Last week we released our newly expanded Regional Rankings and Top 20 Preseason High School Teams for each region of the country for the 2016 season. View those below if you missed them!
This week, we follow up with our Preseason National Top 25 Teams. There are many familiar faces in our Top 25 and that is because that is our ranking philosophy– to be the best, you have to beat the best. These 25 High School teams have beaten the best in their conferences and states, not just last season in 2015, but over the last couple of seasons. Combined, these teams totaled a 552-36-3 record last Fall (93.4% wins), 13 teams were state champions, 5 teams were state runner-up, and 7 teams had undefeated seasons! There seems to be a strong field hockey tradition at these programs you can commonly tie to their committed coach and leader who has been there for a number of years and built these programs into the powerhouses they are today. Danyle Heilig at Eastern Regional (NJ), our 2015 National Coach of the Year Sue Butz-Stavin at Emmaus (PA).. and the list goes on and on.
At the end of the day, rankings are subjective, especially for our National Top 25, because 90-95% of these teams will never face off on the field. Why we do them and what we enjoy most about doing them is it gives us the opportunity to recognize these committed programs, the leaders who are making a difference for the sport in their areas, and the talented players they have developed, on a national scale. Congratulations to the 25 teams that made our preseason list for 2016! To learn more about the individual teams, check out the Preseason Regional Ranking Features.
Note: Our weekly Regional & National Rankings will pick up on Tuesday, September 13th once public and private school teams across the country have all had a solid week of regular season competition.
Select a Region to View 2016 High School Preseason Regional Rankings:
EASTERN REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Voorhees, New Jersey
2015: 27-0-0, Group IV State Champions, TOC Winner
EMMAUS HIGH SCHOOL
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
2015: 28-0-0, AAA State Champions, EPC Champions
PALMYRA AREA HIGH SCHOOL
Palmyra, Pennsylvania
2015: 25-3-0, AAA State Runner-Up, Mid-Penn Conference Champions
FRANK W. COX HIGH SCHOOL
Virginia Beach, Virginia
2015: 19-3-0, Group 6A State Runner-Up
OAK KNOLL SCHOOL
Summit, New Jersey
2015: 24-2-0, Non-Public State Champions, TOC Runner-Up
WATERTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
Watertown, Massachusetts
2015: 22-0-0, Division II State Champions
PENN MANOR HIGH SCHOOL
Millersville, Pennsylvania
2015: 23-3-0, AAA Semifinalist
FIRST COLONIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Virginia Beach, Virginia
2015: 20-2-0, Group 6A State Champions
DONEGAL HIGH SCHOOL
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania
2015: 27-1-0, AA State Semifinalist, District 3 AA Champions
SERRA HIGH SCHOOL
San Diego, California
2015: 26-1-0, San Diego Section Open Division Champions
VILLA MARIA ACADEMY
Malvern, Pennsylvania
2015: 21-1-1, AA State Runner-Up
LAKELAND HIGH SCHOOL
Shrub Oak, New York
2015: 22-0-0, Class B State Champions
TRINITY EPISCOPAL SCHOOL
Richmond, Virginia
2015: 24-1-0, VISAA Division I Champions, LIS Champions
LOWER DAUPHIN HIGH SCHOOL
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
2015: 19-4-1, AAA State Quarterfinalist
EPISCOPAL ACADEMY
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
2015: 20-0-0, PAISAA Champions, Inter-AC Champions
UNIONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
2015: 23-1-0, AAA State Quarterfinalist, ChesMont League Champions
ACTON-BOXBOROUGH REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Acton, Massachusetts
2015: 23-0-0, Division I State Champions
NORFOLK ACADEMY
Norfolk, Virginia
2015: 17-4-1, VISAA Division I Runner-Up, TCIS Champions
WEST ESSEX HIGH SCHOOL
Caldwell, New Jersey
2015: 22-2-0, Group II Semifinalist
ASSUMPTION HIGH SCHOOL
Louisville, Kentucky
2015: 23-2-0, Kentucky State Semifinalist
WARREN HILLS REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Washington, New Jersey
2015: 23-3-0, Group III State Champions, TOC Semifinalist
CRESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
Mountain Top, Pennsylvania
2015: 19-1-0, AA State Quarterfinalist
MAMARONECK HIGH SCHOOL
Mamaroneck, New York
2015: 20-1-0, Class A State Champions
LOS GATOS HIGH SCHOOL
Los Gatos, California
2015: 18-0-0, Central Section Champions
GARDEN CITY HIGH SCHOOL
Garden City, New York
2015: 17-1-0, Class B State Runner-Up
A Note About Preseason Rankings:
MAX Field Hockey’s Preseason High School Rankings are based heavily on the previous Fall’s Final Rankings and team performances. As much as possible, seniors graduated and key returning players are taken into consideration, but complete information is not always available for each program. Historic dominance and success at the highest level and in the postseason are a major factor. MAX Field Hockey’s general ranking philosophy: you must prove it on the field and beat the best and ranked teams to move onto and up the rankings!
MAX Field Hockey always welcomes feedback on the High School Rankings.
Think we missed someone or that a team should be ranked higher or lower?
Email us: admin@maxfieldhockey.com
