The voting could not have been closer in the latest installment of the National Prep Poll as the #1 team in the country was decided by one vote and three different teams came up exactly even in the voting for the fourth spot.

#1 Patterson School – Lenoir, North Carolina,

Overall Record 27-2, 48 Points, 3 First Place Votes

#2 Hargrave Military Academy – Chatham, Virginia

Overall Record 19-1, 47 Points, 2 First Place Votes

#3 Notre Dame Prep – Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Overall Record 22-4, 40 Points

#4 (Tied) Brewster Academy – Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

Overall Record 17-7, 29 points

#4 (Tied) Bridgton Academy – North Bridgton, Maine

Overall Record 16-5, 29 points

#4 (Tied) South Kent School – South Kent, Connecticut

Overall Record 17-5, 29 points

#7 Winchendon School – Winchendon, Massachusetts

Overall Record 16-7, 21 points

#8 Tilton School – Tilton, New Hampshire

Overall Record 16-2, 12 points

#9 Charis Prep – Wilson, North Carolina

Overall Record 31-3, 10 points

#10 Northfield Mount Hermon – Northfield, Massachusetts

Overall Record 16-6, 3 points

Others Receiving Votes: Blair Academy (2); New Hampton School (2); St. Thomas More School (2); Fork Union Military Academy (1)

* The top 8 teams in the final poll of the year will advance to the National Prep Championship to be held on Monday, March 9th and Tuesday, March 10th at Endicott College in Beverly, MA

** Listed records are as of the time voting began in the middle of last week.  Wednesday and weekend games were not considered in this poll.

The new year brings an updated edition of the National Prep Poll…and the nation has a new top ranked team.

#1 Patterson School – Lenoir, North Carolina, 20-0, 50 points, Five 1^st place votes

Chris Chaney’s squad earned all five first place votes after knocking off Hargrave 79-76 in an early December match-up. Patterson has fire power at all five positions with the likes of Rashanti Harris, Clarence Trent, and Arsalan Kazemi on their frontline and DeAndre Kane and Hunter McClintock in the backcourt.

#2 Hargrave Military Academy – Chatham, Virginia, 12-1, 45 Points

Previously unbeaten and top ranked Hargrave Military Academy slips to the second spot. Despite their loss to Patterson they already have a handful of quality wins against Winchendon, Bridgton, New Hampton, and Fork Union. And you can bet Kevin Keatts n’company are hoping for a rematch with Patterson in the national championship game.

#3 Notre Dame Prep – Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 14-2, 40 Points

Notre Dame is one of the hottest teams in the country right now having won seven straight and not lost a game since November. Johnnie Lacey and James Southerland have led the charge for Ryan Hurd’s club as they’ve recently knocked off Brewster (twice), South Kent, St. Thomas More, Lee Academy, Massanutten, South Kent, and IMG.

#4 Bridgton Academy – North Bridgton, Maine, 11-2, 31 Points

Despite falling to Hargrave on a buzzer beater, Whit Lesure’s club used the National Prep Showcase as a way to make a statement to the rest of the country…they’re back and once again one of the nation’s best. Their only other loss came in a trip to Fork Union but they have impressive wins over Winchendon, New Hampton, and Lee Academy.

#5 Northfield Mount Hermon School – Northfield, Massachusetts, 9-1, 30 Points

Their only loss of the season came to St. Mark’s without head coach John Carroll as he was sidelined with pheumonia. They earned retribution by claiming victory in the rematch last week behind another big performance from Mike Marra. Other quality wins include a 30 point pounding of Fork Union and road wins at Blair and St. Thomas More.

#6 South Kent School – South Kent, Connecticut, 7-2, 25 Points

First year head coach Kelvin Jefferson is making his presence felt in a hurry as his team is competing hard on both ends. South Kent already has wins over Apex, MCI, Stoneridge, and St. Thomas More and their only losses came to top ranked Patterson and #3 Notre Dame by three.

#7 Tilton School – Tilton, New Hampshire, 10-0, 21 Points

Class B’s premier team hammered MCI, got a second class A win over Exeter, and then knocked off Marianapolis with Oriakhi out of action. Match-ups with Winchendon, Brewster, South Kent, St. Thomas More and New Hampton loom in the new year, but Oriakhi, Jamal Coombs, and Gerard Coleman might just be up to the task.

#8 Winchendon School – Winchendon, Massachusetts, 6-4, 13 Points

Losses to Lee Academy on opening night and most recently to Marianapolis Prep have been small set backs, but Mike Byrnes’ teams always peek at the right time and you can bet he’ll have a group featuring Jordan Henriquez, Sampson Carter, Eric Ferguson, and Yves Jules ready to be contenders come the first weekend in March.

#9 Fork Union Military Academy – Fork Union, Virginia, 6-3, 8 Points

Fletcher Arritt’s squad has been the story of the season thus far as they’ve scored victories over Brewster and Bridgton. You gotta love watching this team of over-achievers as they fight with everything they have and put out a production that exceeds the sum of their parts.

#10 Brewster Academy – Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, 7-5, 6 Points

The nation’s 2nd ranked pre-season team is off to a slow start by their standards, but they’ve got too much talent and pride to let anyone take their NEPSAC crowns without a fight. With the likes of Thomas Robinson, Andrew Fitzgerald, Givon Crump, and Naadir Tharpe on board, Jason Smith will have them running on all cylinders come March.

Others Receiving Votes: St. Mark’s School, 4 points; Blair Academy, 2 points

Dropped Out: Stoneridge Prep, 7^th Place Pre-Season Poll; St. Mark’s School, 8^th Place Pre-Season Poll; St. Thomas More, 9^th Place Pre-Season Poll; New Hampton School, 10^th Place Pre-Season Poll

The top three teams in the country are unanimous according to the five voting members of the National Prep Poll as Hargrave Military Academy, Brewster Academy, and Patterson School appear to be ahead of the field. But that’s where the consensus ends as each team has plenty to prove going into the season.

#1 Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Virginia), 48 points, 3 first place votes

The defending national champions retain the top spot to begin the season. Kevin Keatts’ squad is deep and talented. The perimeter has plenty of scorers led by Indiana bound guard Maurice Creek and future UMass Minuteman Freddie Riley. The frontline is versatile and athletic with one time Georgetown commit Chris Braswell now headed to Charlotte, Florida signee Deshawn Painter, and George Mason bound forward Luke Hancock. If everything holds to form, Hargrave could be cutting down their second set of nets in the last two years.

#2 Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire), 44 points, 2 first place votes

Jason Smith’s squad won the NEPSAC title last year and is considered by many to once again be the league’s pre-season favorite going into this season. With the interior tandem of Andrew Fitzgerald and Thomas Robinson, Brewster will be a force inside. If they can get consistent production from their backcourt, they could very well be cutting down two sets of nets in March.

#3 Patterson School (Lenoir, North Carolina), 43 points

Each and every year Chris Chaney produces one of the top post-graduate programs in the country. This year is no different as Patterson has fire power at virtually every position. Few programs will be able to match their depth on the frontline as Washington bound forward Clarence Trent and future Rice forward Arsalan Kazemi are joined by 6’8” Rashanti Harris (Georgia State), 6’11” Hassan Whiteside (Marshall), and 7’1” junior David Nyarsuk.

#4 Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Massachusetts), 31 points

Ryan Hurd begins his second year at the helm of the program that Bill Barton built. Barton and Michael Beasley rode off into the sunset after Notre Dame won the first official National Championship in 2007. Last year Hurd guided the team to the semi-finals of the national tournament. This year he has reloaded with a contingent of tough perimeter players including Johnnie Lacey, Sean Kilpatrick (Cincinnati), Antoine Allen (Providence), and James Southerland (Syracuse).

#5 Bridgton Academy (North Bridgton, Maine), 25 points

Last year was the first season since 2004 that Bridgton Academy did not come away with the NEPSAC crown. Whit Lesure’s squad also advanced to the finals of the 2007 National Prep Championship. This year they are looking to return to their winning ways as they have added a talented cast including Malik Stith , Carl Blair (New Orleans), Duane Smith (George Washington), Chad July (High Point), Kauri Black, and Jamal Crook

#6 South Kent School (South Kent, Connecticut), 22 points

Longtime division I assistant coach Kelvin Jefferson has taken over the South Kent program after former head coach Raphael Chillious accepted a job with Nike. But not much else has changed in South Kent as the Cardinals again have one of the most talented teams in the country. With Omari Lawrence (St. John’s), Kevin Parrom (Xaver), Lisandro Ruiz-Moreno (Miami), and many others in the mix, Jefferson should have all the pieces to make a run in the NEPSAC this year.

#7 Winchendon School (Winchendon, Massachusetts), 15 points

The Winchendon School advanced all the way to the NEPSAC finals last year and gave Brewster Academy all they could handle before eventually falling in overtime. This year, Mike Byrnes’ squad has noticeably more talent than a season before, beginning with Kansas State bound big man Jordan Henriquez. Yves Jules is likely to put up big numbers in the backcourt before heading to Hofstra next year, while Sampson Carter and Eric Ferguson will be productive on the wings.

#8 Stoneridge Prep (Simi Valley, California), 11 points

Babacar Sy’s team is the big question mark going into this season. On paper they have one of the most talented groups in the country. But with all but one of their players coming from over seas, they’ll have to prove it on the hardwood if they hope to be considered among the nation’s elite. 6’3” guard Mohamed Koita, 7’2” center Youssoupha Mbao, and 6’8” Banjda Sy are all being recruited at the highest levels at the moment.

#9 St. Mark’s School (Southborough, Massachusetts), 8 points

St. Mark’s returns virtually everyone from last season’s team that plowed their way through their schedule en route to a NEPSAC Class C Championship. Erik Murphy (Florida) and Nate Lubick (Georgetown) form as imposing of a 1-2 interior punch as there is in the country, but by virtue of their conference affiliation St. Mark’s won’t play as challenging of a schedule as the rest of the team’s on this list. Consequently, they’ll have to take advantage of their opportunities to impress the voters. The first comes this weekend as they face Findlay College Prep.

#10 St. Thomas More School (Oakdale, CT), 7 points

On paper, St. Thomas More may not have the same level of talent as some of the other teams earning spots in the poll. But never underestimate Jere Quinn’s ability to coach up a group of hard-working and skilled overachievers. Led by bruising big man Dan Jennings (West Virginia) and scoring wing (Anell Alexis), STM could very well surprise some people this year.

Others Receiving Votes – New Hampton School, 6 points; Tilton School, 6 points; Northfield Mount Hermon, 5 points; Worcester Academy, 4 points.