Shore Sports Insider Week 2 Boys Basketball Top 10: Welcome to 2026
Shore Sports Insider Boys Basketball Top 10 — Week 2
Sponsored by Atlantic Physical Therapy Center
The 2025 portion of the 2025-26 season is officially over, and while the first week of games did not do a whole lot to change the preseason Shore Sports Insider Top 10, the holiday break shuffled the deck considerably.
Most of the teams in the top 10 remain the same, with just one new team entering the rankings this week, but three teams make their first appearance in the top five, while the preseason No. 2 team continues its slide.
Meanwhile, at the top of the rankings, the No. 1 team maintains its vice grip, while the No. 2 team is attempting to make a case that it may be closer to No. 1 than to No. 3.
1. Christian Brothers Academy (5-1, 0-0) Last Week: 1
CBA will not go undefeated this year after losing to Sagemont of Florida during its two-game trip to Miami, which ended with the Colts pulling out a bounceback win over ABF Academy that required CBA to hit a pair of clutch shots in the final minute. It was already clear through four games in New Jersey that CBA would overpower many of the remaining teams on its schedule, and the trip to Miami gave the Colts a chance to build their confidence in close games, which could come in handy Saturday against defending NJSIAA Non-Public B champion Roselle Catholic.
CBA junior David Buley. (Photo: Patrick Olivero)
2. Rumson-Fair Haven (7-0, 0-0) Last Week: 2
The Bulldogs moved into the No. 2 spot without 6-foot-9 senior forward Luke Cruz in the lineup, and this past week, Cruz returned, put up monster numbers (20 points and 13 rebounds per game) and sent his team into the new year looking like the clear choice for No. 2. To make it to 11-0 by the next rankings release, Rumson will have to go through a tough run vs. Holy Cross Prep, Red Bank, Holmdel and Middletown South.
3. Wall (5-0, 0-0) Last Week: 9
The only two remaining undefeated teams in the Shore Conference are No. 2 Rumson and No. 3 Wall, the latter of which showcased an airtight defense in winning the Ruhnke Bracket at the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic. During the tournament, Wall held three top 10 teams – Red Bank Catholic, Manasquan and Freehold Township – to an average of 31.7 points per game, including shutting out Manasquan for the first 13:48 of the semifinal win. Right out of the gate in 2026, the Kevin Williams champion will meet the Albert E. Martin Buc Classic champion, Howell.
Wall’s Brian McKenna (#2) played a strong all-around game to earn MVP honors at the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic. (Photo by Patrick Olivero)
4. Red Bank Catholic (4-2, 0-0) Last Week: 6
RBC sits at No. 4 despite already losing two games in a row in its first six games, but those two losses came against the Nos. 2 and 3 teams in the rankings. The Caseys also own a win over Kevin Williams Classic runner-up Freehold Township and picked up consolation wins at the KWCC over Point Beach and Central. Like the three teams ranked above them, RBC will face a challenge to open 2026 when the Caseys travel to KWCC Steve Gepp Bracket champion Donovan Catholic, followed by a Class B North division showdown vs. Marlboro.
5. Freehold Township (4-2, 0-0) Last Week: 7
Like RBC, Freehold Township’s only losses so far are to teams ranked ahead of the Patriots: Wall and Red Bank Catholic. The four wins are also noteworthy, with Freehold Township taking down Holmdel and Lawrence before the holiday break and Central and Jackson after it. The Jackson win was a convincing one and the victory over Lawrence is significant because the Cardinals won at Southern during the Score at the Shore Tournament.
6. Jackson (6-1, 0-0) Last Week: 3
Two days after losing to Freehold Township by a 24-point margin, Jackson went into halftime against Manasquan trailing, 24-9, and was outscored, 20-0, in the second quarter. In the second half, however, the Jaguars mounted a major comeback and took down the Warriors by holding them to four points in three of the four quarters in the game. Jackson now owns two wins over Manasquan and will head into Tuesday’s big Class A South opener at Southern with just one loss and a chance to plant its flag at the top of the division, albeit with a lot of basketball left to play.
Jackson senior George Boley drives around Manasquan sophomore John Visceglia. (Photo: Patrick Olivero)
7. Howell (5-1, 0-0) Last Week: Not ranked
The first SSI Top 10 debut since the start of the season belongs to the Rebels, who squandered a seven-point fourth-quarter lead vs. Marlboro during the first week of the season and atoned for that loss on Tuesday by beating the Mustangs in the Albert E. Martin Buc Classic championship game. East Brunswick has been impressive to start the season, and Howell dealt the Bears their only loss of the season thus far. Senior guard Cayden Parker is playing some of the best ball in the conference to open the season, with 23.5 points per game during his team’s 5-1 start. The Rebels will put that start to the test Monday at No. 3 Wall.
8. Southern (3-3, 0-0) Last Week: 5
Noah Perna returned from a two-game suspension following his ejection vs. Toms River North and made up for lost time. He scored 36 points in back-to-back games, meaning if you take those 72 points and average them over the two games he missed, plus the two games in which he scored them, he still would be averaging 18 points over the last four games – just under his year-long average for 2024-25. Unfortunately for Perna’s team, Southern lost both of those games to quality opponents from Mercer County (Lawrence and Trenton) and will head into 2026 looking to get back in the win column against another tough opponent in No. 6 Jackson.
9. Manasquan (2-4, 0-0) Last Week: 4
The Warriors entered the Kevin Williams Classic 1-2 and then went 1-2 in the tournament with an overtime win over Point Beach, followed by losses to Wall and Jackson in which Manasquan scored a combined 52 points. It is not a surprise that Manasquan has struggled to score points, but the degree to which they have struggled and the corresponding results have been surprising to watch for a program that has been the standard for Shore Conference basketball for the past decade or so. On the positive end, junior Logan Cleveland is working his way back into the lineup after missing the first four games, and the Warriors will try to get back on track against Rancocas Valley on Saturday and St. Rose on Monday.
10. Marlboro (4-1, 0-0) Last Week: 10
A loss to Howell in Tuesday’s Buc Classic final was the first defeat of the season for Marlboro, which beat Howell in its first game of the season less than two weeks prior. Close games have been the norm so far for the Mustangs, whose nine-point win over Red Bank at home was their most comfortable win to date. Marlboro beat Red Bank again on the road by two and also owns a two-point win over Middletown South. The Mustangs will open the new year with a trip to Red Bank Catholic for a key early Class B North clash.
Marlboro junior Dylan McEwan elevates over Middletown South freshman Ryan Gannon. (Photo: Patrick Olivero)
Dropped Out
Holmdel (3-1, 0-0) Last Week: 8 – While other top 10 hopefuls were playing one another over the break, Holmdel was more-or-less idle, playing one game against Spotswood and then another vs. East Brunswick Magnet on Friday. The Hornets will have plenty of chances to prove themselves against good teams and already own a win over another team on the top 10 fence in Ranney.
Top 10 Watchlist
Point Beach (5-2, 0-0) – The Garnet Gulls got two chances to kick down the door to the top 10 and lost heartbreakers to Manasquan and Red Bank Catholic.
Ranney (3-2, 1-0) – A convincing win over Middletown South and a close loss to East Brunswick at the Buc Classic suggest the Panthers belong in the conversation for one of the last two spots in the rankings.
Central (3-2, 0-0) – With four new starters, the Golden Eagles are in a good spot so far with two wins over Brick Memorial and competitive losses to Freehold Township and Red Bank Catholic.
Middletown South (4-2, 0-0) – Teams are adjusting to Middletown South’s standout freshmen duo of Ryan Gannon and Evan Wells, as evidenced by the Eagles dropping two straight after a 4-0 start.
Donovan Catholic (4-1, 0-0) – The Griffins responded to a regular-season loss to Toms River North by beating the Mariners – and both of the other Toms River public schools – in the same gym during the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic on the way to winning the Gepp Bracket championship.
Brick Memorial (3-4, 0-0) – The Mustangs did not have the services of football standout Nyzier Matthews during the Kevin Williams Classic and went 0-3 playing in the top bracket. If Brick Memorial can get healthy, it still has the pieces to challenge for the top spot in Class B South.
Red Bank (3-5, 0-0) – With a much different lineup than the team that won back-to-back division championships in 20-win seasons, the Bucs have played like a motivated team that is still learning to close games against more experienced lineups.
Toms River East (4-2, 0-0) – A loss to Barnegat shows there is still some consistency for Toms River East to achieve, but a 4-2 start and a win over Colts Neck to reach the Gepp Bracket final at the Kevin Williams Classic is a glimpse of the young Raiders’ upside.
Colts Neck (3-2, 0-0) – As the Cougars adjust to life without four starters from last year’s Group III championship team, sophomore Nate Sloane is becoming a star guard, which he showed by averaging 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and three blocked shots at the Kevin Williams Classic.
Monmouth (4-1, 0-0) – The Falcons suffered their first loss against Morris Knolls, but have gone 4-0 vs. the Shore Conference and are only a week away from welcoming 6-foot-4 win Ahmir Wiggins back into the lineup.
