Class AAAAAA
1. Wheeler (11-3)
2. Grayson (13-1)
3. McEachern (9-3)
4. Hillgrove (9-4)
5. Pebblebrook (8-4)
6. Dacula (13-1)
7. Berkmar (10-4)
8. Cherokee (11-4)
9. Brookwood (11-4)
10. Westlake (10-4)
Class AAAAA
1. Gainesville (16-0)
2. Decatur (13-2)
3. Alexander (11-2)
4. Woodward Academy (9-5)
5. Milton (10-2)
6. Langston Hughes (5-3)
7. Dutchtown (9-4)
8. Woodstock (13-1)
9. Johns Creek (13-2)
10. Tri-Cities (3-8)
Class AAAA
1. North Oconee (11-2)
2. St. Pius X (14-0)
3. Jonesboro (8-3)
4. Westminster (12-0)
5. Southwest DeKalb (11-3)
6. Mays (10-3)
7. Griffin (13-1)
8. Pace Academy (5-7)
9. Locust Grove (12-2)
10. Tucker (10-3)
Class AAA
1. Baldwin (9-2)
2. Cross Creek (11-5)
3. Sandy Creek (6-2)
4. Douglass (9-3)
5. Cedar Grove (6-6)
6. Cherokee Bluff (9-4)
7. Westover (10-1)
8. Monroe (11-2)
9. Harlem (9-5)
10. Troup County (9-3)
Class AA
1. KIPP Atlanta (10-3)
2. Columbia (9-4)
3. Butler (9-4)
4. Carver-Columbus (7-2)
5. South Atlanta (9-3)
6. Thomson (7-3)
7. Redan (12-1)
8. Morgan County (8-6)
9. Salem (10-5)
10. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (11-2)
Class A D-I
1. Putnam County (10-4)
2. Commerce (12-3)
3. Southwest-Macon (9-6)
4. Rabun County (12-2)
5. Vidalia (11-1)
6. Model (10-1)
7. BEST Academy (7-7)
8. Fannin County (14-1)
9. Dodge County (8-3)
10. Washington County (9-1)
Class A D-II
1. Chattahoochee County (11-1)
2. Turner County (9-2)
3. Seminole County (11-0)
4. Elite Scholars (11-1)
5. Bowdon (6-3)
6. Taylor County (7-3)
7. Screven County (8-3)
8. Warren County (7-4)
9. Portal (9-1)
10. Hancock Central (6-6)
Class 3A-1A Private
1. Walker (12-1)
2. Mt. Vernon (11-1)
3. Holy Innocents’ (10-2)
4. Greenforest (7-4)
5. North Cobb Christian (10-3)
6. Darlington (11-1)
7. Hebron Christian (10-3)
8. Mt. Bethel (8-5)
9. Lovett (9-4)
10. Calvary Day (9-4)
Happy New Year! With 2026 here, some classifications have seen serious changes while others have remained steady. Two classes have new number ones to start the year.
Class 6A No. 2 Grayson was shocked late Saturday night at their New Year’s Classic as a 16-point first half lead evaporated and resulted in a 64-62 loss to Class 5A No. 2 Decatur as the Bulldogs scored with three seconds left in transition to win. Without Chase Lumpkin, No. 3 McEachern lost the Grayson New Year’s Classic to Class 5A No. 3 Alexander 66-57, a sour fourth quarter doing in the Indians. Emmanuel Alofe had 17 points in the loss. No. 6 Dacula raises two spots by winning the JaxCo Holiday Hoopfest Championship, routing Monroe Area (80-45) and Duluth (88-53). In the title game, Case Presley and Kenny LaRue both nailed seven threes apiece as the tandem finished with 29 and 27 points, respectively. No. 8 Cherokee lost 67-63 to Class 5A No. 9 Johns Creek at the Lemon Street Classic before bouncing back with a 71-62 victory against Houston County.
There are no changes in Class 5A but plenty of impressive results. No. 1 Gainesville rallied from down double digits in the fourth to knock off Class 3A No. 5 Cedar Grove 51-46 at the Grayson New Year’s Classic, Belmont-signee Charlie Gersmehl with 18 points. No. 2 Decatur erased a 16-point hole to stun Class 6A No. 2 Grayson at their New Year’s Classic 64-62 as Bryce Howson went the length of the floor to score the game-winner with three seconds left to hand the Rams their first loss of the season. Tulane-signee Tobias Brinkley netted 18 points in the win while Jason Welborn II added 15. No. 3 Alexander surged past a Chase Lumpkin-less Class 6A No. 3 McEachern in the fourth quarter at the Grayson New Year’s Classic 66-57 with Colorado State-signee Pops Dunson dropping 28 points. No. 7 Dutchtown topped Class 3A-1A Private No. 4 Greenforest at the New Year’s Classic 48-47, Bobby Buggs with 13 points and Jah’Siah Payne with 10 including the game-winning free throws. No. 9 Johns Creek toppled Class 6A No. 8 Cherokee 69-63 at the Lemon Street Classic. No. 10 Tri-Cities is barely clinging onto a Top 10 spot after their fourth-straight loss, losing at the New Year’s Classic to Class 4A No. 1 North Oconee 70-56. While the Bulldogs have yet to record a win against a team with a winning record, six of Tri-Cities losses have come against teams ranked within their respective class’s Top 5 with the other two losses coming against Illinois powers Lincoln Park (11-3) and East St. Louis (13-1).
Class 4A No. 1 North Oconee beat Class 5A No. 10 Tri-Cities 70-56 at the Grayson New Year’s Classic as Justin Wise netted 23 points and Luke Lawson added 15. No. 2 St. Pius X rises a spot after a perfect showing at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Blowout while No. 3 Jonesboro slides a spot with a 73-63 loss to Zephyrhills Chrsitian Academy, FL at the Hoop City Classic. No. 7 Griffin moves up with a 69-55 win against Bradwell Institute at Hoopin’ at the High. No. 9 Locust Grove split at the Lemon Street Classic, losing 55-43 to Walton but beating Class 2A No. 5 South Atlanta 70-52.
In Class 3A, No. 3 Sandy Creek lost 50-45 to Sprayberry at the Lemon Street Classic. No. 5 Cedar Grove let a double-digit fourth quarter lead slip away against Class 5A No. 1 Gainesville at the Grayson New Year’s Classic, 51-46. No. 6 Cherokee Bluff falls two spaces with a pair of losses at the Smoky Mountain Classic while No. 8 Monroe climbs a spot with a 4-0 week highlighted by a 50-49 win over Long County. No. 9 Harlem slides two positions with an 84-56 loss to Fox Creek, SC at the Battle of the Border while Lumpkin County (12-1) departs after their first loss of the year 64-52 to Seneca, KY at the Smoky Mountain Winter Classic. No. 10 Troup County remerges after knocking off Midtown 84-82 at the WarHawk New Year’s Eve Invitational.
Class 2A No. 1 KIPP Atlanta holds onto their spot after a 51-46 loss to Class 3A-1A Private No. 4 Greenforest 51-46 at the WarHawk New Year’s Eve Invitational. No. 3 Butler avenged an earlier 48-43 loss to Keenan, SC by winning 60-54. No. 4 Carver-Columbus bullied Private No. 5 North Cobb Christian 70-54 at the Lemon Street Classic as Tobiaz Tolbert had a career-day with 40 points to earn a Kennesaw State offer. The Tigers lost 68-58 to Private No. 1 Walker to close the event. No. 5 South Atlanta fell 70-52 at Lemon Street to Class 4A No. 9 Locust Grove. No. 6 Thomson emerges in the poll on a 7-game winning streak, undefeated since the conclusion of football season. The Bulldogs beat Alcovy 65-56 and won at Class A D-II No. 8 Warren County 59-51. No. 10 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe got drilled by Private No. 5 North Cobb Christian 91-51 to sink four spots. Kendrick (9-3) departs after losing 68-54 to Newnan and 54-29 to Dothan, AL who are a combined 29-1 on the year.
There are tons of changes in Class A D-I. No. 1 Putnam County reclaims the top spot after a 3-1 week was highlighted by a 75-72 win over Private No. 10 Calvary Day, but closed by an upset loss at Jones County 67-64. Ahead of their Sweet 16 rematch with No. 1 Putnam County at the Sandy’s Spiel Shootout this Saturday at Monroe Area, No. 2 Commerce leaps three spots after taking down last week’s No. 1 No. 4 Rabun County 65-56, Essien Lockleer with 20 points and 7 rebounds while Bryson Parks added 19 points and 9 rebounds. Following a 21-point first half, Navy-commit Huey Blalock finished with 27 points to lead the Wildcats while Hayes Free battled foul trouble all game and finished with 16 points. No. 6 Model dropped No. 8 Fannin County four spots with a 60-45 win over the Rebels at the Big Blue Classic, the Blue Devils rising two spots in the poll.
Class A D-II No. 1 Chattahoochee County drilled Manchester 91-47 and went on the road to thump Spencer 65-39. No. 6 Taylor County snuck past Manchester 48-42. No. 8 Warren County slips a position with a 59-51 loss to Class 2A No. 6 Thomson. No. 10 Hancock Central edged Greene County 65-62 to push last year’s semifinalist to 2-10 overall.
There are small, yet significant changes in Class 3A-1A Private as No. 1 Walker usurps the top spot in the poll with a resume which is too good to ignore, scoring two more strong wins at the Lemon Street Classic beating Houston County 69-66 and Class 2A No. 4 Carver-Columbus 68-58, the Tigers who beat No. 5 North Cobb Christian 70-54 just prior. The Eagles rebounded from the loss to trounce last week’s Class 2A No. 6 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 91-51 before holding off North Gwinnett in overtime 70-63 at the Grayson New Year’s Classic as Isaiah Chandler poured in 31 points and made some game-saving blocks on defense. No. 4 Greenforest lost at the New Year’s Classic to Class 5A No. 7 Dutchtown 48-47 after thrashing St. Francis 70-42 and knocking off Class 2A No. 1 KIPP Atlanta 51-46. No. 6 Darlington beat No. 10 Calvary Day 69-52 at Battle at the Beach. The Cavaliers also lost 75-72 to Class A D-I No. 1 Putnam County.