FAB 50 Winter No. 1s: Montverde (Fla.), Harvard-Westlake (Calif.)

Preseason rankings are based on the knowledge of a team’s strength of schedule, the quality of players and the reasonable expectations for the upcoming season based on last year.

This winter, however, is like any before.

Yes, there was a winter high school season last year, but California opted to play in the spring, instead of the winter, and Hawaii did not play at all. Therefore, only five states played a true winter season last year — with Texas and Florida as the major players, along with Arizona, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The lack of California teams in the winter was noticeable in the final FAB 50 rankings as Texas teams — boys and girls — gobbled up more than half of the ranking spots, including both No. 1s — San Antonio LEE (Texas) boys and Flower Mound (Texas) girls.

This year, however, starts with a much different look.

Montverde Academy (Fla.) is back in a familiar spot — ranked No. 1 to start the boys season. Harvard-Westlake (Calif.), coming off a perfect spring and featuring some of the nation’s top high school-aged players, begins at No. 1 in girls soccer.

Servite (Calif.), Birmingham (Calif.), Lake Travis (Texas), and Wakeland (Texas) round out the boys preseason Top 5. Harvard-Westlake is followed by Flower Mound (Texas), Prosper (Texas), Carondelet (Calif.), and Southlake Carroll (Texas).

VIEW THE COMPLETE PRESEASON FAB 50s — FALL BOYS | FALL GIRLS

Every Top 25 of the top-ranked teams will come in contact with other nationally ranked programs at some point during the season — either in non-league, league or postseason play. Ultimately, the rankings will sort themselves out on the field. But the preseason rankings simply attempt to spotlight the teams we’ll hear about for the next four months. Sure, there will be a lot of movement, but history has shown, most of the Top 25 still will be in the FAB 50 when the final rankings are posted in April.

Let’s break down the contenders:

BOYS

There’s no program in the country with more talent than Montverde Academy, a private school in the Orlando area. The question becomes how much focus does the school place on the high school team. The program has more than 150 players, including some who are not eligible for the high school team, which is part of the larger Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy (SIMA) program. The program features teens who are on the cusp of signing professional contracts, and most years there are in excess of 20 NCAA Division I signees. However, a majority of SIMA’s elite players do not compete for the high school team. That might change a bit this winter as the school is eager to get touches for all levels of its athletes. Therefore, Clemson commit Shawn Smart Shawn Smart D Montverde Academy | 2022 FL and Syracuse commit Marc Chin Marc Chin M FL , both defenders, will play for the high school team. Montverde decided years ago to forgo the high school state tournament since its small-school standing would result in a postseason full of lopsided matchups. Instead, the Eagles will play a 17-match independent schedule. Montverde will rotate a number of players through the high school roster, but early indications there is a renewed interest in regaining the elite high school status the school held during the 2010s when it rolled off seven FAB 50 No. 1 finishes in eight seasons between 2011-2018. Montverde already is 3-0 in regular-season matches and has not allowed a goal.

If Montverde falters, the focus may quickly shift to the West Coast. Servite, in the CIF Southern Section, and Birmingham, in the CIF Los Angeles Section, are the preseason favorites. It is possible for these teams to meet, but it would have to happen in the CIF Southern Regional, when the various section champions and runners-up are invited for a one-week championship series. UC Santa Barbara commit Eddie Villeda returns for Servite and will be joined by explosive frontrunner Max Thomas. Birmingham, meanwhile, has David Diaz David Diaz F Birmingham | 2022 CA , the 2021 LA Player of the Year, and leading scorer Enrique Pineda Enrique Pineda F/M CA returning from last year’s squad that lost in overtime in the Southern Regional final.

GIRLS

Harvard-Westlake ended No. 2 in the Spring FAB 50 last school year at 19-0, but it would have been the winter No. 1 had it played in its usual spot. There was only one team last spring that boasted a better lineup than Harvard-Westlake, and that was Westminster Academy (Ga.). On paper, Harvard-Westlake is the team to beat this winter, but it appears that position will depend highly on the availability of sisters Alyssa Thompson Alyssa Thompson F Harvard-Westlake (CA) | 2023 State #1 Nation CA and Gisele Thompson Gisele Thompson D Harvard-Westlake (CA) | 2024 State CA . Alyssa, a senior, is a member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team. Gisele, a sophomore, is part of the U.S. Under-17 National Team pool. Both are likely to have national team commitments as the U20-s and U17s gear up for World Cups this summer. The Thompsons have committed to Stanford.

Flower Mound, which finished No. 1 last winter, figures to be loaded again this season and starts No. 2. The team projects seven returning starters from last year’s 23-1-4 squad. All four seniors that graduated signed with NCAA Division I programs, and the seven returners have several NCAA Division I commits led by Texas A&M bound Sydney Becerra Sydney Becerra M TX .

Interestingly, Harvard-Westlake and Flower Mound will play this year as part of the National Elite Prep Showcase in Texas the first weekend in January. Better known as NEPS, this event pulls together many of the top programs from Texas and California. Historically, some of the best Florida and Louisiana teams have participated, but none opted to play this year. Instead, FAB 50-ranked Nolan Catholic (Texas), the co-host for the event, will travel to Florida for a showcase later in December.

Prosper is a solid No. 3 to start the year as it features several returnees from a 24-1 squad, losing only to Flower Mound in the playoffs. Among the returners are two Oklahoma signees and one player headed to Florida.