Top 25 Kentucky Boys High School Basketball State Rankings - Jan. 5, 2026

We begin the Kentucky boys rankings this week, and Male High School of Louisville tops the list. The 10-2 Bulldogs' defeat of pre-season No.1 St. Xavier, No. 2 Covington Catholic and No. 3 Frederick Douglass propelled them to the No. 1 slot. One of their two losses was to Pike High School, ranked No. 8 in Indiana.
1. Male (10-2) Louisville
Last week: Defeated St. X 60-58; def. Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (McDonough, Georgia) 72-63; lost to Oakland (Murfreesboro, Tennessee) 62-58.
2. Covington Catholic (10-1) Covington
Last week: Defeated Booker (Sarasota, Florida) 92-55; def. Venice (Venice, Florida) 74-39; def. Newport Central Catholic 78-35.
3. St. Xavier (9-4) Louisville
Last week: Lost to Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Maryland) 58-55; lost to Nazareth Regional (Brooklyn, New York) 77-60; def. St. Joseph (Santa Maria, California) 65-64.
4. Madison Central (12-1) Richmond
Last week: Defeated Wayne County 76-54; def. Hamilton (Hamilton, Ohio) 71-49; def. North Oldham 73-58.
5. Daviess County (12-3) Owensboro
Last week: Defeated Caverna 54-47; def. North Laurel 68-47; def. Boyd County 86-78; lost to St. Joseph (Santa Maria, California) 81-70; def. McCracken County 72-62.
6. Frederick Douglass (7-3) Lexington
Last week: Lost to Concord Academy (Concord, North Carolina); def. Prince Avenue Christian (Bogart, Georgia) 72-45.
7. George Rogers Clark (8-3) Winchester
Last week: Lost to Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 49-38; def. Notre Dame (West Haven, Connecticut) 62-57.
8. Warren Central (8-1) Bowling Green
Last week: Defeated Ballard 74-62; def. Bowling Green 69-45.
9. Boyd County (9-4) Ashland
Last week: Defeated North Oldham 75-64; def. Lexington Catholic 74-60; lost to Daviess County 86-78; def. Parkersburg South (Parkersburg, West Virginia) 96-62; def. Fleming County 99-55.
10. Lexington Catholic (8-4) Lexington
Last week: Defeated Lyon County 68-65; lost to Boyd County 74-60.
11. North Laurel (9-4) London
Last week: Defeated Bryan Station 55-52; lost to Daviess County 68-47; def. Clay County 74-59.
12. North Oldham (8-4) Goshen
Last week: Lost to Boyd County 75-64; def. Lyon County 47-37; lost to Madison Central 73-58.
13. Butler (10-3) Louisville
Last week: Lost to Principia (St. Louis, Missouri) 70-55; def. Capital City (Jefferson, Missouri) 59-42.
14. Bell County (10-2) Prineville
Last week: Defeated Southwestern 72-53; def. Eastern 63-51; McCreary Central 95-75.
15. McCracken County (10-3) Paducah
Last week: Defeated Taylor County 71-61; def. Woodford County 71-62; def. Graves County 74-62; lost to Daviess County 72-62.
16. Pikeville (10-1) Pikeville
Last week: Defeated Fletcher (Neptune Beach, Florida) 58-51; lost to University Christian (Jacksonville, Florida) 57-55; def. Fernandina Beach (Fernandina Beach, Florida) 67-42; def. East Ridge 89-58.
17. Highlands (10-1) Fort Thomas
Last week: Defeated Lechter County Central 76-54; def. Arab (Arab, Alabama) 81-51; lost to Ryle 68-60.
18. Ballard (8-4) Louisville
Last week: Defeated South River (Edgewater, Maryland) 72-41; def. Oak Hills (Cincinnati, Ohio) 58-45; lost to Warren Central 74-62; def. Mercer County 98-36.
19. Seneca (8-2) Louisville
Last week: Defeated Lumpkin County (Dahlonega, Georgia) 64-52; def. Gainesville (Gainesville, Florida) 66-51; def. Fulton (Knoxville, Tennessee) 80-59.
20. Eastern (12-2) Louisville
Last week: Defeated Georgetown (Georgetown, South Carolina) 64-48; def. South Laurel 55-43; lost to Bell County 63-51; def. Meade County 76-67.
21. Clinton County (12-2) Albany
Last week: Defeated Breckinridge County 58-42; def. Kipp Collegiate 75-23; def. Edmonson County 61-58; def. Metcalfe County 64-44.
22. Holy Cross (12-1) Covington
Last week: Lost to Evangel Christian 56-50; def. Middletown (Middletown, Ohio) 74-48; def. Purcell Marian (Cincinnati, Ohio) 94-66.
23. Montgomery County (7-4) Mount Sterling
Last week: Defeated Hampton (Hampton, Tennessee) 73-59; Virginia (Bristol, Virginia) 69-34.
24. Ashland Blazer (8-3) Ashland
Last week: Lost to Henry Clay 66-64; def. Simon Kenton 58-49; lost to George Washington (Charleston, West Virginia) 63-58.
25. Lyon County (7-5) Eddyville
Last week: Lost to Lexington Catholic 68-65; lost to North Oldham 47-37; def. Union County (80-53).

Chris Adams has been in sports media since 2013. Currently, he freelances high school sports coverage for the Emporia Gazette (remotely), located in Emporia, Kansas. In 2024, Chris covered sports full-time for The News Enterprise in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. His first stint with the Gazette (remote) began in 2021 and ended in 2023. From 2013 to 2017, he was a reporter at two Texas newspapers, covering high school sports. He began contributing to High School On SI in 2025.