High School on SI Top 15 Boys Soccer Prep School National Rankings - Sept. 16, 2025

Woodstock Academy secures a tight grip on the No. 1 ranking; Connecticut boasts five of the Top 15 teams

Maddox Zaidan-Jones, a junior at Berkshire School (Mass.), is receiving major college interest. He and the Bears will clash with Milton Academy this weekend in the NXT LVL Showcase in Albany, N.Y. / Berkshire School

Understanding the parameters of the "season" sometimes gets tricky when dealing with this collection of prep schools and residential academies.

Take for example, the clearly labeled Western New England Preseason Showcase, which occurs the weekend before traditional NEPSAC teams start the season. Some participants are counting those results on their win-loss records. Others are maintaining that the matches were scrimmages. In either case, there's no governing body to say for certain either way. But one thing is for sure, we're on top of that situation with an eye on how it affects the rankings.

The first regular-season rankings of the fall sees no change at the top and just some slight movement throughout as many teams participated in the Western New England Preseason Showcase and/or the Mainline Jamboree. This weekend, most teams will be in Albany for the NXT LVL Showcase.

1. Woodstock Academy [Connecticut], 3-0-0

League: Prep Premier League

Notes: Talk about a statement win, Woodstock Academy blasted a short-handed Berkshire (Mass.) squad 7-0 to start the season in the Western New England Preseason Showcase. Richard Sarpong and Haesung Kim each had two goals and two assists. Woodstock is counting the game as its season opener, but Berkshire is considering it a preseason game. Woodstock followed up that big result with two more wins, including a 3-0 decision over Pennington School (N.J.) at the Mainline Jamboree, where Sarpong added another goal. Woodstock faces Loomis Chaffee on Sunday at the NXT LVL Invitational in Albany, N.Y.

2. Taft School [Connecticut], 2-0-0

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Balanced scoring has led to a pair of one-sided wins for Taft School. James Cooper leads the way with three goals this season. Taft School takes on Noble and Greenough (Mass.) on Sunday at the NXT LVL Invitational in Albany, N.Y.

3. Berkshire School [Massachusetts], 1-0-1

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: After the preseason setback to Woodstock Academy, Berkshire shut out its last two opponents. But unfortunately for the Bears, there was only one win as the match with Deerfield Academy ended scoreless. Berkshire takes on Milton Academy at the NXT LVL Showcase on Sunday.

4. Loomis Chaffee School [Connecticut], 1-0-0

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Jaden Behm netted the lone goal as Loomis opened the season with a 1-0 win over Phillips Exeter (N.H.). Loomis clashes with top-ranked Woodstock Academy on Sunday at the NXT LVL Showcase in Albany, N.Y.

5. Northwood School [New York], 3-0-1

League: Independent

Notes: Northwood has been winning by committee. In fact, all 23 team members have played at least 25 minutes in each match so far this season, which includes wins over Hoosac, Florida Prep (Fla.), and Kiski School (Pa.), and a WNE Preseason draw with Taft (Conn.). Northwood will face Combine Academy (N.C.) and Pennington School (N.J.) at the NXT LVL Showcase this weekend.

6. Phillips Exeter [New Hampshire], 1-1-0

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Jack Gibbons' second goal of the match gave Exeter a 3-2 edge in what turned into a 4-2 season-opening win over Milton Academy (Mass.). The result gave Nolan Lincoln a victory in his head coaching debut at Exeter. The Big Red then fell to No. 4 Loomis Chaffee (Conn.) 1-0 on Saturday. Phillips Exeter clashes with BB&N (Mass.) on Sunday at the NXT LVL Showcase.

7. Northfield Mount Hermon [Massachusetts], 0-0-1

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Northfield Mount Hermon kicked off the season with a 2-2 draw with Milton Academy. NMH will face Westtown School (Pa.) at the NXT LVL Showcase on Sunday.

8. Milton Academy [Massachusetts], 0-1-1

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Milton lost a 4-2 decision to Phillips Exeter (N.H.) and was held to a 2-2 draw with Northfield Mount Hermon last week. Milton will clash with Berkshire School on Sunday at the NXT LVL Showcase.

9. Western Reserve Academy [Ohio], 4-0-0

League: Prep Premier League

Notes: Tomas Estevez netted three goals over the weekend as Western Reserve Academy posted one-sided wins over Florida Prep (Fla.) and Pennington School (N.J.) at the Mainline Jamboree. Western Reserve faces RMPUS (Canada) and Bergen Catholic (N.J.) at the NXT LVL Showcase.

10. Hoosac School [New York], 2-0-0

League: Prep Premier League

Notes: Hoosac opened the season with a Philly sweep, beating both Westtown School (Pa.) 3-0 and Phelps School (Pa.). Hoosac faces Bridgton (Maine), Pennington School (N.J.), and Suffield Academy (Conn.) at the NXT LVL Showcase this weekend.

11. South Kent School [Connecticut], 2-0-0

League: Independent

Notes: South Kent School opened regular-season play with a convincing 3-0 win over Kiski School (Pa.). South Kent School will face Florida Prep (Fla.) on Friday and Combine Academy (N.C.) on Saturday at the NXT LVL Showcase.

12. Buckingham Browne & Nichols [Massachusetts], 2-0-0

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: BB&N quickly jumped from the "Others Under Consideration" and into the rankings, powered by a pair of wins over preseason Top 15 teams -- 4-2 over Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.) and 3-2 over Worcester Academy. BB&N faces Phillips Exeter (N.H.) on Sunday at the NXT LVL Showcase.

13. Kiski School [Pennsylvania], 2-2-0

League: Prep Premier League

Notes: Kiski opened the season with in-state wins over Hill School and Phelps before falling to South Kent School (Conn.) and Northwood School (N.Y.). Pitt-bound star Mamadou Tall already has nine goals in four matches this season.

14. Pennington School [New Jersey], 1-2-0

League: Mid-Atlantic Prep League

Notes: After opening the season with a 5-0 win over Phelps School (Pa.), Pennington dropped back-to-back 3-0 decisions, first to Western Reserve Academy and second to top-ranked Woodstock Academy. Pennington will face Hoosac School (N.Y.) and Northwood School (N.Y.) this weekend at the NXT LVL Showcase.

15. Choate Rosemary Hall [Connecticut], 2-1-0

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Choate opened the season with a WNE Showcase win over Woodstock Academy's second team. That momentum carried into the regular season with a 6-0 victory over Brunswick School before falling 4-2 to Buckingham Browne & Nichols.

OTHERS UNDER CONSIDERATION (in alphabetical order): Belmont Hill [Massachusetts], Bridgton Academy [Maine], Choate Rosemary Hall [Connecticut], Combine Academy [North Carolina], Noble and Greenough [Massachusetts], St. George's School [Rhode Island], St. Sebastian's [Massachusetts], Suffield Academy [Connecticut], Vermont Academy [Vermont], Worcester Academy [Massachusetts].