Defending Class 4A boys basketball state champion Wayzata has three titles in five straight championship game appearances, so its place at the top of the preseason ranking is solidified.

Following the Trojans, Hopkins, Maple Grove and Totino-Grace could challenge for the No. 1 spot early this season, but only the Eagles have similar championship experience in recent years.

“I feel like we have a lot of young and old experience,” Totino-Grace senior Dothan Ijadimbola said. “This is definitely going to be a well-rounded team, a well-led team. We all know we have one goal, and that is to win a championship.”

Here are Strib Varsity’s statewide rankings entering the 2025-26 boys basketball season:

Minnesota Top 25

1. Wayzata (28-4 last season)

The Trojans return their top three scorers from last year’s Class 4A state champion with Iowa State recruit Christian Wiggins, Gophers recruit Nolen Anderson and fellow senior Isaac Olmstead. Also back is bruising senior Tommy Shunmugavelu, who stepped up in the state title game defensively — and he has frontcourt help from Sauk Rapids-Rice transfer Izayah Cook.

2. Hopkins (26-2)

The Royals lost their top two scorers on a team that averaged 90 points per game last season, but they still have plenty of firepower with brothers Jayden and Tre Moore leading the offense. This is the state’s deepest team talentwise with 6-9 junior Ahmed Nur and transfers Xavier Frelix (Park Center), Anthony Byrd (Cooper) and Kyree Nelson (Simeon Carter in Chicago).

3. Totino-Grace (23-7)

The Eagles fell short of accomplishing a state championship four-peat with a loss in the Class 3A semifinals last season, but they return a solid core with Ijadimbola, Malachi Hill, Tian Chatman, Daniel Zoa and Jaylan Hines. They also added transfers A.J. Taban (Stillwater) and Deangelo Dungey (Breck).

4. Maple Grove (23-9)

The Crimson finished third in Class 4A last season, but they might have the team to win it all this year with Gophers target and junior Baboucarr Ann, senior transfer Max Iversen (Delano), 7-foot junior transfer Jack Thelen (St. Michael-Albertville) and senior Henry Knutson, who plays football.

5. Cretin-Derham Hall (29-2)

The Raiders lost current Notre Dame freshman center Tommy Ahneman, but they return leading scorer and 6-7 Nebraska commit Ty Schlagel and St. Thomas recruit JoJo Mitchell from last season’s Class 4A runner-up team. Transfers Zeke Gilbert (Park Center) and Isaac Feller (Bloomington Jefferson) will also be key contributors.

6. Alexandria (29-3)

The defending Class 3A champion Cardinals can’t replace Minnesota Mr. Basketball and current Clemson freshman Chase Thompson inside, but Mason Witt, Talan Witt and Gavin Roderick return as three of their top scorers who combined to average 50 points per game last season.

7. Tartan (27-1)

The Titans couldn’t get past Cretin-Derham Hall to make their first state trip since 2014, but they return two of their top three scorers in sophomores K.J. Wilson and Emmanuel Oyesanmi. More talent also arrived with transfers Tyrell Pride (St. Paul Johnson), Duke King and Kenny Brown (North St. Paul) and Justus Dayee (Simley).

8. DeLaSalle (24-7)

The Islanders have three of their top four scorers back in junior Jaeden Udean, junior Kamar Thomas and senior Evan Miller. They’re also one of the deepest 3A teams with junior Deon Wallace-Johnson and rising sophomores Ichima Idoko, Taaj Whitlock and Jonas McCreary.

9. Mankato East (29-2)

The Cougars lost their leading scorer from a team that reached the Class 3A championship game last season. But they welcome back senior standouts Lucas Gustafson and Amari Nobles to go along with an inside presence from 6-10 Northern Illinois football commit Braden Petzel.

10. East Ridge (21-7)

The Raptors finished right behind Suburban East champion Cretin-Derham Hall last season in conference play. Gophers recruit Cedric Tomes has help from Bennett Skinner, 6-8 Graham Sanneh and others to challenge CDH again with more depth this year.

11. Prior Lake (22-7)

The Lakers lost leading scorer Norbu Jenpa to graduation, but they welcome back a talented 2027 class with forwards Colten Gunderson, Kobby Sambrew and Trey Theis and guard Kolby Thompson.

12. Apple Valley (23-8)

The Eagles haven’t made the state tournament since 2018, but they have one of the top scoring duos in the state in seniors Camare’ Young and Trey Parker, who combined to score nearly 36 points per game and make more than 100 three-pointers last season.

13. Rochester Mayo (18-9)

The Spartans haven’t made the state tournament since 2008, but there won’t be many teams as balanced. They’re solid inside with 6-6 Reggie Parker and 6-7 Logan Shimek, and Will Gyarmaty and Isaac Peterson return as top backcourt scorers.

14. Eagan (17-12)

The Wildcats, who finished third in Class 4A two seasons ago, hope to repeat that recent success with a senior-laden group that includes 6-8 big man Kevin Kemp and guards Michael McKenzie and Alex Schroepfer.

15. Richfield (22-6)

The Spartans graduated one of the state’s top scorers in CJ Armstrong, but double-figure-scoring juniors Dre Collins and Tyrece Hagler return. Expect transfers Waleed Muhammad (Breck) and Gideon Horne (Hope Academy) to make an impact.

16. Mahtomedi (18-10)

The Zephyrs will again be a team to beat in the Metro East conference behind Tartan, led by two-sport senior standout Mark Graff. They also have size and length coming from 6-8 Willie Roelofs and 6-6 Noah Carlson.

17. Osseo (7-20)

The Orioles were near the bottom of the Northwest Suburban last season, but they’ll now be conference contenders with transfers Kwa Silikpoh (Park Center), Joel Saah (Park Center) and Quincy Johnson (Hopkins).

18. St. Paul Johnson (20-7)

The Governors lost their leading scorer to transfer, but they return most of the core from a St. Paul City championship team with 6-8 Kenneth Turner, Colin Moore Jr., Jermaine Thomas-Curtis and Rino Kamp.

19. Faribault (19-9)

The Falcons return probably the biggest frontcourt in Class 3A with 6-10 senior and Loyola Chicago recruit Ryan Kreager, who has 132 career blocks, and 6-7 senior Breuer Wolff.

20. Champlin Park (24-5)

The Rebels lost 40 points per game to graduation, but there will be experience returning from a team that got close to a state berth with Gavin Walter and Kyler Pust, to go along with sophomore Moussa Dukuly.

21. Montevideo (27-5)

The Thunder Hawks welcome back their leading scorer, St. Thomas baseball recruit Griffin Epema (19 ppg), who as a sophomore led them to their first state tournament since 2009.

22. Goodhue (22-10)

The Wildcats finished runner-up in Class 2A football with senior quarterback Luke Roschen, but the Southwest Minnesota State hoops recruit also went to state in basketball with the help of high-scoring sophomore Alex Loos.

23. Jackson County Central (28-6)

The Huskies beat Goodhue in the Prep Bowl with gridiron stars Roman Voss and Weston Rowe, who will get help inside on the hardcourt from 6-10 senior transfer Sullivan Hall from Iowa.

24. Pelican Rapids (25-8)

The Vikings might have an advantage over defending Class 1A champion Dawson-Boyd and runner-up Cherry this season. Why? Because they’re led by 6-9 center Jack Welch, a Concordia (St. Paul) recruit.

25. Cherry (31-2)

Hard to bet against the Tigers when they still have the Asuma family leading the way. Gophers guard Isaac Asuma’s brother and Gophers baseball recruit Noah and his cousin Isaiah are two of the top players in Class 1A.