Sizing up the area’s top high school boys’ basketball teams in the 2025-26 season

Since the PIAA basketball championships were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, District 12 boys’ basketball teams, comprised of the Catholic and Public Leagues, have won 11 state titles and appeared in 20 of the 30 state finals. No other district across the state has come close to matching that.

District 12 is the only area to ever four-peat in the state championships, doing it twice: once in 2022 (Class 6A Roman Catholic, 5A Imhotep Charter, 4A Neumann Goretti, and 3A Devon Prep), and again last year, when the Catholic League became the first league to win four state titles in one season (6A Father Judge, 5A Neumann Goretti, 4A Devon Prep, and 3A West Catholic).

It shows the dominance the Philadelphia area has on high school basketball.

This season should be no different, even though there are stark differences for several marquee programs. Roman Catholic and West Catholic have new coaches. Imhotep will be competing for the second straight year as a Class 6A school, while two-time defending state champion Devon Prep and two-time defending Inter-Ac League champ Penn Charter have seen most of their impact players graduate.

» READ MORE: Breaking down the area’s top high school girls’ basketball teams this season

Some prominent players have changed schools. Former Imhotep guard RJ Smith, who’s committed to La Salle, is now at Roman Catholic. Academy of the New Church’s Marquis Newson is now at Neumann Goretti, and Germantown Friends’ all-time leading scorer Jordan Dill now calls Imhotep home.

In the Catholic League, Judge will be challenged by Roman, Archbishop Wood, Neumann Goretti, and a sleeper, Bonner-Prendergast, while Imhotep appears to be the clear favorite to win another Public League title. Academy of the New Church has enough back to three-peat in the Friends Schools League, with a challenge coming from Westtown, while Coatesville, Central Bucks East, Penn Wood, Garnet Valley, and Plymouth Whitemarsh look strong in District 1 Class 6A, and Penncrest, Springfield (Delco), Holy Ghost Prep, and Upper Dublin battle for supremacy in District 1 Class 5A.

Here are some of the area’s top boys’ basketball teams to watch during the 2025-26 season.

The Lions went 15-9 overall and 6-2 in the Friends Schools League last year. ANC returns 6-foot-7 senior forwards Ryan Warren and Cam Smith, 6-4 senior guard Dior Carter, and 6-foot senior point guard Bryce Rollerson. With a senior-laden team, the Lions are looking for their first Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association (PAISAA) state championship since they repeated as PAISAA winners in 2009. The Lions were knocked out of last year’s PAISAA semifinals by eventual champion Phelps School.

The Vikings had a rare down year last season, finishing 11-13 overall and 5-8 in the Catholic League. Under coach John Mosco, Wood has been a perennial Catholic League contender. It looks like the Vikings are back, buoyed by a core group of 6-3 senior guard Brady MacAdams, 6-4 junior guard Caleb Lundy, and 6-11 junior center Jaydn Jenkins, who is on the radar of major college programs. The addition of Dylan Powell, an athletic 6-2 sophomore guard, makes the Vikings even stronger.

The Friars are small and fast, possibly the fastest team in the Catholic League, the deepest league in the state. They finished 18-11 overall and 7-6 in the PCL last season, including a buzzer-beating victory over league champion Father Judge. Bonner-Prendie is a guard-oriented team, centered on juniors Korey Francis — who recently received a scholarship offer to La Salle — Kam Jackson, and Jakeem Carroll. Size inside will be provided by 6-7 senior Aydin Scott. The Friars reached last year’s Class 5A state quarterfinals, where they were upset by Upper Moreland in overtime.

The Red Raiders feature 6-6 sophomore Colton Hiller, who is rated as the top sophomore in the state by 247 Sports. Hiller will be joined by 6-7 senior forwards Larry Brown and Jonas Chester and junior guards Jahmaad Williams and Chris Allegra. Coatesville went 24-7 last season and is looking to three-peat as Ches-Mont champion, beating its opponents by an average of 25 points in the league tournament last year. The Red Raiders lost in the District 1 6A semifinals to eventual champ Conestoga and reached the state quarterfinals, where they lost to eventual state finalist Roman Catholic. Coatesville is a favorite in District 1 and last won district and state titles (under the Class 4A system) in 2001, when current Coatesville coach John Allen was the star of the team.

The Crusaders experienced their best season in program history last year, going 24-7 overall and 10-3 in the Catholic League, winning the PIAA 6A state championship for the first time, and the first Catholic League title since 1998. Judge returns three prominent players from that team: Temple-bound Derrick Morton-Rivera, Merrimack-bound Rocco Westfield, and Iona-bound Max Moshinski. The Crusaders have size, though they are untested, in 6-6 sophomore Rezon Harris, a transfer from Imhotep; 7-foot junior Jamal Hamidu, a transfer from New York; and 6-7 junior Jeremiah Adedeji, who played sparingly last year for Judge.

» READ MORE: How two Father Judge graduates are leading the way for Merrimack men’s basketball

The Panthers could be the best team in the city. They finished 26-6 last year and reached the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals, where they lost to Judge, breaking a 35-game state playoff winning streak. The Panthers’ legendary coach Andre Noble has won 10 PIAA state and 12 Public League championships. The Panthers are the five-time defending Public League champions, only the second school to win five straight titles since the legendary Gene Banks and West Philly’s five-peat (1974-78). Imhotep is looking to break that mark this season as a Class 6A school. Everything will revolve around 6-7 junior forward Zaahir Muhammad-Gray, who missed last season with a knee injury. He will be joined by Drexel-bound 6-5 senior Latief Lorenzano-White, 6-4 junior guard Kevin Benson III, 6-foot sophomore point guard Ian Smith, and 6-1 senior guard Dill.

The Friars return a strong nucleus that includes junior forward Nick Harken, junior point guard Marvin Reed, and 6-10 sophomore center Logan Chwastyk for a team that went 17-10 overall and 5-5 in the Inter-Ac, which has been ruled by two-time defending league champion Penn Charter. The Quakers lost most key players to graduation, leaving Malvern, under coach Paul Romanczuk, an open invitation to challenge for the Inter-Ac crown this season.

The defending PIAA Class 5A state champion enters this season with vengeance, after going 18-11 (7-6 PCL) and being ousted in the Catholic League quarterfinals last season by Father Judge. Coach Carl Arrigale, who holds the all-time mark of 12 Catholic League titles and nine state titles, returns a loaded team with four starters back from Neumann Goretti’s first PIAA Class 5A state title team: Stephon “Munchie” Ashley-Wright, DeShawn Yates, Kody Colson, and 6-6 East Stroudsburg-bound Alassan N’Diaye. Add in exciting, above-the-rim 6-5 junior guard Newson, and the Saints could arguably be the best team in the city.

Why are the Lions on this list? They had eventual state champion Neumann Goretti down, 63-58, with 31 seconds left in last season’s state quarterfinals before Yates saved the Saints. Penncrest finished 23-4 last season and has one of the best coaches in the area, Mike Doyle, plus everyone back from a team that is a favorite in District 1 Class 5A. Everything will go through Carnegie Mellon-bound 6-7 senior star Mikey Mita, complemented by seniors Sean Benson, Will Stanton, Ryan McKee, and Connor Cahill, who scored 19 points in last year’s state quarterfinals.

» READ MORE: The area’s best boys’ basketball players to watch in the 2025-26 season

The Cahillites reached the Catholic League and state finals last season, losing both times to Father Judge. Brad Wanamaker takes over for Chris McNesby after Roman went 25-6. Roman will be led by VCU-bound Sammy Jackson, the son of former Temple star Marc Jackson, along with Smith, the former Imhotep point guard, and seniors Semaj Robinson, Bryce Presley, and Al Jalil-Bey Moore. Roman won consecutive Catholic League titles in 2023 and 2024 and last won a state title in 2022. This senior-loaded team wants to leave its mark.