It is time to take a look at this week’s Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski Sports Boys Basketball Media Poll. Voting is conducted by a panel of statewide media members.
Division 1
After winning the Division 2 state title in 2024, Wisconsin Lutheran was elevated to D1 last year by the WIAA’s Tournament Performance Factor, and proceeded to win it all there. The Vikings are loaded with talent again this season and enter as the top-ranked team in Division 1 for 2025-26. West Allis Central, Madison Memorial, Germantown, and Appleton North round out the top five.
Division 2
Wauwatosa West claimed the Division 2 crown last year and returns a strong group that has the Trojans atop the rankings to begin the new season. Slinger is second, followed by Milwaukee Academy of Science, Nicolet, and Catholic Memorial. Nicolet is in the top five despite a close loss to D1 #2 West Allis Central in the season opener. Most of the top D2 teams have yet to get their seasons underway, but that will change this week.
Division 3
It is all Racine at the top of the Division 3 rankings, with St. Catherine’s very narrowly edging Racine Lutheran for the number one position by just a single point. Freedom, last year’s runner-up in Division 3, is third, followed by Oostburg and Seymour in the top five. Last season’s D3 champions Milwaukee Academy of Science are elevated to Division 2 this year.
Division 4
Another division where the defending champs move up, as Aquinas is elevated to Division 3. Milwaukee Juneau, behind star junior Dooney Johnson, is the top-ranked team in Division 4 to begin the year, with a talented Darlington squad close behind. Roncalli, Dominican, and Lomira round out the top five, though only a couple of teams in the rankings have gotten games in so far.
Division 5
Columbus Catholic occupies the top spot in the Division 5 ranking to begin the year, as the Dons won a pair of games at the Cranberry Classic over the weekend. Sheboygan Lutheran is second, followed by North Crawford, Rib Lake, and Oakfield. Surprisingly, defending state champion Cochrane-Fountain City is down the rankings a bit, ranked seventh to begin the year.
Travis Wilson serves as the Bound Wisconsin Manager. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].