Add Liberty to give us four in the top 100.

I think there's 4-5 teams aside from this group with as much or more talent than Liberty but there's a level of safety with the Lions that isn't there for those other squads.

Desert Edge is absolutely loaded but might not even have a top 500 schedule.

Those four have consistently been the strongest in AZ (along with Cen10 every few years). The top 3 ALL in the top 25, though? How does Brophy look this year?
They have 5 teams from TN in the top 100. Not completely sold on BGA just yet. I think their ranking is a bit too high. They need to earn it first. Problem is, they play in the weaker of the private divisions. Not many chances to prove it. They do play Milton,GA this year. Could be a good game, although it's not the usual Milton powerhouse.

Those four have consistently been the strongest in AZ (along with Cen10 every few years). The top 3 ALL in the top 25, though? How does Brophy look this year?
They have 5 teams from TN in the top 100. Not completely sold on BGA just yet. I think their ranking is a bit too high. They need to earn it first. Problem is, they play in the weaker of the private divisions. Not many chances to prove it. They do play Milton,GA this year. Could be a good game, although it's not the usual Milton powerhouse.

IMO Basha and Hamilton are slam-dunks for national top 25 honors; Basha has some dudes coming back after winning the Open last year, and I think a lot of people forget how hard Hamilton was dealing before their QB1 went down in the first Chandler game. QB is back, as are a lot of other pieces from the only team to take out Basha last season. 

Chandler is the "weakest" of those three and have a red flag here and there (i.e. their top RB transferred to Liberty) but think Maxpreps is giving them a bump based on having a five-star QB.

Centennial has more talent than Liberty this season but they've made it difficult to trust them year to year. Their schedule is a lot tougher than last season's and I would not be shocked with anything between 5-5 and 8-2.

I think Brophy's best shot at contention was 2024 when they had a good collection of D1 prospects on the o-line and the NFL kids. With the younger Fitzgerald transferring to Minnesota this is probably a rebuilding year for the Broncos.

Aside from the already mentioned Casteel is another one of the more likely squads to contend this year.

USA Today starting the year with the Chandler trio in their Super 25.

Unfortunate circumstances have precipitated a game relevant to the national eight-man scene.

For context, despite what the name would indicate St. David is not a private school but rather a small Mormon community in southern Arizona. They're pretty consistently successful in our eight-man ranks, though they haven't won a title since the late nineties. Mancos appears to be Colorado's 2023 eight-man champion.

Saw Sauagaro cant even field a JV team
this year.

Saw Sauagaro cant even field a JV team
this year.

I've seen guys from last year's varsity end up at Arcadia and Compass Prep (who's actually done an admirable job building up their roster in advance of their national slate). I expect Saguaro to be demoted to a lower classification in the off-season, hopefully to 5A to be alongside rival Chaparral.

Maxpreps AZ Top 15 , my opinions below:

- Brophy, Mountain View, Queen Creek and Horizon are rated too high;

- Desert Mounain and Casteel are ranked too low;

- Since the advent of the Open there has not been a Class 5A or 4A team ranked in the state's end of season top five that hasn't qualified for the Open bracket. Since qualifying for the Open is no longer a thing for those smaller schools Desert Edge is not finishing that high.