The South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association released its first edition of team rankings in 2024 on Tuesday, with five Lexington County squads making the list. 

Lexington and Gray Collegiate’s boys teams remained in the No. 1 spot of their classifications top-10 after weeks of holiday tournament action. Both teams have held the top spot since November's preseason rankings dropped. 

The Wildcats have gotten off to a strong start this season sitting at 13-2 overall. The team is led by its star senior duo Cam Scott and Jaxon Prunty, who both were named McDonald's All-American nominees Tuesday as well.

Gray collegiate is 13-5 and fresh off appearances in the Cayce Roundball Classic and Chick-fil-A Classic holiday tournaments. The team went 4-2 in those contests and won its division of the Cayce Roundball. 

The War Eagles have benefited from consistent high-scoring performances from senior Braylhan Thomas, and players such as L.J. Britt, Trey Maddox, Darius Carr and Ellis Graham round things out to form an overwhelming team on both ends of the floor. 

The Gilbert girls remained at No. 7 in the latest rankings. The Indians are 10-5 but struggled some over the holiday season, going 3-3 in the team’s last six contests. 

Ahleria Leaphart continues to put up insane stats on both ends of the floor, picking up her fourth game with at least  20 points and 10 steals last week. Gilbert has lived or died by her performances this season. 

Two teams dropped in the most recent poll. The Gray Collegiate girls fell from the No. 1 spot in the 2A poll to No. 4, and Dutch Fork went from No. 4 to No. 6.

The War Eagles have not had the start they were hoping for, sitting at a 6-7 record midway through the season. The team struggled over the holiday break, going 1-4 in its tournament games.

Gray has bounced back since then after earning two wins last week against Chapin and Hilton Head Christian Academy. 

Dutch Fork’s drop was a bit more surprising with the team holding a 14-3 record and winning many games by huge margins. But since the latest rankings release, the team dropped two games against Aiken and Georgia’s Thomson. 

These five teams will have a few more opportunities to move up or down in the rankings with region play set to begin this week. Playoffs are right around the corner though, and the time to lock in is now.

5A Boys

1. Lexington
2. Summerville
3. Dorman
4. St. James
5. Byrnes
6. TL Hanna
7. Blythewood
8. Spartanburg
9. Fort Mill
10. Berkeley

5A Girls

1. Sumter
2. Mauldin
3. Fort Mill
4. JL Mann
5. Rock Hill
6. Dutch Fork
7. Summerville
8. Carolina Forest
9. Gaffney
10. Byrnes

4A Boys

1. Ridge View
2. Westwood
3. Catawba Ridge
4. Wilson
5. Lancaster
6. Greer
7. Eastside
8. A.C. Flora
9. North Augusta
10. Indian Land

4A Girls

1. South Pointe
2. Greenwood
3. Pickens
4. North Augusta
5. Bluffton
6. Westside
7. A.C. Flora
8. James Island
9. Aiken
10. Westwood / Hartsville (tie)

3A Boys

1. Crestwood
2. Darlington
3. Orangeburg Wilkinson
4. Powdersville
5. Wren
6. Seneca
7. Daniel
8. Marlboro County
9. Manning
10. Dillon

3A Girls

1. Camden
2. Wren
3. Orangeburg-Wilkinson
4. Blue Ridge
5. Aynor
6. West-Oak
7.  Gilbert
8. Fountain Inn
9. Dillion
10. Darlington

2A Boys

1. Gray Collegiate
2. Oceanside Collegiate
3. Hampton County
4. Andrew Jackson
5. Marion
6. Landrum
7. Strom Thurmond
8. Mullins
9. Woodland
10. Bishop England / Greer Middle College (tie)

2A Girls

1. Bishop England
2. Silver Bluff
3. Andrew Jackson
4. Gray Collegiate
5. Blacksburg
6. Oceanside Collegiate
7. Lee Central
8. Landrum
9. Keenan
10. Chesterfield

1A Boys

1. St. Joseph’s
2. Lewisville
3. Denmark-Olar
4. McCormick
5. Bridges Prep
6. North
7. Christ Church
8. Dixie
9. Bethune Bowman
10. Southside Christian

1A Girls

1. Military Magnet
2. Denmark-Olar
3. Lake View
4. Carvers Bay
5. High Point Academy
6. East Clarendon
7. Allendale-Fairfax
8. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler
9. Bamberg-Ehrhardt
10. Cross