Three of Florida’s Teams Ranked Nationally

<strong>Three of Florida’s Teams Ranked in Top 25 Nationally </strong> By Michael Wholey 1/14/21 5:00 PM EST <em>MaxPreps ranks the top 25 teams in the country weekly and Florida has been well represented this season.  This week there are several games during the MLK rankings that could impact the rankings.  </em> &nbsp; To see MaxPreps most recent release top 25 rankings, click <a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/rankings/girls-basketball/1/national.htm">HERE</a>. &nbsp; <strong>DME Academy</strong> (Daytona Beach, FL) is # 6 in the latest national polls with a 17-1 record, moving up from # 7 from last week.  <strong>DME Academy</strong> has two very challenging games on the schedule facing Florida’s # 4 team <strong>American Heritage</strong> (Plantation, FL) on Friday who has a 15-1 record.  They then follow that up with another tough battle vs Florida’s # 5 teams <strong>St. Thomas Aquinas</strong> on Saturday.  Rankings can be subjective, so it is always great to see the best play the best and let the final score determine the rankings.  Both games will be loaded with talent and a ton of college prospects and college signees. <strong>Top Players</strong> <strong>Seniors</strong> – [player_tooltip player_id="91557" first="Sydney" last="Shaw"] 5’8 Guard, [player_tooltip player_id="91577" first="Amiya" last="Evans"] 6’3 Forward, T Walker <strong>Juniors</strong> – [player_tooltip player_id="91653" first="Chloe" last="Kitts"] 6’3 Wing, Zeryhia-Lee Tuimoloau Aokuso 5’9 Wing <strong>Freshman</strong> – [player_tooltip player_id="244190" first="Kylee" last="Kitts"] 6’0 Forward &nbsp; Right behind <strong>DME Academy</strong> is <strong>Montverde Academy</strong> (Montverde, FL) who comes in at # 12 with a 12-3 record.  <strong>DME</strong> and <strong>Montverde</strong> matched up against each other on January 1, and <strong>DME Academy</strong> prevailed with a 67-59 victory.  <strong>Montverde</strong> is on the road again this weekend in Ohio and will have several more tough matchups starting with Pickerington Central on Saturday. <strong>Top Players</strong> <strong>Seniors</strong> – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91554" first="Janiah" last="Barker"]</strong> 6’4 Wing, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="219953" first="Fernanda" last="Ovalle"]</strong> 6’0 Wing, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91559" first="Jordana" last="Codio"]</strong> 6’1 Wing, <strong>Fatima Diakhat</strong>e 6’5 Center <strong>Juniors</strong> – <strong>Rusne Augustinaita</strong> 5’10 Guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="245281" first="Cori" last="Allen"]</strong> 5’10 Guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="219933" first="Mjracle" last="Sheppard"]</strong> 5’10 Guard <strong> </strong> And right on <strong>DME Academy</strong> and <strong>Montverde Academy</strong> heels, is <strong>Lake Highland Prep</strong> at # 16.  <strong>Lake Highland</strong> is 11-3 and two of their losses are to <strong>DME Academy</strong> and have a huge matchup vs <strong>Montverde</strong> on January 29^th.  <strong>Lake Highland Prep’s</strong> talent is spread across multiple classes which sets them up for success over the long term. <strong>Top Players</strong> <strong>Seniors</strong> – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91596" first="Sierra" last="Godbolt"]</strong> 5’7 Guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91585" first="Stefanie" last="Ingram"]</strong> 5’8 Guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91555" first="Nyla" last="Harris"]</strong> 6’2 Forward <strong>Juniors</strong> – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91649" first="Eleecia" last="Carter"]</strong> 5’8 Guard <strong>Sophomores</strong> – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="217664" first="Lexi" last="Blue"]</strong> 6’1 Wing, <strong>Bri Rivera</strong> 5’7 Guard <strong>Freshman</strong> – <strong>Ari Woodard</strong> 5’8 Guard &nbsp; While <strong>DME Academy</strong>, <strong>Montverde Academy</strong>, and <strong>Lake Highland Prep</strong> hold the top 3 spots in state and are ranked in the top 25 nationally, the state has been very competitive and there is quite a bit to be decided before the state championships in Lakeland in late February.  The current MaxPrep Rankings for the Top 10 are: <ol> <li><strong>DME Academy</strong></li> <li><strong>Lake Highland Prep</strong></li> <li><strong>Montverde Academy</strong></li> <li><strong>St. Thomas Aquinas</strong></li> <li><strong>American Heritage</strong></li> <li><strong>Wekiva</strong></li> <li><strong>Seminole Ridge</strong></li> <li><strong>Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate</strong></li> <li><strong>Central Pointe Christian Academy</strong></li> <li><strong>Cardinal Mooney</strong></li> </ol> &nbsp; You can view the full state rankings <a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/list/rankings.aspx?ssid=a269c13b-9e63-4b37-a1ae-e01de91cc059&amp;schoolid=e2d1cb29-badc-4a9e-bbf9-2bd808381e31&amp;ranktype=state&amp;state=fl">HERE</a>. &nbsp; <strong>Michael Wholey</strong> is the lead scout for Florida Prep Girls Hoop Florida and a former division one Assistant Coach at American University, University of Memphis, and Georgia Tech.  Wholey and the rest of the Prep Girls Hoop staff, seek to cover the entire state of player, keeping subscribers up to date with player evaluations, recruiting info, and statewide news.  Our audience often supplies us with some of our best information.  If you have any information on players, teams, or statewide news in the state of Florida, emailing Michael Wholey at <a href="mailto:WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com">WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com</a> or DM him through Twitter or Instagram @WholeyPrepHoops. &nbsp; &nbsp;