Best High Schools for Sports in Every State
De La Salle football players celebrate after winning a CIF state championship in 2011.Every level of sports has made great strides over the years, but perhaps no level has made a bigger jump than high school sports.
The United States has over 37,000 high schools, and broadcast access to games and events for some high schools rivals that of collegiate programs. Just think: Forty years ago, the NBA Finals were aired on tape delay. Now, you can stream a live junior varsity archery contest between high school teams.
With this increased exposure to high school sports, a bigger spotlight has been placed on athletic programs which are a cut above the rest. Some schools have dominant teams in many different sports. Others specialize in just one or two sports.
We have compiled a list of the top high school sports programs by state, plus Washington, D.C. The sports they specialize in include everything from football to swimming to rugby to crew. The criteria emphasized state and national championships above all else, but it also took into account all-time wins, record streaks and collegiate/Olympic/professional athletes produced.
Did your high school make the cut?
Alabama: Hoover High School
A Hoover quarterback warms up before a game.City: Hoover
Year opened: 1994
Type of school: Public
Hoover High School Facts
Hoover has won a lot of football games.Enrollment: 2,950
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Hoover High School
Hoover High School has a tradition of excellence in football.Two-a-days are more than just having two practices in a single day. "Two-A-Days" also was the name of an MTV reality show that chronicled the Hoover High football team.
The show aired from August 2006 to March 2007 and was the high school version of HBO’s "Hard Knocks." The reason why MTV chose Hoover High is because of its dominant football program, which had won four straight state titles when the show premiered.
Since then, the school has won six more championships for a total of 13 state titles, with 11 coming since 2000.
High school football (and really, all football) is big business in Alabama, and the team’s coach, Josh Niblett, has a salary of nearly $140,000, making him the state’s highest-paid public coach.
Note: All stats are updated through May 7, 2019.
Alaska: Soldotna High School
The Soldotna High School football team, in blue, during a game in 2018.City: Soldotna
Year opened: 1980
Type of school: Public
Soldotna High School Facts
The Soldotna mascot gets some love.Enrollment: 563
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Soldotna High School
Soldotna dominates on the gridiron.Yes, high school football is played in Alaska. And yes, the game is more than the six- or eight-man variety. While those forms of football are available throughout the state, Soldotna High School lines up 11 players to a side, and they dominate all competition in front of them.
The Soldotna Stars football team has won eight straight state championships and 10 since the 2006 season. They also had a state-record win streak of 59 games that lasted until the first week of the 2018 season in which they stepped up in class and lost to an Alaska high school with three times the enrollment.
But Soldotna rebounded to win the remainder of that season’s games to keep their state title streak alive.
Arizona: Canyon del Oro High School
A Canyon del Oro batter in 2017.City: Oro Valley
Year opened: 1964
Type of school: Public
Canyon del Oro High School Facts
Many Canyon del Oro baseball players go on to play college baseball.Enrollment: 1,618
Best sport: Baseball
Bottom Line: Canyon del Oro High School
Canyon del Oro High School has one of the top baseball teams in the nation.Due to Arizona's arid climate, the most popular sports in the desert state take place outdoors. Thus, it’s no surprise that Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson specializes in baseball and softball.
The baseball team has won eight state titles, and the softball team has collected nine of its own.
The teams are stacked with players who not only excel at the high school level but also go on to play college and pro ball. The CDO softball program has produced 24 Division I players while the baseball team has sent five players to the major leagues, including four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler.
Arkansas: Pine Bluff High School
Pine Bluff High School, front has sent numerous players to the NFL.City: Pine Bluff
Year opened: 1868
Type of school: Public
Pine Bluff High School Facts
Pine Bluff quarterback Ladarius Skelton, left, makes a play in the Arkansas Class 6A High School championship game in 2013.Enrollment: 1,248
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Pine Bluff High School
Pine Bluff High School is Arkansas’ winningest high school football program.During the 2018 season, Pine Bluff High surpassed Central High School (Little Rock) as Arkansas’ winningest high school football program ever. Both schools have won two national championships, but Pine Bluff High set many records nearly 100 years ago that still stand today.
In 1925, the school won its first national championship with a still unsurpassed 16-0 record. It also set the state record in total yards gained in a season and averaged a staggering 505 rushing yards per game.
Pine Bluff High has won another 19 state championships since then and sent numerous players into the NFL, including Hall of Famers Don Hutson and Willie Roaf.
California: De La Salle High School
De La Salle won 151 games from 1992 to 2004.City: Concord
Year opened: 1965
Type of school: Private
De La Salle High School Facts
De La Salle has one of the best high school football programs in the nation.Tuition: $18,550
Enrollment: 1,039
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: De La Salle High School
De La Salle High School has been the subject of two books and one movie.The fact that a high school team has been the subject of two books and one movie tells you just how impressive De La Salle’s football program is.
From 1992 to 2004, the school won a record 151 straight football games and claimed seven national championships. During that stretch, they also played in what’s considered the first-ever national championship high school football game and defeated Long Beach Poly in a nationally broadcast game.
De La Salle has become such a powerhouse that the school has received broadcast opportunities that would make some college teams envious. In 2018, the school partnered with CBS Sports Digital to have its entire football schedule streamed on collegesportslive.com.
Colorado: Cherry Creek High School
Cherry Creek has done a lot of celebrating on the tennis court.City: Greenwood Village
Year opened: 1965
Type of school: Public
Cherry Creek High School Facts
Cherry Creek has won a lot of state titles in tennis.Enrollment: 3,573
Best sport: Tennis
Bottom Line: Cherry Creek High School
Cherry Creek is dominant in both boys and girls tennis.Located just outside of Denver, Cherry Creek employed Broncos legend John Elway in 2007 as the football team’s quarterbacks coach when his son was under center. But while the football team has claimed nine state titles, it pales in comparison to the school’s tennis program for both boys and girls.
The boys' tennis team won 316 consecutive matches from 1972 to 2000, a national record for the sport. Over a 44-year stretch, the boys’ tennis team won 41 state titles while the girls’ tennis team claimed 30 state titles over a 37-year stretch.
Connecticut: Glastonbury High School
The Glastonbury soccer team were Connecticut Class LL state champions in 2018.City: Glastonbury
Year opened: 1953
Type of school: Public
Glastonbury High School Facts
A Glastonbury girl's soccer player.Enrollment: 1,991
Best sport: Soccer
Bottom Line: Glastonbury High School
Glastonbury High's new soccer field cost $1.6 million in 2017.Located in Hartford County, Glastonbury calls itself "a proud soccer town," and the sport is the heartbeat of the city. The city put its money where its mouth is. In 2017, they built a new $1.6 million artificial turf field to house Glastonbury High School’s soccer teams.
The school’s teams are the primary occupants, but the field also hosts various youth soccer clubs and organizations. Glastonbury High’s soccer teams were successful before the new field, winning 14 state titles between the boys and girls teams, and they are sure to remain successful after the new turf fields.
Delaware: Newark High School
A Newark football player.City: Newark
Year opened: 1893
Type of school: Public
Newark High School facts
Newark has some big football players.Enrollment: 1,150
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Newark High School
Newark High's football program has placed six players in the NFL.With 39 state championships over 10 different sports, Newark High is the cream of the high school crop of "The First State."
Football leads the way for Newark, winning 10 state championships in the sport, the most of any Delaware high school.
Newark has sent six players to the NFL, and the sheer size of these future pros made University of Delaware Hall of Fame coach Tubby Raymond say, "I’m looking at your linemen, and they’re bigger than mine."
Florida: The Bolles School
The Bolles girls' swim team is used to finishing No. 1.City: Jacksonville
Year opened: 1933
Type of school: Private
The Bolles School Facts
The Bolles School isn't cheap.Tuition: $55,630 (boarding), $27,240 (day)
Enrollment: 1,800 (pre-K-12)
Best sport: Swimming
Bottom Line: The Bolles School
The Bolles has 11 state titles in football.Whenever you throw "the" in front of your school name à la The Ohio State University, you better have the accolades to back it up, and The Bolles School does. Bolles' athletic programs are so prestigious that their 11 football state championships don’t even get top billing.
That’s because Bolles’ swimming program can stand toe-to-toe with any other high school sports program in the country. The boys’ swim team has won 40 state championships, including 31 straight from 1988 to 2018, while the girls’ team has won 32 state titles, including 28 straight from 1992 to 2018.
The two teams also have combined for 17 national championships in swimming, and Bolles has had at least one student or alumni swimmer compete in every summer Olympics since 1972.
Georgia: Parkview High School
A scoreboard touts the accomplishments of the Parkview High School baseball team.City: Lilburn
Year opened: 1976
Type of school: Public
Parkview High School Facts
Parkview has won three national championships.Enrollment: 2,984
Best sport: Baseball
Bottom Line: Parkview High School
Parkview High School's Isiah Gilliam represented the school on the national stage before being drafted by the New York Yankees.Just outside of Atlanta, Parkview is one of the newest schools on this list, opening in 1976. However, over that time, Parkview has racked up 57 state championships with seven coming in baseball. The baseball team also claims three national championships with all of those coming in the 2010s decade.
Parkview also has had success in other sports as its 1997 state championship football team appeared on local Cheerios boxes.
Additionally, Parkview has won 16 state titles in soccer (seven in boys, nine in girls) and the boys’ team had a 57-game unbeaten streak in the 1990s.
Hawaii: Punahou School
A Punahou girls' basketball player drives to the basket during a game.City: Honolulu
Year opened: 1841
Type of school: Private
Punahou School Facts
Punahou is the alma mater of Barack Obama, center.Tuition: $24,780
Enrollment: 3,750 (K-12)
Best sport: Basketball
Bottom Line: Punahou School
Punahou School's most famous alum was a basketball player. He's not in this picture.Punahou School is best known for being the alma mater of Barack Obama, and the former president won a basketball state title in 1979. That is one of the nearly 499 state championships the school has won, which the school claims it is the most of any high school in the nation.
Student-athletes in Hawaii know they need to find a way to end up at Punahou if they want to be part of a top-notch athletics program.
For the 2016-17 academic year, the school finished second in the national MaxPreps Cup standings. The standings are determined by state titles and runner-up finishes, and Punahou finished in the top two in 17 of their 30 teams for that year.
Idaho: Boise High School
A Boise Braves football player celebrates a successful play.City: Boise
Year opened: 1902
Type of school: Public
Boise High School Facts
Boise High School in action.Enrollment: 1,546
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Boise High School
Boise High School has won state titles in 15 of the 17 sports they compete in.A three-year high school (grades 10-12), Boise High has 17 sanctioned sports and has won state titles in 15 of them.
The football team used to play on the famous blue "Smurf Turf" on Boise State’s campus and would attract upward of 30,000 fans.
With Idaho neighboring Oregon, whose unofficial state sport is running, track and field plus cross country are both popular at Boise High. The boys' and girls’ teams for both sports have combined to win 22 state titles, including eight since 2000.
Illinois: Mount Carmel High School
Mount Carmel, in brown uniform, has scored a lot of touchdowns over the years.City: Chicago
Year opened: 1900
Type of school: Private
Mount Carmel High School Facts
A Mt. Carmel defender brings down an opponent.Tuition: $12,200
Enrollment: 850
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Mount Carmel High School
Mount Carmel High School is most well-known for its football program but has been dominant in sports across the board.It’s hard to pick just one standout program from Mount Carmel because it's had unprecedented success in multiple sports.
The football team has won 12 state championships and sent such players as Donovan McNabb and Simeon Rice to the NFL. The hockey team won five state titles and sent Chris Chelios to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The baseball and basketball teams each won a championship and produced Denny McLain and Antoine Walker, respectively.
Overall, the alumni from Mount Carmel have won sports championships in all of the major sports (Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, World Series, NBA championship). Not too shabby.
Indiana: Pike High School
Pike is a perennial power on the basketball court.City: Indianapolis
Year opened: 1892
Type of school: Public
Pike High School Facts
A Pike player battles for the ball.Enrollment: 3,306
Best sport: Basketball
Bottom Line: PIke High School
Pike High School has one of Indiana's storied basketball programs.Dr. James Naismith, who invented the game of basketball, said that Indiana is where high school basketball was born. Thus, it comes as no surprise that basketball programs dominate the athletic landscape throughout the state.
One of those programs resides at Pike High School, which has sent countless players to the NBA and produced two winners of "Indiana Mr. Basketball."
Pike basketball’s most recent state title came in 2003, when it finished 29-0 and second in the national rankings, trailing only St. Vincent-St. Mary of Ohio, which had one LeBron James.
Iowa: Washington High School
The women's swimming and diving team at Washington High School has a long history of excellence.City: Cedar Rapids
Year opened: 1956
Type of school: Public
Washington High School Facts
The Washington swim team gets a picture.Enrollment: 1,333
Best sports: Swimming and diving
Bottom Line: Washington High School
Washington High's swimming teams are among the most dominant programs in the state in any sport.Best known for being Ashton Kutcher’s high school, Washington High’s second billing goes to their dominant swimming and diving teams.
The school has won 27 state championships, with all of them coming since 1961. This success includes a stretch of 11 straight titles and two other streaks of at least four straight championship wins.
It’s not like it’s been all or nothing when it comes to the swimming and diving teams, either. They’ve finished runner-up another 10 times in program history.
Kansas: Lawrence High School
The Lawrence basketball team.City: Lawrence
Year opened: 1857
Type of school: Public
Lawrence High School Facts
The Lawrence football team has won a lot of state titles.Enrollment: 1,609
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Lawrence High School
Lawrence High dominated the state of Kansas in football until its student body was split into two high schools.Located in the shadow of the University of Kansas, the Lawrence High Chesty Lions have won nearly as many state championships as KU has conference championships. While basketball is king around this part of town, hoops takes a back seat to two other notable Lawrence High teams.
Lawrence High dominated boys gymnastics before the sport was cut from Kansas high schools. Lawrence won 21 state titles in the sport between 1960 and 1988, but that total is no match for the football team, which has won 27 state titles.
Maybe even more impressive than that number is the fact that the school has posted 31 undefeated seasons, a national record, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations record book.
Kentucky: St. Xavier High School
St. Xavier's is the oldest all-boys school in Kentucky.City: Louisville
Year opened: 1864
Type of school: Private
St. Xavier High School Facts
St. Xavier was founded in 1864.Tuition: $14,325
Enrollment: 1,334
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: St. Xavier High School
St. Xavier High School fans are used to seeing pictures like this.Founded in 1864, St. Xavier is the oldest all-boys high school in Kentucky, and all of that history has lent itself to many championships — 180 of them to be exact. In fact, the school has won at least three state titles in every sport offered.
St. Xavier's swimming and diving team has racked up 54 titles, but the St. Xavier Tigers football team gets the most recognition. That’s because they play in what’s called "the most attended regular-season high school football game in the country."
St. Xavier and its rival, Trinity High, routinely have nearly 40,000 fans in attendance at the University of Louisville's Cardinal Stadium to watch their annual matchup. The crowd is just a few thousand short of what Louisville football averages for its home attendance.
Louisiana: Jesuit High School
Jesuit has won many state championships in Louisiana.City: New Orleans
Year opened: 1849
Type of school: Private
Jesuit High School Facts
A Jesuit pitcher during a game.Tuition: $9,150
Enrollment: 1,372
Best sport: Baseball
Bottom Line: Jesuit High School
Jesuit High School won its first baseball state title in 1946.Founded in 1847, Jesuit High School made its mark in Louisiana high school sports history 99 years later. In 1946, the Jesuit Blue Jays had four teams that won the state championship and went undefeated in their respective sports.
One of those sports was baseball, and the diamond is where Jesuit has had its most success. The school has won 24 baseball state championships, 11 more than any other high school in Louisiana.
Additionally, Jesuit has participated in American Legion Baseball a number of times and won another eight American League Baseball state championships.
Maine: Waynflete School
Women's lacrosse players at Waynflete.City: Portland
Year opened: 1897
Type of school: Private
Waynflete School Facts
Waynflete School has won more than 10 state championships in girls' lacrosse.Tuition: $32,820
Enrollment: 584 (pre-K-12)
Best sport: Lacrosse
Bottom Line: Waynflete School
Girls lacrosse sits at the top of the sports pyramid for Waynflete School.According to Sports Business Daily, lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport in America, but it’s been around for decades in the Northeast. You can’t get more northeast in the United States than Maine, and high schools in the state have competed in the sport for over 20 years.
Since Maine’s governing body for high school sports started sponsoring lacrosse in 1998, Waynflete School has won 11 state championships in girls' lacrosse — even though just 245 students make up the entire high school portion of the school, and half of those are boys.
Speaking of the boys, their lacrosse team also started competing in 1998 and won its first state title in 2018.
Maryland: Gilman School
Gilman has a strong lacrosse program.City: Baltimore
Year opened: 1897
Type of school: Private
Gilman School Facts
Gilman has been winning lacrosse games for a long time.Tuition: $30,550
Enrollment: 1,015
Best sport: Lacrosse
Bottom Line: Gilman School
Gilman School's lacrosse uniforms are simply beautiful.Located just three miles from lacrosse powerhouse Johns Hopkins University, Gilman School is trying to become the high school version of JHU.
Gilman's prestigious lacrosse program has reached the No. 1 national ranking in multiple years. The Gilman Greyhounds have won 11 lacrosse state championships in addition to numerous MIAA conference titles.
Gilman also has experienced success in a number of other sports, winning at least 10 state titles in basketball, football, tennis and wrestling.
Massachusetts: Cushing Academy
Cushing Academy is a hockey powerhouse.City: Ashburnham
Year opened: 1865
Type of school: Private
Cushing Academy Facts
Cushing has a legacy of excellence on the ice.Tuition: $61,500 (boarding), $41,800 (day)
Enrollment: 390
Best sport: Hockey
Bottom Line: Cushing Academy
Cushing Academy's hockey team regularly pumps out pro hockey talent.With a tuition for boarding students that exceeds $60,000, Cushing is one of the most expensive schools in the country. Their students are supplied with world-class facilities, including a hockey rink that NHL players used during the lockout.
Cushing Academy’s boys' hockey team has produced dozens of professional players, won three state championships and 21 in-season tournaments.
Hall of Famer Ray Bourque was so impressed with the school and the hockey team that he served as a volunteer coach for the squad after hanging up his skates.
Michigan: Muskegon High School
The Muskegon football team won the state championship in 2017.City: Muskegon
Year opened: 1872
Type of school: Public
Muskegon High School Facts
Muskegon has the most successful high school football program in Michigan.Enrollment: 975
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Muskegon High School
The Muskegon High Big Reds has a nice stadium.Located a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan, Muskegon High School has the most successful high school football program in the state.
The school leads Michigan with 18 state titles, and four of those have come since 2004. But Muskegon’s accomplishments also match up with any high school across the country, as its 846 all-time wins are tied for the seventh most of any high school.
The school’s most notable alum is former NFL quarterback Earl Morrall, who was MVP of the league in 1968 and won three Super Bowls in his career.
Minnesota: Cretin-Derham Hall High School
The Cretin-Durham Hall baseball program has a tradition of success.City: Saint Paul
Year opened: 1871
Type of school: Private
Cretin-Derham Hall High School Facts
Cretin-Derham has won a lot of state titles in base baseball.Tuition: $13,575
Enrollment: 1,030
Best sport: Baseball
Bottom Line: Cretin-Derham Hall High School
Hockey is the most popular sport in Minnesota. Cretin-Derham Hall High dominates in that, too.Minnesota nicknames itself "The State of Hockey," but the ice takes a backseat to the diamond at Cretin-Derham Hall. Eleven of the school’s 24 state championships have come in baseball, and two all-time greats are proud to CDH alums.
Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer both graduated from Cretin-Derham and, coincidentally, spent at least part of their major league careers with the hometown Twins.
The CDH Raiders won two state titles in baseball during Mauer’s time there, and the future American League MVP struck out just once during his four-year high school career.
Mississippi: Jackson Academy
The Jackson Academy girls' basketball team in action.City: Jackson
Year opened: 1959
Type of school: Private
Jackson Academy Facts
Jackson Academy players get ready to ball.Tuition: $15,900
Enrollment: 1,250 (K-12)
Best sport: Basketball
Bottom Line: Jackson Academy
Jan Sojourner is Jackson Academy's legendary girls basketball coach.As the largest independent school in Mississippi, Jackson Academy has a lot of student-athletes. But what makes its girls’ basketball program so special is head coach Jan Sojourner.
Sojourner has spent over 30 years leading the program and has racked up nine state championships during her time.
Her teams have posted a winning record in all but one of her years there, and she’s been named the Clarion-Ledger State Coach of the Year twice.
Missouri: Christian Brothers College High School
The CBH hockey team won the Missouri state title in 2017.City: St. Louis
Year opened: 1850
Type of school: Private
Christian Brothers College High School Facts
Christian Brothers produces some great hockey players.Tuition: $14,700
Enrollment: 840
Best sport: Hockey
Bottom Line: Christian Brothers College High School
Christan Brothers College High School can probably beat your school in almost every sport.When you think of St. Louis, baseball usually is the first sport that comes to mind. Christian Brothers College High does have a successful program on the diamond — winning two state titles — but that pales in comparison to its hockey program.
The CBC ice hockey team has 16 state titles, including 12 since 2000. It has two separate three-peats over that stretch as well as a four-peat from 2014 to 2017.
The school also has sent two players to the NHL, Philip McRae and Joe Vitale, and both players have gone on to play or work for the hometown St. Louis Blues.
Montana: Butte High School
The Butte football team, in purple, during a game.City: Butte
Year opened: 1896
Type of school: Public
Butte High School Facts
A Butte football player.Enrollment: 1,199
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Butte High School
Butte High has won 26 state titles in football.Montana fields more six-man football teams than any other state besides Texas, but the normal 11-man variety earns Butte High its spot on this list.
The Butte Bulldogs have won 26 state titles in football, the most of any high school in the state. Most of those championships came before World War II, but Butte High also has had a sustained level of dominance by winning at least one championship in 10 different decades.
Nebraska: Creighton Prep
Winning state titles is a common occurrence for the Creighton Prep swim team.City: Omaha
Year opened: 1878
Type of school: Private
Creighton Prep Facts
Creighton Prep dominates in the pool.Tuition: $10,580
Enrollment: 1,020
Best sport: Swimming
Bottom Line: Creighton Prep
Creighton Prep won three consecutive state titles in baseball from 2016 to 2018.To sports fans, Omaha is best known for hosting the College World Series and the USA Swimming Olympic trials. So baseball and swimming are two of the most popular and prestigious sports programs at Creighton Prep.
The baseball team has won 15 state championships, including a three-peat from 2016 to 2018.
The swimming team has done even better with 27 state titles, including a Michael Phelps-like 12 straight from 2007 to 2018.
Overall, Creighton Prep has won 143 state championships across all sports since opening in 1878.
Nevada: Bishop Gorman
Bishop Gorman has one of the best high school football programs in the country.City: Las Vegas
Year opened: 1954
Type of school: Private
Bishop Gorman Facts
Bishop Gorman football players are tough to stop.Tuition: $14,000
Enrollment: 1,500
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Bishop Gorman
Bishop Gorman quarterback Tate Martell was one of the most highly recruited players in the country in 2017.Who says you have to be 21 to have fun in Las Vegas? The high school kids at Bishop Gorman have had lots of fun over the years thanks to the powerhouse athletic program built there.
In 2009, Bishop Gorman became the first Nevada school in over 40 years to win state championships in football, basketball and baseball in the same year. They have since accomplished that feat two more times.
The cornerstone of its athletics program is the football team, which won three straight national championships from 2014 to 2016. The success of the football team led to a rarity in sports as its coach, Tony Sanchez, used the success at Gorman to land a head coaching job at UNLV in 2015.
Sanchez became just the fourth-ever high school coach to be hired as the head coach of an FBS school.
New Hampshire: Phillips Exeter Academy
A water polo player at Exeter.City: Exeter
Year opened: 1781
Type of school: Private
Tuition: $55,402 (boarding), $43,272 (day)
Enrollment: 1,079
Best sports: Water polo and swimming
Phillips Exeter Academy Facts
Exeter boys water polo players training.Tuition: $55,402 (boarding), $43,272 (day)
Enrollment: 1,079
Best sports: Water polo and swimming
Bottom Line: Phillips Exeter Academy
Exeter Academy's list of notable alumni is long enough it has its own, separate Wikipedia page.Phillips Exeter Academy has a tradition of winning in the water. The boys’ water polo team has won 22 New England prep school championships while the boys’ swimming team at one point went to 17 straight championships, winning 15 of them.
Exeter puts a strong emphasis on its water sports, and that’s evident by the school having two Olympic-sized swimming pools on campus.
Additionally, Phillips is one of the few high schools in the nation with a state-of-the-art sports science lab that rivals many Division I college programs.
New Jersey: Don Bosco Prep
The Don Bosco Prep football in 2018.City: Ramsey
Year opened: 1915
Type of school: Private
Don Bosco Prep Facts
Don Bosco Prep is a perennial power in football.Tuition: $16,935
Enrollment: 850
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Don Bosco Prep
Don Bosco Prep has won two national titles in football.Football is the sport that powers Don Bosco’s athletics program. With four active NFL players, Bosco’s NFL alumni rival those of many collegiate programs.
The Bosco Ironmen have won 15 state championships and are the only New Jersey high school to win the national championship in football, and they’ve done it twice.
Bosco was one of the first high school programs to play a national schedule, and they traveled everywhere from California to Alabama to Florida and more to compile a 26-8 out-of-state record.
New Mexico: La Cueva High School
La Cueva, left, has an excellent soccer program.City: Albuquerque
Year opened: 1986
Type of school: Public
La Cueva High School Facts
La Cueva's girls soccer team has won a lot of big games.Enrollment: 1,784
Best sports: Soccer, tennis and baseball
Bottom Line: La Cueva High School
La Cueva High's baseball team set a national record by winning 79 straight games.Some schools on this list have been around for over 100 years, but La Cueva is only a millennial — it opened in 1986.
Still, though, over that span, the school has won 116 state championships, which is already the second-most in New Mexico high school history.
La Cueva is a school of streaks as the boys’ tennis team won nine straight state titles, the girls’ soccer team won seven straight state titles and the baseball team set a national record by winning 70 straight games.
New York: Archbishop Molloy
Archbishop Molloy has produced seven NBA players.City: New York City
Year opened: 1957
Type of school: Private
Archbishop Molloy Facts
Dunk you very much.Tuition: $9,200
Enrollment: 1,490
Best sport: Basketball
Bottom Line: Archbishop Molloy
Former Archbishop Molloy point guard Cole Anthony is a projected lottery pick in the 2020 NBA draft.Located in Queens, Archbishop Molloy’s athletics programs begin and end with one name: Jack Curran. The New York City native was the longtime coach for both the basketball and baseball teams, and he won more games as a coach than any other high school coach in the United States.
Curran, who coached at the school for 55 years (from 1958 until his death in 2013), is the only person to be named national coach of the year in two different sports and was named local coach of the year an astounding 47 times total.
He was equally adept as a coach in both sports, sending six players to the NBA and coaching Molloy’s baseball team to a 68-game win streak, the longest of all time, until La Cueva broke it.
North Carolina: Shelby High School
Shelby has a winning basketball program.City: Shelby
Year opened: 1877
Type of school: Public
Shelby High School Facts
Shelby has a standout football program.Enrollment: 849
Best sports: Football and basketball
Bottom Line: Shelby High School
Shelby High School is one of just 22 high school football programs with 800 wins.North Carolina is known as a hotbed for amateur basketball, from UNC and Duke all the way down to the high school level. But the prestige of the state’s high school football programs shouldn’t be overlooked, and one of the most prominent football teams in the nation resides just outside of Charlotte.
Shelby High School is one of 22 high schools in the country that have won at least 800 games. The school ranked 12th all-time in wins entering the 2020 season, with 826 victories.
The school also has won 17 state championships, including seven since 2005.
North Dakota: Red River High School
Red River has strong tennis players year after year.City: Grand Forks
Year opened: 1967
Type of school: Public
Red River High School Facts
All the Red River girls tennis team does is win matches.Enrollment: 1,121
Best sport: Tennis
Bottom Line: Red River High School
Red River High School has swept the boys and girls tennis state titles 17 times.Since Red River High School was established in 1967, they have pretty much had a stranglehold on tennis for both boys and girls.
Over the last 50 years, Red River High has won 49 total state titles in tennis while all other high schools have combined to win 51 titles.
The boys’ team has claimed 27 championships while the girls have won 22 championships. The two teams have swept the state titles 17 times, including winning 13 straight from 2002-14.
Ohio: Archbishop Moeller High School
The Archbishop Moeller football team in 2015.City: Cincinnati
Year opened: 1960
Type of school: Private
Archbishop Moeller High School Facts
Moeller has one of the best high school sports programs in America.Tuition: $13,850
Enrollment: 880
Best sports: Football and baseball
Bottom Line: Archbishop Moeller High School
Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. played at Archbishop Moeller.Pick out the standout sport for most schools is easy. But that’s not the case with Archbishop Moeller due to its success in both football and baseball.
The gridiron gang has racked up nine state titles and five national championships that came in the 1970s and 1980s. Only three other high school in the country have claimed more national titles in football than Moeller’s five.
The baseball team is one behind the football team in state titles with eight, and the alumni to come from the diamond are unrivaled. Barry Larkin is a local product who went from Moeller to the Reds to the Hall of Fame. But he's not even the best player from the school. Ken Griffey Jr. succeeded Larkin at Moeller and was named the high school baseball player of the year in 1987.
Oklahoma: Broken Arrow High School
Broken Arrow has collected a lot of wins in wrestling.City: Broken Arrow
Year opened: 1904
Type of school: Public
Broken Arrow High School Facts
Broken Arrow has great wrestling teams every season.Enrollment: 3,853
Best sport: Wrestling
Bottom Line: Broken Arrow High School
Broken Arrow High's wrestling facilities are better than most Division I colleges.Oklahoma State dominates the amateur wrestling scene and has won 34 NCAA championships, so it's no surprise that Broken Arrow, about an hour’s drive from OSU, dominates the high school wrestling scene.
Broken Arrow High School has won 16 team state championships and 61 individual state championships in high school wrestling.
All of the other boys’ sports at the school have combined for just 11 state titles since Broken Arrow devotes most of its resources to the wrestling team. Its practice facility has more than 9,000 square feet of wrestling mats, rivaling that of Penn State, which has won eight NCAA wrestling championships.
Oregon: Central Catholic High School
Central Catholic has won many races in its history.City: Portland
Year opened: 1939
Type of school: Private
Central Catholic High School Facts
Central Catholic has a strong girls cross-country team.Tuition: $18,200
Enrollment: 921
Best sport: Cross country
Bottom Line: Central Catholic High School
The debate around the greatest long-distance runner in Oregon history comes down to Galen Rupp and Steve Prefontaine.Running is the unofficial state sport of Oregon, with its distinguished history in track and field, and Nike headquartered in Beaverton. In recent years, Central Catholic has surged to the top of the list when it comes to cross-country programs, and two-time Olympic medalist Galen Rupp deserves much of that credit.
Rupp helped Central Catholic win its first ever cross-country state championship in 2003, and the school has won nine more since then.
While in high school, Rupp broke the U.S. high school record for the 3000 meters race, and Central Catholic benefitted from the increased exposure. Since 2003, the school has won as many cross-country state titles (10) as it has won in every other sport combined.
Pennsylvania: St. Joseph’s Preparatory School
St. Joseph's Prep rowers.City: Philadelphia
Year opened: 1851
Type of school: Private
St. Joseph’s Preparatory School Facts
Crew is a year-round sport at St. Joseph's.Tuition: $23,900
Enrollment: 890
Best sport: Crew
Bottom Line: St. Joseph's Preparatory School
Crew is not a traditional high school sport, but that hasn't stopped St. Joseph's Prep from winning all the time.Crew, or rowing, isn’t a national sport in the high school system, but it is popular in the Northeast. At St. Joseph's Prep, crew is almost a year-round sport as the boys' crew team practices for 10 months a year.
That practice has paid off as the team has won the Stotesbury Cup 11 times. The Cup is the world’s oldest and largest high school rowing competition and has competing crews from across North America.
St. Joseph's also isn’t too shabby in football, as that program has won 15 titles in the Philadelphia Catholic League, which comprises 18 Catholic high schools in the Philadelphia area.
Rhode Island: La Salle Academy
The La Salle football team in 2017.City: Providence
Year opened: 1871
Type of school: Private
La Salle Academy Facts
La Salle's gymnastics team won 10 straight state titles from 2003 to 2012.Tuition: $15,400
Enrollment: 1,560 (6-12)
Best sport: Football, gymnastics, lacrosse
Bottom Line: La Salle Academy
La Salle Academy's boys lacrosse team won seven straight state titles from 2012 to 2018.Whenever the La Salle Rams reach the mountaintop, they usually stay there a while. They are renowned for their three-peats, four-peats and 17-peats. They won 17 straight football state titles in the 1930s and '40s and have won 33 state championships in all.
Their gymnastics team also multi-peated to the tune of 10 consecutive state titles from 2003 to 2012.
The boys’ lacrosse team won seven straight state titles from 2012 to 2018 while the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams won every state title from 2001 to 2005.
La Salle may be the big fish in the small pond of Rhode Island, but they’ve also won several New England Championships, which came against the top schools from the six most northeastern U.S. states.
South Carolina: Bishop England
The 2018 Bishop England girls volleyball team.City: Charleston
Year opened: 1915
Type of school: Private
Bishop England Facts
Bishop England is a volleyball powerhouse.Tuition: $9,900
Enrollment: 730
Best sport: Volleyball
Bottom Line: Bishop England
Bishop England won 18 straight volleyball state titles from 2001 to 2018.High school seniors are 17 to 18 years old. So when Bishop England’s run of 18 straight volleyball state titles came to an end in 2018, most players weren’t born when the streak began. Still, the Bishop England Battling Bishops hold the national record of 28 state championships in volleyball.
The school has 145 state titles in all through 2018, and it has won 17 straight South Carolina Director’s Cups.
Being the football-crazed state that South Carolina is, the football team also has claimed two state titles, winning them back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.
South Dakota: Washington High School
The Washington Warriors celebrate another football win.City: Sioux Falls
Year opened: 1908
Type of school: Public
Washington High School Facts
Washington football games are the place to be in Sioux Falls.Enrollment: 1,949
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Washington High School
Washington High School won at least one state title in football in every decade from the 1890s through the 1980s.The high school football program that has won the most state championships of all time doesn’t reside in Texas. Or California. Or Florida. It resides in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Washington High has 42 state titles to its name. When you think of football in South Dakota, you may think we are referring to six-man, eight-man or nine-man football, but these 42 championships came in 11-man football. Just three other schools in the country have won at least 30 state titles.
Since its debut in 1899, Washington High won football titles in every decade through the 1970s. After winning in 1976, they then had a 23-year drought before regaining their status as the best football program in the state.
The Washington Warriors have won six state titles since 2009, and their total of 42 are 10 more than the second-place school (Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas).
Tennessee: Baylor School
Baylor School is located halfway between Nashville and Atlanta, an area rich with football talent.City: Chattanooga
Year opened: 1893
Type of school: Private
Baylor School Facts
Baylor teams have state-of-the-art practice facilities and play on two of the finest golf courses in Tennessee.Tuition: $50,300 (boarding), $24,700 (day)
Enrollment: 1,040 (6-12)
Best sport: Golf
Bottom Line: Baylor School
Baylor had a tradition of golf champions.Not to be confused with Baylor University, Baylor School is located about halfway between Nashville and Atlanta.
The athletic facilities at Baylor School rival those at its university namesake as well as many other Division I programs. On the Baylor School campus is a tennis center that has 19 courts, an aquatic center with an Olympic-sized swimming pool and even a six-hole short course for the golf team.
That course has propelled the boys' and girls' golf teams to 36 combined state championships over the last 30 years.
Texas: Allen High School
An Allen football player scores a touchdown.City: Allen
Year opened: 1910
Type of school: Public
Allen High School Facts
Kyler Murray is a legendary Allen quarterback.Enrollment: 5,100
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Allen High School
Allen High quarterback Kyler Murray went on to win a Heisman Trophy and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.Kyler Murray won the 2018 Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma, but prior to that, many considered Murray the greatest Texas high school football player ever. He earned that title at Allen High School, which is just outside of Dallas.
Murray was a perfect 42-0 as a starter at Allen, and the team won three straight state championships, making them the first 6A school in the state to accomplish that feat.
Showing just how much the football team means to the city of Allen, the Allen Independent School District constructed a $60 million stadium for the sole purpose of hosting Allen football games.
Eagle Stadium seats 18,000 and is the largest high school stadium in Texas that is designed for the use of a single team.
Utah: Highland High School
The Highland rugby team, in black and gray, against United for the 2010 USA national championship.City: Salt Lake City
Year opened: 1956
Type of school: Public
Highland High School Facts
Highland rugby players.Enrollment: 1,682
Best sport: Rugby
Bottom Line: Highland High School
Highland High School rugby coach Larry Gelwix and his teams were the subject of a movie.According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, just five states fielded rugby teams during the 2017-18 school year. One of those is Utah, which sponsors a competitive rugby union league that Highland High dominated.
Actually, "dominated" is an understatement as the Highland Rams won the national high school championship 20 times between 1985 and 2011. They were so great that they were the only high school team in the Western Hemisphere invited to play in the World Schools Rugby Championship in Zimbabwe in 1998. They won the bronze medal and even had a film, "Forever Strong," based on the accomplishments of the team.
After its legendary coach, Larry Gelwix, retired in 2011, the rugby team became a rugby club and foundation that no longer competes competitively.
Vermont: Arlington Memorial High School
The Arlington Memorial soccer team in action.City: Arlington
Year opened: 1941
Type of school: Public
Arlington Memorial High School Facts
An Arlington soccer player.Enrollment: 220 (6-12)
Best sport: Soccer
Bottom Line: Arlington Memorial High School
Soccer is one of the most popular high school sports in Vermont, and Arlington Memorial is really good at it.When it comes to heavyweight sports such as football and basketball, Vermont is the least-represented states in the major sports leagues. It has produced just seven NFL players and one NBA player, all-time, and both of those are the fewest of any sport.
But soccer is a popular and thriving sport in "The Green Mountain State," and the Arlington Eagles have developed highly successful boys and girls soccer programs. Both teams have been competing neck-and-neck for supremacy as they each have won eight state championships, including dual titles in 2018. It was the boys’ first title since 1995 while the girls repeated after also winning in 2017.
Virginia: Hampton High School
Hampton, in red and white, takes on Bethel in a 2017 high school football game.City: Hampton
Year opened: 1875
Type of school: Public
Hampton High School Facts
A Hampton football team gets ready to play a game.Enrollment: 1,479
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Hampton High School
Hampton High won a pair of national titles in football in 1996 and 1997.Virginia is the most populous state without a major sports team, but football is the most popular sport.
Hampton High has become a football powerhouse over the years, both within the state and nationally. Entering the 2020 season, it had won 843 games, tied with Highland Park in Texas for the sixth-most of any high school, and claimed two national championships during the 1990s.
Hampton also has 10 state titles, and outside of the military academies in Virginia, no other high school has produced more NFL players than Hampton High with 12 players.
Washington: James A. Garfield High School
The Garfield basketball team was the 2018 3A state champs.City: Seattle
Year opened: 1920
Type of school: Public
James A. Garfield High School Facts
The Garfield girls basketball team celebrates.Enrollment: 1,712
Best sport: Basketball
Bottom Line: James A. Garfield High School
Garfield High School is a basketball powerhouse in rainy Washington.With its rainy climate, the most popular sports in Washington are those that take place indoors, and the state has become a hotbed for pro basketball players.
Garfield High has emerged as the cream of the crop when it comes to prep basketball. Look at their 14 state championships, the most in Washington history.
Garfield has produced many standout athletes, including former NBA star Brandon Roy and women’s basketball star Joyce Walker, who became the third woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson High School
The Wilson Tigers baseball team.City: Washington D.C.
Year opened: 1935
Type of school: Public
Woodrow Wilson High School Facts
Wilson has had a lot of great baseball teams.Enrollment: 1,829
Best sport: Baseball
Bottom Line: Woodrow Wilson High School
Woodrow Wilson High plays baseball in the nation's capital.Of all of the major sports, by far the hardest one to go undefeated in is baseball. There’s just so many games that you are bound to slip up once or twice — unless you are Woodrow Wilson High in the nation’s capital.
The baseball team at the school has not lost a league game since 1999. The team has 21 straight undefeated seasons in the DCIAA, Washington's school sports league, along with 27 straight D.C. championships.
The school plays by the rules, but the school doesn’t look like many others in the area in terms of demographics. It also benefits from great athletic facilities.
"They’ve got a cage and a machine," John Capozzi, the parent of a player from a rival school, told Deadspin. "McKinley [High] doesn’t even have a baseball field. Wilson players can practice hitting whenever they want. [McKinley] didn’t have one batting practice session before the season started. I swear there’s people on our team that have never been to a batting cage."
West Virginia: Parkersburg High School
The Parkersburg football team in 2014.City: Parkersburg
Year opened: 1867
Type of school: Public
Parkersburg High School Facts
A Parkersburg player gets ready to make a play.Enrollment: 1,783
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Parkersburg High School
Parkersburg High has won twice as many state titles as any other school in West Virginia.A decade ago, ESPN ran a summer special searching for the unofficial Titletown in the United States. Valdosta, Georgia, won the poll, but Parkersburg, West Virginia, was the runner-up based on the strength of their namesake high school.
The Parkersburg Big Reds have won twice as many state titles as any other high school in West Virginia.
The state of West Virginia is known for its affinity to wrestling, but the crown jewel of Parkersburg High is its football program. The football team has won 17 state titles, the most in the state, and was the eighth-winningest high school football program of all time through the 2019 season.
Wisconsin: Marquette University High School
The Marquette soccer team prepares for a game in 2016.City: Milwaukee
Year opened: 1857
Type of school: Private
Marquette University High School Facts
Marquette celebrates another state title.Tuition: $13,525
Enrollment: 1,028
Best sport: Soccer
Bottom Line: Marquette University High School
Marquette University High School is, big surprise, adjacent to the actual Marquette University.On the outskirts of Marquette University’s campus, Marquette University High School has won over 130 state championships since opening in 1857. The school's success has spanned multiple sports — winning five state titles in lacrosse, nine in volleyball and 19 in track and field.
But its most successful program is soccer as the boys have won 24 state championships. That includes a decade of utter dominance, winning 10 straight from 1994 to 2003.
The MUHS Hilltoppers soccer team also was ranked the No. 1 team in the country twice by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Wyoming: Sheridan High School
Sheridan won the Wyoming state 4A football title in 2015.City: Sheridan
Year opened: 1892
Type of school: Public
Sheridan High School Facts
The Sheridan football team runs out on the field.Enrollment: 973
Best sport: Football
Bottom Line: Sheridan High School
Sheridan High's football team has won more state titles than any school in Wyoming.Wyoming is one of the 11 states which fields six-man football teams, but the Sheridan High School squad is your typical 11-man football team.
Sheridan has had two eras of dominance on the way to its 26 state titles, which is the most in Wyoming. The school won 14 titles from 1921 to 1958 and then had a 23-year drought without any championships.
It regained its winning form in 1982 and have won another 12 titles since then.