmons"], [player_tooltip player_id="91568" first="Zaria" last="Blake"], [player_tooltip player_id="91563" first="Mya" last="Kone"], 2023s [player_tooltip player_id="247186" first="Amaji" last="Smith"] and [player_tooltip player_id="243930" first="Ashleigh" last="Battle"], and 2024s [player_tooltip player_id="219925" first="Janessa" last="Kelley"], [player_tooltip player_id="217668" first="Gianna" last="Corbitt"], Charise Martin, and [player_tooltip player_id="221705" first="Laketrice" last="Peterson"] give Blanche Ely a loaded roster. Playing in the same district as St. Thomas Aquinas will certainly make things interesting. If you have a chance to watch this talented team, they will be worth the price of admission. You can learn more about the following teams in part two later in the week: <ul> <li>DME Academy</li> <li>Colonial HS</li> <li>Clearwater HS</li> <li>IMG Academy</li> <li>Palm Bay</li> </ul> We will look to continue to cover all across the state of Florida. Our audience supplies us with some of our best information. Keep us updated on Florida news be emailing me at <a href="mailto:WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com">WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com</a> or DM’ing me through Twitter or Instagram @WholeyPrepHoops.