Editor’s Note SSN is proud to share Sam Houseworth’s basketball ratings…his ratings are always spot on.
(1-13-25) With this being the first school year with 7 divisions in many OHSAA sports, the breakdowns have become creative to keep it kindly. While the rise of programs of the past like North College Hill and Richmond Heights started debates as to who was the best team in Ohio, moving forward that question will arise often. Historically, the D-I champion was the de facto “best team in Ohio.” But by going to a tiny 64-team D-I, there will be year-in and year-out debates as to who really is the best team in Ohio. But this is the future the OHSAA and MaxPreps want.
As usual, Central and Northeast Ohio dominate the top spots in D-I. Olentangy Orange sits at the top of the mountain after making it to the regional championship in 2024. The Pioneers earned a huge 63-54 overtime win over St. Ignatius to kick off 2025. Olentangy Orange will defend their crown when they head to Olentangy Liberty on Friday.
The computer is in love with Westerville North, tagging them as the best team in Ohio, despite their D-II moniker and early losses to Olentangy Orange and St. Ignatius. Lima Senior appears to be back after two ho-hum seasons in the wilderness. The Spartans will face a huge test when they face Pace Academy (Atlanta) on MLK Day.
Several undefeated teams litter the D-III Top 10. Garfield Heights, a school that has been on the cusp of basketball greatness for years, stands to benefit the most from a 7-division format. The Bulldogs kicked off 2025 with a 59-57 win over defending D-III state champion Lutheran East. Shawnee, who has been a wrecking ball in the WBL, debuts in the top 10. The Indians head to Defiance on Friday in a contest that will decide the conference championship.
My intuition tells me that Kettering Alter, despite being the defending D-II state champion, should not be at the top of D-IV. We will learn more about them when they face Louisville on Saturday at Trent Arena. Wyoming looks impressive at 9-0, but they are also hard to gauge with their best win being against a 3-6 Hilliard Bradley team. (Yes, that’s more impressive than their win over La Salle.)
The preseason expectation in D-V was that three-time defending state champion Richmond Heights was going to continue to roll. But despite having three NCAA D-I recruits on their roster, the Spartans have not lived up to expectations. (I’m sure there are injury issues that I’m just not aware of, but that would be baseless speculation.) Instead, Lutheran East, the other defending state champion in this division, has risen to the top with wins over Olentangy Liberty, Cleveland Heights, and NDCL.
There will be a lot of west central Ohio flavor at UD Arena when they get to the D-VI games. The Northwest Conference has three entries in the top 10 while the MAC has two of their own. That’s not to mention LCC, Patrick Henry, and Wayne Trace sitting just outside the top 10. Then when they get done beating up on each other, the winner will get to battle with Berlin Hiland or Monroe Central. D-VI is surprisingly stacked in 2025.
D-VII is a two-horse race, there’s no other way to put it. Both Delphos St. John’s and Russia would be competitive in any division outside the big three. Thankfully for basketball fans, the two schools would not meet until the state semifinals at the earliest. Russia is definitely the most battle tested team with wins over Botkins and Jackson Center. The tough schedule continues for the Raiders as they face Tri-Village at the MLK Classic on Sunday.
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