Top 25 Kentucky Boys High School Basketball Rankings - Jan. 22, 2026

Covington Catholic moves up to No. 1 in the Blue Grass state; St. X leaps to No. 3 after knocking off Jeffersontown, the previous No. 1 team.

NCC's Johnny Luhn (0) guards CovCath's Braeden Myrick (10) as Covington Catholic defeated Newport Central Catholic 78-35 in boys basketball Jan. 3, 2026 at CovCath. / James Weber/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Falling from basketball grace can happen quickly in rankings as the then No.1 Jeffersontown Chargers dropped its matchup Saturday with St. Xavier High School and free-fell out of the top four.

Covington Catholic, which improved to 18-1, jumped up to become the new No. 1 team, followed this week by No. 2 Madison Central and No. 3 St. X.

It’s a musical chairs rankings list this week as positions change, with five new teams – Eastern, Butler, Lexing Catholic, Sim Kenton and Marshall County – joining the Top 25. At this rate, the Sweet 16 in March could make for a relatively dramatic tournament.

1. Covington Catholic (18-1) Covington

Previous ranking: 3

Last week: Defeated Holmes 94-24; def. Walton-Verona 84-50; def. Highlands 88-66; def. St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio) 60-43; def. Archbishop McNicholas (Cincinnati, Ohio) 84-50

2. Madison Central (19-1) Richmond

Previous ranking: 2

Last week: defeated West Jessamine 72-46; def. Madison Southern 91-61; def. Southwestern 80-47; def. Lincoln County 71-49

3. St. Xavier (14-5) Louisville

Previous ranking: 6

Last week: Defeated Ballard 62-60; def. Male 68-59; def. Jeffersontown 72-56; lost to North Oldham 72-69

The Tigers’ schedule is unforgiving as their last four opponents were ranked 17th, seventh, first and 10th in the High School on SI rankings.

4. Daviess County (17-3) Owensboro

Previous ranking: 5

Last week: Defeated Butler County 82-32; def. Owensboro 75-47; def. Meade County 86-43

5. Jeffersontown (11-3) Louisville/Jeffersontown

Previous ranking: 1

Last week: Defeated Trinity 59-49; def. North Oldham 74-49; def. Eastern 57-38; lost to St. X 72-56

6. Warren Central (15-1) Bowling Green

Previous ranking: 8

Last week: Defeated Central Hardin 74-64; def. Greenwood 85-56; def. Glasgow 87-64

7. North Oldham (12-5) Goshen

Previous ranking: 10

Last week: Lost to Jeffersontown 74-49; def. St. X 72-69

8. George Rogers Clark (14-3) Winchester

Previous ranking: 4

Last week: Defeated Bourbon County 77-43; def. Montgomery County 63-57; def. Tates Creek 81-64

9. Boyd County (15-4) Ashland

Previous ranking: 9

Last week: Defeated Fairview 112-28; def. Henry County 77-62; def. Bell County 61-53; def. Christian Academy-Louisville 66-57

It was nearly a 100-point defeat against Fairview, who, to be fair, are 1-12, their lone win against 0-8 Rose Hill Christian. Six players reached double digits in scoring for Boyd County.

10. Male (11-3) Louisville

Previous ranking: 7

Last week: Defeated Pleasure Ridge Park 78-55; def. South Oldham 70-48; lost to St. X 68-59; lost to Butler 81-69

A fairly demanding slate keeps Male in the top 10.

11. North Laurel (15-4) London

Previous ranking: 13

Last week: Defeated Red Bird 95-27; def. Jackson County 102-64; def. Lincoln County 83-51; def. Oneida Baptist Institute 97-31

12. Frederick Douglass (10-5) Lexington

Previous ranking: 12

Last week: Defeated Bryan Station 63-60; def. Scott County 58-46; lost to Henry Clay 65-63

13. Highlands (14-2) Fort Thomas

Previous ranking: 11

Last week: Defeated Dixie Heights 67-63; lost to Covington Catholic 88-66

14. Bell County (14-3) Pineville

Previous ranking: 14

Last week: Defeated Adair County 70-46; lost to Boyd County 61-53; def. Harlan 92-56

15. McCracken County (15-3) Paducah

Previous ranking: 15

Last week: Def. Paducah Tilghman 72-65; def, University Heights 91-60; def. Carlisle County 74-60

16. Ballard (10-5) Louisville

Previous ranking: 17

Last week: Defeated DuPont Manual 64-63; lost to St. X 62-60

17. Eastern (15-4) Louisville

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Last week: Defeated Seneca 55-53; def. Butler 79-75; lost to Jeffersontown 57-38

18. Butler (13-5) Louisville

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Last week: Defeated WEB DuBois 67-66; lost to Eastern 79-75; def. Male 81-69

19. Seneca (9-6) Louisville

Previous ranking: 18

Last week: Lost to Eastern 55-53; lost to Trinity 70-62

Another team with a challenging schedule.

20. Bryan Station (13-5) Lexington

Previous ranking: 16

Last week: Lost to Frederick Douglass 63-60; def. Henry Clay 45-37; def. Woodford County 62-61

21. Lexington Catholic (11-5)

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Last week: Defeated Tates Creek 68-65; def. North Hardin 81-56

22. Lyon County (13-5) Eddyville

Previous ranking: 24

Last week: Defeated Christian County 74-54; def. Trigg County 95-28; def. Lighthouse Christian Academy (Hendersonville, Tennessee) 81-29

23. Simon Kenton (11-6) Independence

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Last week: Defeated Williamstown 72-15; def. Grant County 64-56; def. Collins 52-46; def. Holy Cross-Covington 68-63

24. Ashland Blazer (12-4) Ashland

Previous ranking: 20

Last week: Defeated Chapmanville (Chapmanville, West Virginia) 78-56; def. Great Crossing 82-74

25. Marshall County (13-4)

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Last week: Defeated Calloway County 49-34; def. Graves County 53-50; def. Christian Fellowship 94-66