The latest Florida High School Athletic Association rankings have arrived.
The Pensacola area, for both boys and girls, has a handful of teams that are ranked near the top of Region 1 in their classes. On the boys side, Booker T. Washington is near the top in the state, currently ranked second in the FHSAA and first in Class 5A with a score of 22.042. The Wildcats trail only Mandarin (Jacksonville) in Class 6A with a rating of 23.170.
As for the women's team, Gulf Breeze is the best in the region, ranked 64th in the state of Florida and 9th overall in Class 5A. A total of five teams from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are ranked in the top 100 teams statewide.
The soccer team's playoffs are now less than a month away as regional tournaments begin in late January. The final match date for tournament seeding is January 18th, with regional tournaments starting after that weekend on January 22nd and running through January 30th.
The state tournament is scheduled for Feb. 17-22 at Auburndale at Lake Myrtle Sports Park for Classes 4A-7A and Feb. 25-March 1 at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand for Classes 1A-3A. .
Here are the FHSAA's latest rankings:
Boys Soccer Rankings
Class 6A
- Navarre (8.135) – No. 2 in District 1-6A, No. 7 in Region 1-6A, No. 38 in Class 6A, No. 154 statewide.
- Tate (7.894) – No. 3 in District 1-6A, No. 9 in Region 1-6A, No. 41 in Class 6A, No. 157 statewide.
- Milton (1.081) – No. 4 in District 1-6A, No. 15 in Region 1-6A, No. 64 in Class 6A, No. 304 statewide.
- Pace (-4.540) – No. 5 in District 1-6A, No. 18 in Region 1-6A, No. 78 in Class 6A, No. 417 statewide.
Class 5A
- Booker T. Washington (22.042) – No. 1 in District 1-5A, No. 1 in Region 1-5A, No. 1 in Class 5A, No. 2 overall in the state.
- Gulf Breeze (15.659) – No. 2 in District 1-5A, No. 5 in Region 1-5A, No. 11 in Class 5A, No. 38 statewide.
- Pine Forest (4.310) – No. 4 in District 1-5A, No. 12 in Region 1-5A, No. 36 in Class 5A, No. 224 statewide.
- Escambia (-7.998) – No. 5 in District 1-5A, No. 21 in Region 1-5A, No. 75 in Class 5A, No. 484 statewide.
Class 4A
- West Florida (12.516) – No. 1 in District 1-4A, No. 1 in Region 1-4A, No. 8 in Class 4A, No. 73 overall in the state.
Class 3A
- Pensacola Catholic (.924) – No. 3 in Region 1-3A, No. 9 in Region 1-3A, No. 35 in Class 3A, No. 307 statewide.
- Pensacola High School (-13.831) – No. 5 in District 1-3A, No. 19 in Region 1-3A, No. 76 in Class 3A, No. 546 statewide.
women's soccer rankings
Class 6A
- Navarre (10.970) – No. 2 in District 1-6A, No. 6 in Region 1-6A, No. 19 in Class 6A, No. 104 overall in the state.
- Tate (9.330) – No. 3 in District 1-6A, No. 7 in Region 1-6A, No. 25 in Class 6A, No. 129 statewide.
- Milton (1.831) – No. 4 in District 1-6A, No. 12 in Region 1-6A, No. 49 in Class 6A, No. 272 statewide.
- Speed (1.214) – 5th in District 1-6A, 13th in Region 1-6A, 54th in Class 6A, 281st statewide.
Class 5A
- Gulf Breeze (14.790) – No. 1 in District 1-5A, No. 3 in Region 1-5A, No. 9 in Class 5A, No. 64 statewide.
- Escambia (4.506) – No. 3 in District 1-5A, No. 13 in Region 1-5A, No. 30 in Class 5A, No. 217 statewide.
- Booker T. Washington (-2.884) – No. 4 in Region 1-5A, No. 17 in Region 1-5A, No. 48 in Class 5A, No. 342 overall in the state.
- Pine Forest (-16.131) – No. 5 in District 1-5A, No. 21 in Region 1-5A, No. 80 in Class 5A, No. 521 statewide.
Class 4A
- West Florida (-5.929) – No. 3 in District 1-4A, No. 11 in Region 1-4A, No. 45 in Class 4A, No. 379 statewide.
Class 3A
- Pensacola Catholic (12.855) – No. 1 in Region 1-3A, No. 2 in Region 1-3A, No. 12 in Class 3A, No. 83 overall in the state.
- Pensacola High School (-12.670) – No. 4 in District 1-3A, No. 16 in Region 1-3A, No. 65 in Class 3A, No. 478 statewide.
Previous Playoff Photos
Like most sports across the state, qualifying for the regional playoffs requires either winning the regional tournament or placing within the top eight to secure an at-large bid.
If the regular season ended today leading up to the regional tournaments (where the No. 1 seed in each region is presumed to be the regional champion), the playoff scenario would look like this:
Rankings may change after district tournaments, so to make things easier, we'll assume that rankings haven't changed at all through zones. Remember: anything can happen in the playoffs.
Regional tournaments are as follows (Note: Numbers in parentheses are teams' districts. Teams with an asterisk are the presumptive district champions).
Men's Soccer Playoff Photos
Region 1-6A
- #1 Mandarin (2)* vs. 8th Nice (3)
- #2 Bartram Trail (3)* vs. #7 Navarre (1)
- No.3 Matanzas (3) vs. #6 Niceville (1)*
- Horizon 4 (4)* vs. Forest No. 5 (4)
Playoff Notes: All four of the presumptive regional champions (Mandarin (District 2), Bartram Trail (District 3), Horizon (District 4) and Niceville (District 1)) are in the top eight, so there's no jumping around in the standings. Navarre will be the only local team in the regional playoffs with an at-large bid as of now and will advance to the quarterfinals.
Region 1-5A
- #1 Booker T. Washington (1)* vs. 8th place Clay (3)
- 2nd place Arnold (2)* vs. 7th place Chiles (2)
- #3 Fleming Island (3)* vs. 6th place Beachside (4)
- #4 Ponte Vedra (4)* vs. #5 Gulf Breeze (1)
Playoff Notes: This is fairly straightforward, as the four projected regional champions – Booker T. Washington (District 1), Arnold (District 2), Fleming Island (3) and Ponte Vedra (4) – are all top four teams, in that order. Gulf Breeze, currently seeded fifth, was scheduled to sneak in as an at-large bid and head to Ponte Vedra. Booker T. hosts Clay similar to the 2023-24 season.
Region 1-4A
- No. 1 West Florida (1)* vs. No. 8 Menendez (2)
- 2nd place Bishop Kenny(2)* vs. 7th Stanton (3)*
- #3 Fort Walton Beach (1) vs. #6 Wakulla (1)
- #4 Rickards (1) vs. 5th place Vanguard(4)*
Playoff Notes: This is a bit shaky as some regional champions fall below the top four. But all four – West Florida (District 1), Bishop Kenny (District 2), Vanguard (District 4) and Stanton (District 3) – are still in the top eight, so they can't make the jump. However, Vanguard hosted Rickards as regional champion. As of now, West Florida is the only local team to make the playoffs.
Region 1-3A
- #1 Wolfson(3)* vs. #8 Keystone Heights(4)
- 2nd place Santa Fe (4)* vs. #7 North Bay Haven (2)
- #3 Florida High (2)* vs. 6th Walton (1)
- #4 South Walton (1)* vs. 5th place Bolles (3)
Playoff Notes: Four-district champions Wolfson (District 3), Santa Fe (District 4), Florida High (District 2) and South Walton (District 1) are all top four teams and do not need to jump. Pensacola Catholic, currently ranked 9th, missed the playoffs in that ranking. This means no local teams will participate in the playoffs in Regions 1-3A.
Women's Soccer Playoff Photos
Region 1-6A
- No. 1 Bartram Trail (3)* vs. No. 8 Forest (4)*
- 2nd place Fletcher (2)* vs. 7th Tate (1)
- #3 Niceville (1)* vs. 6th place Navarre (1)
- 4th place Nice (3) vs. #5 Tocoy Creek (3)
Playoff Notes: Things get a little weird this time around when they face District 4 champions Forest, who finished 11th in the region. That means, for now, Buchholz (8th) will be eliminated from the at-large bid. Navarre (No. 6 seed) and Tate (No. 7 seed) were both scheduled to leave the country with at-large bids. Navarre will stay relatively local to Niceville. The remaining three district champions, Bartram Trail (District 3), Fletcher (District 2) and Niceville (District 1), are among the top eight teams.
Region 1-5A
- #1 Ponte Vedra (4)* vs. 8th place Leon (2)
- 2nd Place Chiles (2)* vs. 7th Orange Park (3)
- #3 Gulf Breeze (1)* vs. 6th place Mosley (2)
- #4 Beachside (4) vs. #5 Fleming Island (3)*
Playoff Notes: The only thing that really stands out in District 1 is that Fleming Island (the champs of District 3) is hosting Beachside. Because the latter is a large bid for District 4. Other district champions – Ponte Vedra (District 4), Chiles (District 2), Gulf Breeze (District 1) and Fleming Island (District 3) – are all in the top eight. Dolphins host Mosley.
Region 1-4A
- #1 Bishop Kenny(2)* vs. #8 Fort Walton Beach (1)
- #2 Stanton (3)* vs. 7th place Menendez (2)
- #3 Vanguard(4)* vs. #6 Baker County (2)
- 4th place Riverside (2) vs. #5 Wakulla (1)*
Playoff Notes: Regions 1-4A currently have no regional representatives as West Florida is seeded 11th. Additionally, four regional champions – Bishop Kenny (District 2), Stanton (District 3), Vanguard (District 4) and Wakulla (District 1) – are all ranked in the top eight, although Wakulla is the fifth seed behind Riverside. This is a large bid.
Region 1-3A
- No. 1 Florida High (2)* vs. No. 8 Keystone Heights (4)*
- #2 Pensacola Catholic (1)* vs. 7th place Wolfson (3)
- #3 West Nassau (3)* vs. #6 North Bay Haven (2)
- #4 Bolles (3) vs. #5 Fernandina Beach (3)
Playoff Notes: Similar to Region 1-6A, District 4 champion Keystone Heights is one of the top eight teams and thus beat South Walton in the at-large bid despite receiving the eighth seed. Other regional champions Florida High (District 2), Pensacola Catholic (District 1) and West Nassau (District 3) are among the top four teams. The Crusaders invited Wolfson to kick off their regional tournament.
2025-01-01 01:28:45
The Washington boys are second in the entire state.
