The Process: Six Schools Emerge At The Top Of Our Ranking System

We got a little bit curious the other day.   We know that we've ranked thousands of players from schools in every corner of the state since 2020. Our question was, which schools have had the most players ranked?   Fortunately, with an incredible archive and enough free time as the summer starts to do a little math, we've got some answers. Some of them are obvious, and some of them are a little surprising.   More than a dozen programs statewide have had 20 individual players ranked, with 13 schools meeting that standard. A couple more are very close, with Byrnes and Spartanburg in particular knocked off that 20-player mark by transfers who "officialy" counted at a different school by their senior year. When you expand the ranked players mark to 15 all time, more than 20 schools are included in the calculations.   At the very top, though, six programs (two tied for fifth place) have recorded more ranked players in our system than any others. Dutch Fork leads the way with 33, followed by South Pointe with 32, Summerville with 30, and Northwestern with 25. Oceanside Collegiate and Greenville are tied for the fifth spot with 24 ranked players each.   This month, we'll take an in-depth look at each of those programs and the players who helped shoot them to the top of the rankings. But right now, let's take a look at a few of the things they have in common.   On-Field Success   First of all, these teams are really, REALLY good. Since the 2020 season (the last for senior players in our 2021 Class, the six schools who have produced the most ranked athletes have a combined record of 227-60, a staggering .790 winning percentage. Further, they've accounted for five of the 20 possible state titles in that timeframe, along with three more appearances in a title game, six semifinal spots, and five quarterfinal berths. They're on the short list of teams who will be playing deep into November (and usually December) every season, and with the exception of relative newcomer Oceanside Collegiate, they've got a long, institutional tradition of success to draw upon.   Individual Talent   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>School</td><td>Total Ranked Players</td><td>Top Ranked Player (All-Time)</td><td>Top Ranked Player (Current)</td></tr><tr><td>Dutch Fork</td><td>33</td><td>Jarvis Green RB (No. 4, 2023)</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1012706' first='Josh' last='Smith'] OL (No. 14, 2025)</td></tr><tr><td>South Pointe</td><td>32</td><td>O'Mega Blake WR (No 11, 2021)</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='212416' first='J'Zavien' last='Currence'] ATH (No. 2, 2026)</td></tr><tr><td>Summerville</td><td>30</td><td>Yannick Smith WR (No. 20, 2024)</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='378969' first='Jaiden' last='Kelly-Murray'] ATH (No. 1, 2027)</td></tr><tr><td>Northwestern</td><td>25</td><td>Jordan Knox OL (No. 6, 2023</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] QB (No. 12, 2025)</td></tr><tr><td>Oceanside Collegiate</td><td>24</td><td>Monroe Freeling OL (No. 1, 2022)</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1094944' first='Aiden' last='Manavian'] QB (No. 8, 2027)</td></tr><tr><td>Greenville</td><td>24</td><td>Collin Sadler OL (No. 4, 2022)</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='390438' first='Ramani' last='Bruton'] DB (No. 20, 2025)</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The top six programs in the history of the Prep Redzone South Carolina Rankings are shown above, along with the player achieving the highest all-time ranking, as well as the player currently ranked highest from the program.</figcaption></figure>   To amass more than two dozen ranked players since 2020, each school on this list has unquestionable talent, and it's not just at the top of the rankings. However, that talent at the top is undeniable. In the four complete classes since the 2020-2021 season, the six teams at the top have made their marks at the head of the class. Four Top-Five players have emerged from the six programs, along with three more Top 10 guys and seven more ranked in the Top 20 of their year's final rankings. One of those guys, Oceanside Collegiate's Monroe Freeling, was the top-ranked player in his class. He's now playing at the University of Georgia.    Involved Promotion   This one might seem self-explanatory, but it's not as obvious as it sounds. We think we've got the most talented group anywhere tasked with watching programs and players. We also realize that on any given Friday night, we're able to see 12 teams, tops. We try not to duplicate the teams we see until region play starts at the earliest, but with big games that have to be covered, that brings duplication into play and decreases the number of unique teams we're able to watch even further. That's where HUDL comes in. The more players post, the better chance we can get eyes on them. Want to tag us in your highlights? Go for it. There's no way we'll complain about too much information. Some teams do a much better job of it than others.   Then there's social media and email. That's another area where some programs and coaches are much more involved. We'll use one of our Top Six as an example: former Greenville High coach Greg Porter, who's now at Laurens, did a great job promoting his players. Tweets, re-tweets, support for every athletic program at the school, and an active social media presence made Porter a promotion machine, a sportswriter's best friend, and a very easy coach to cover. He got a BUNCH of eyes on his players, too.   There's no magic formula to our rankings. But the six schools who have emerged at the top don't seem to be going away any time soon.

We got a little bit curious the other day.