COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – The Junior Division Executive Committee of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) has announced February Power Rankings for Varsity and Prep levels of play.

Junior Division teams fought off tournament cancellations and rescheduling due to winter weather to roll into great competitions in January and February. In the Varsity ranks, the defending National Champion Lakeshore Lakers served notice at the Big Peach Slam Jam and Music City Madness Tournaments, rounding into form. Lakeshore beat all comers in Atlanta and Nashville to take over the top spot in the rankings.  Action also afforded the Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets a chance to solidify their position at number two with wins over the powerful Bennett Blazers and New York Fury.  Outside the top four, teams jockeyed for position as the Courage Kenny Timberwolves, LWSRA Hawks, KC Kings, and Utah Rush served notice that they will compete hard in the upcoming National Tournament and can play with anyone.  This month’s Power Rankings also reveal the depth of the Junior Division with second squads from LWSRA and Kansas City firmly entrenched as NIT teams and the second Dallas team ready to capitalize on the expanded Varsity field at this year’s NWBA Junior Wheelchair Basketball National Championships in April.   

In the prep division, the LWSRA Synergy Hawks and ATX continue their amazing seasons with undefeated records leaving them tied atop the division rankings. In third, the Mary Free Bed Jr Pacers have also had a remarkable season. A strong team from Dallas sits fourth in the rankings with losses coming only to top-ranked ATX and a strong, but less consistent ninth-ranked BlazeSports Hawks team. Strong teams from Baltimore, New York, and Wisconsin sit just outside the top four and promise an exciting draw for the upcoming National Tournament. 

The top 16 ranked Varsity teams will be invited to play in the NWBA Varsity Wheelchair Basketball National Championships. Varsity teams ranked 17-36 may receive an invite to participate in the NWBA Varsity Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament.

The top 16 ranked teams from Prep are offered an invitation to participate in the NWBA Prep Wheelchair Basketball National Championships. If a team does not accept their bid for postseason play, invitations will be sent to the next team, in order of ranking, until all tournaments are filled with teams. 

The rankings are developed monthly by the Junior Division Ranking Working Group, a diverse group of team representatives and coaches within the Junior Division. For any questions, please reach out to the Junior Division Executive Committee (nwba.org/juniordivision)