COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – The Junior Division Executive Committee has announced the 2019-20 January’s Rankings for Varsity and Prep. These are the third set of power rankings released for the Junior Division for the 2019-20 season. 

The top 16 ranked teams for Varsity will earn an invite to play in the Toyota NWBA Varsity Wheelchair Basketball National Championships. Teams ranked 17-32 will receive an invite to participate in the Toyota NWBA Varsity Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. If a team does not accept their bid for postseason play, invitations will be sent to the next team, in order of ranking, until both tournaments are filled.

Varsity Overview

WASA continues to dominate at the top of the ranking, while Houston TIRR’s strong performance at the Peach Slam in Atlanta recaptured the number 2 ranking and Nebraska’s wins over LWSRA and Cincinnati put them in the top four. At the Katie Kirlin Regional Qualifier Tournament in Philadelphia, several teams played shorthanded, fueling upsets that jostled positioning of Eastern Conference teams. In the final, Katie’s Komets pulled off a major upset over the RMF Trojans providing the impetus for the Komets to jump five spots in the rankings.

As teams make plans for the 2020 NWBA Toyota Junior Division Wheelchair Basketball Championship Series in Wichita, the Rockford Chariots, Sportability Rolling Panthers, and Kansas City Kings sit on the bubble still very much alive in the race for a tournament bid.

Prep Overview

Dave Elbert, Head of the Junior Rankings Committee, sends this statement regarding the previous rankings: 

"I want to extend my thanks to several members of the Junior Division for pointing out that on January 30th we posted an erroneous ranking list for the Prep Division.  As head of the Rankings Committee I sincerely apologize for this mistake and take responsibility for not fully managing scores and the complete commentary of the Committee during my push to get rankings out on time. We all know how important rankings are to the community and our Committee works hard to get them right and be as transparent as possible.  When we do make mistakes, our focus is to fix them as quickly as possible and I am happy to explain the rationale behind any team’s ranking if a coach or team rep is further concerned.

We have one more ranking before bids are decided for Nationals this year.  I hope the focus can now go back to basketball and helping our Junior Division athletes be their best."  

The prep rankings below reflect the updated changes. 

Bennett continues its undefeated season and grip on the top spot, but the Chicago Skyhawks and Lakeshore Sharks had strong showings in January to climb closer and highlight how bright the future is in the Junior Division. 

January Junior Varsity Power Rankings

1. WASA Bucks

2. Houston

3. BlazeSports Jr. Hawks - Red

4. Nebraska Red Dawgs

5. Cincinnati Dragons

6. LWSRA Hawks

7. Minnesota

8. Seattle Jr. Sonics

9. ACC Cavaliers

10. Charlotte Rollin Hornets

11. Lakeshore Lakers

12. Chicago Skyhawks

13. Fairfax Falcons

14. BORP

15. Rancho Halos

16. ATX Austin

17. RHI Racers

18. RMF Trojans

19. Oklahoma City Thunder

20. Parasport Spokane

21. Motor City Wheelz 

22. DASA (St. Louis)

23. Dallas Mavs

24. Katie's Komets

25. Mad City Badgers

26. Bennett Blazers

27. Denver Jr. Nuggets

28. BlazeSports Jr. Hawks - White

29. UAH Chargers

30. San Diego Hammer

31. Synergy Junior Bulls

32. Music City Thunder

33. Rockford Chariots

34. SportAbility Rolling Panthers

35. Kansas City Kings

January Junior Prep Power Rankings

1. Bennett Blazers

2. BlazeSports Jr. Hawks

3. Nebraska Red Dawgs

4. Lakeshore Sharks

5. Chicago Skyhawks

6. Charlotte Prep - Purple

7. SportAbility Rolling Panthers

8. NY Rollling Fury

9. Mary Free Bed Jr. Pacers

10. Louisville Jr. Mustangs

11. LWSRA Hawks Prep

12. Minnesota Rolling Rowdies

13. STRAPS Stars

14. WASA Junior Bucks

15. KC Kings

16. Roger C. Peace

17. Motor City Wheelz Prep

18. RHI Jr. Racers

19. Dallas Jr. Mavs

20. GLASA G-Cats

21. Synergy Bulls