THE POWER RANKINGS: Bowie, Westwood, Vandegrift and Westlake lead tightly bunched Austin area Boys rankings
One might be tempted to think that playing four or five basketball games in a week would lead to one or two dominant teams emerging from the pack.
One would be wrong.
Despite a plethora of tournaments and district games in the days since Christmas, the top 8 teams remained frozen in place in this week’s Boys Power Rankings. Vista Ridge’s gutsy road win over McNeil slid some pieces around near the bottom of the Rankings. But Bowie remains on top of the pile with Westwood, Vandegrift and Westlake all nipping at the Dawgs’ heels. Bowie hosts Westlake Tuesday night (1/6) in the first of many critical district matchups for these teams.
East View’s 4-1 run in Hays kept the Patriots in the Top 5 and the top 5A team in our rankings.
With the tournament games all packed away with the rest of the Christmas decorations, it’s time to settle in for two months of epic district play. Here’s our first Power Rankings of 2026.
VYPE's Austin Boys Public School Basketball Rankings
(Last week’s rankings in parenthesis)
1. (1) Bowie (6A) – 20-3 (3-1 in Pride of Texas tourn.; lost vs. St. Michael’s 77-66)
2. (2) Westwood Warriors (6A) – 17-2 (4-0 Won Hangry Joe’s Christmas Classic)
3. (3) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) 18-4 (3-1 in Glenn Holiday Classic; def. Cedar Ridge 52-40)
4. (4) Westlake Chaparrals (6A) – 17-5 (3-1 in Strake Jesuit Classic; def. #14 Hays 76-55)
5. (5) East View Patriots (5A) – 17-5 (4-1 in Hangry Joe’s Christmas Classic)
6. (6) Lake Travis (6A) – 15-7 (2-1 in Allen Holiday Invitational)
7. (7) Round Rock Dragons (6A) – 15-5 (3-1 Hangry Joe’s Tourn.; def. Hutto 64-52)
8. (8) Cedar Park (5A) – 14-4 (Def. Lampasas 59-50)
9. (10) Vista Ridge (6A) – 15-7 (3-1 in Glenn Holiday Tournament; def. #9 McNeil 53-49)
10. (11) Hendrickson (5A) – 17-6 (4-0 in Glenn Holiday Tournament)
11. (9) McNeil (6A) – 13-9 (2-1 in tournament; lost vs. #10 Vista Ridge 53-49)
12. (13) Liberty Hill Panthers (5A) – 12-7 (3-1 in Wimberley Tournament)
13. (15) Akins (6A) – 13-3 (3-1 in tournament)
14. (12) Buda Johnson (6A) – 13-11 (1-3 in Hangry Joe’s tournament; def. San Marcos 60-56 OT)
15. (14) Hays (5A) – 12-9 (3-1 in Hangry Joe’s Tournament.; lost vs. #4 Westlake 76-55)
