Ranking the Top 10 Large & Small 2026 – Week 4

Large Schools

1. Canisius (AA) – Thumped O’Hara ahead of celebrating Christmas, then hopped a flight to Tampa for three games in a Jesuit Tournament this week, before returning home just to travel back out to Erie where they will face the blistering full court press employed by Cathedral Prep on Saturday.
2. St. Joe’s (AA) – The comeback kids over on Kenmore Ave did it again on Monday evening, falling behind by 12 points to Niagara Falls before another fantastic finish earned a second straight victory over a Top 5 WNY large school. Impressive stuff for a team with a brand new starting five. They’ll take their act to Rochester on Tuesday for a matinee game against McQuaid, then return to Buffalo for another such game at home on Saturday against Park.
3. Nichols (AA) – Scored 101 points in the opening round of the Inaugural Jim Kramer Classic and knocked off UPrep the following afternoon to claim the tournament championship. The Vikings will look to best another team from Section V when they host Aquinas on Friday.
4. Niagara Falls (AAA) – Played better scoring in front of the Rowdies at St. Joe’s on Monday evening than they did in the second half when the Marauders came storming back to overcome a big lead held by Falls. On Saturday they travel to Syracuse to face Class AA Section III favorite Nottingham.
5. Health Sciences (AAA) – Wound up being off this week after their game at St. Francis scheduled for Saturday, was postponed. On Tuesday afternoon, the Falcons host East.
6. Jamestown (AAA) – Pulled away in the fourth quarter against Lockport on Saturday to earn a 61-49 win. A couple good nonleague games coming up this week for the Red & Green as Sweet Home makes the trip to The Mac on Tuesday and then Jamestown travels to St. Francis for a Saturday afternoon game.
7. Orchard Park (AA1) – Defeated Lake Shore to improve to 5-0 on the season and now get a week off from the action.
8. Grand Island (A1) – The Vikings really dig the holidays. Off last week. Off this week. Still 5-0 on the season.
9. St. Francis (AA) – Clobbered Park on Tuesday will look to move up in the rankings after Saturday when they host Jamestown.
10. St. Mary’s (AA) – Rolled into Elma showing off fresh Florida tans after Christmas and left with the a Greg Martin Christmas Tournament championship following a double figure win over host Iroquois. On Saturday afternoon they visit Timon, a place they haven’t left with a victory from in a long time.

Small Schools

1. Akron (B2) – The 7-0 Tigers raised a lot of money & delivered gifts, so we gave them last week & next week off.
2. Tapestry (B2) – After 19 days without a game, the 4-0 Thunderhawks finally return to the hardwood on Tuesday for a Top 10 battle with Newfane.
3. Wilson (C) – Drove all the way out to Tully for a rematch of the Wilson Tip-Off Tournament championship game they won by 18 points and escaped with a 52-50 victory. The Lakemen are nearly halfway through their regular season schedule with a 9-0 record and are idle next week.
4. Global Concepts (C) – Still undefeated and not just because they took last week off (it’s because they’re good). So good in fact, I will guarantee they are still undefeated next week at this time.
5. Medina (B1) – The Mustangs are now 7-0 on the season after a 22-point victory over Eden on Monday evening, when Jerrell Nealy became the third WNY player of the season to surpass 1,000 career points scored. Medina has the upcoming week off.
6. Middle College (B1) – The Kats stayed home last week, but return to action with three tough opponents coming into their gym this week. Williamsville South visits on Tuesday, followed by a back-to-back weekend versus MST & Tapestry.
7. Olmsted (B1) – Fell for a 4th time in 5 games when they hosted Nichols on Monday evening. The Owls remain a Top 10 team because all their loses are to teams ranked ahead of them and I respect assembling a challenging schedule. Olmsted is just 2-5 currently, but I’ll predict they don’t lose more than 3 games for the remainder of the regular season.
8. MST (B2) – Defeated Buffalo Culinary by 33 points to improve to 5-1 on the season. The Wolves have a big league game coming up on Friday against Middle College.
9. Salamanca (B1) – The Warriors got into too much eggnog, then ran into some stiff competition from Warren, PA in the Joe DeCerbo Memorial Holiday Showcase over break. Should be a fun week of practice in Salamanca with no games on the schedule coming up this week.
10. Newfane (B2) – Dropped their third straight game to Lew-Port, giving up a 19-6 run to end the game after leading. A brutal stretch of the schedule continues on Tuesday when the Panthers visit Tapestry.