Prep Hoops updates Indiana rankings, Community Christian tops five

The latest Indiana rankings sorted contenders by more than win-loss record, and the order showed which profiles carried real weight. Community Christian of Connersville sat at No. 1 in Prep Hoops’ May 10 update, ahead of Crown Point, Fishers, Noblesville Homeschool and Northridge of Middlebury, a top five that mixed traditional powers, a homeschooled contender and a northern Indiana program that has stayed attractive to the formula.

That formula explains the board better than a simple record check ever could. Prep Hoops said its Power Score weighed win percentage, point differential, strength of schedule and classification strength, with opponent win percentage and opponent-of-opponent win percentage folded in as well. That matters because it rewards teams that beat quality opponents by convincing margins, and it punishes numbers that look clean only because they were piled up against soft schedules. In other words, some rankings moves are real, and some are cosmetic. The ones near the top usually come from tougher neighborhoods.

The context is bigger than a single update, too. Prep Hoops said its Indiana team database tracked 404 teams, the same number that entered the 116th annual IHSAA boys basketball state tournament. The 2026 bracket included 82 teams in Class 4A, 100 in 3A, 100 in 2A and 122 in 1A, which is exactly why classification strength can tilt a statewide ranking. A good record in the smallest classes does not always carry the same weight as a comparable record in a heavier class, especially when the formula is built to notice that difference.

The timing also ties the rankings to Indiana’s biggest stage. Sectional play began March 3, regionals were set for March 14 and the state finals were scheduled for March 28 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. That is the stretch where the gap between a pretty record and a truly dangerous team usually becomes obvious. Prep Hoops’ Sunday-night refresh, posted for Monday morning, gave evaluators a weekly snapshot of who was still climbing based on production, resistance and pace against the best available competition.

Fishers offered the clearest reminder that those rankings can matter when the games get tight. In the 2025 Class 4A state championship, the top-ranked Tigers went to overtime with Jeffersonville and lost 67-66, a game that showed how much postseason status can still be decided by one possession. That is why Community Christian’s rise to the top, and the presence of Crown Point, Fishers, Noblesville Homeschool and Northridge right behind it, reads like more than a list. It is a statement about which Indiana teams have earned the strongest postseason profile, and which ones still have to prove that their numbers travel.