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We have our weekly to the 2026 VA/DC Power 25, this one being the fifth overall update.  In 2025, the Virginia High School League pushed the season start and finish back one week, which has created some stark differences in where public and private teams are at in their season. Without further ado, we are going to highlight a few teams that have seen some movement in the Power 25. See some discussion on the Power 25 and many other topics on the most recent episode of High & Tight.

VA/DC Power 25 Update Notes

+ A week that was primed for Paul VI to jump Atlee for the top spot will not see that happen this week.

• While Paul VI swept Gonzaga in convincing fashion early in the week, the Panthers lost two out of three to Bishop O'Connell for the WCAC Championship series.
• While there were no quality wins to move the needle a lot, Miller School won their conference tournament as they prepare for the VISAA DI tournament this week.
• STAB lost a game to Benedictine last week. It was not necessarily a "bad loss", but it certainly dings the resume just a touch, potentially enough to push them into their #4 seed in VISAA DI.
• Bishop O'Connell had a really really strong week. They swept OLGC (MD) early in the week before moving on to the championship series versus Paul VI. The Knights were down to their last three outs in game two before scoring two in the bottom of the eighth to even the series. DJO would go on to win game three, and the series, with a 5-2 win on Sunday. 
• MSA, Paul VI, DJO, and STAB are the top four teams as we head into the VISAA DI tournament this week. As long as the top four win their quarterfinal games, this could set up to be one of the best, and most competitive, VISAA tournaments in recent memory.

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+ Independence adds another quality, yet closely contested win over Battlefield last week. They are a really offensive team, and while they need to figure out some of the pitching staff concerns, the lineup has depth and the pitching staff is in good hands with senior backstop Aidan Spagna (Boston College). Battlefield has some similar positives and negatives. The offense can get hot at any point and time and score runs in a hurry, but the pitching staff has been prone to give those runs right back in a hurry. If Josh Gunning comes back and can contribute a few innings a week, this team could see an uptick in production on the mound, especially in the big games.

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 + Madison and Centreville split the regular season meetings, with each team winning on the road. Madison won 8-5 two weeks ago, while Michael Gambone was on the warpath last week and dealt 6.2 shutout innings and struck out 14. Gambone certainly has to be the frontrunner for the Concorde District Player of the Year. Both of these teams are setup for success in the postseason, but in this district, anything can happen.

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 + Our staff has taken a deep dive into quality wins, strength of schedule, and much more this week. We have included some of that in this Power 25 release. The transitive property fallacy just does not work. Team A beats Team B and Team B beats Team C, so Team A has to be better than Team C. No, it does not work like that. There are too many factors. How many games did they have that week? Which arms threw versus those teams? There are too many varying factors to just imply that. A couple of separating factors:

• How many games have you played versus quality opponents?
• Have you won those games (or at least the fair number of those)?
• How bad are your losses? Bad losses (non-Top 50) are just as important to avoid as good wins.
• It is good to play tough schedules, but you have to win those games.
• Contrary to the previous point, some teams do not have the choice but to play bad schedules (dictated by school/district/etc). If you play a bad schedule, you have little to no room for "error".
• This group has a top 12-15 group of teams that can see some significant movement over the next few weeks because the level of opponent should pick up very soon. That opportunity to secure Tier 1 wins will allow some movement, especially with the Private School season ending.

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VIRGINIA/DC 2026 POWER 25

*5/11/26*

Rank	Prev	High School	Level	Record	Vs. Top 50 (VA)
1	1	Atlee HS	VHSL Class 4	14-1	5-1
2	4	Miller School	VISAA DI	27-8	12-4
3	3	St. Anne's-Belfield	VISAA DI	25-4-1	13-3
4	5	Cox HS	VHSL Class 5	16-1	6-1
5	2	Paul VI Catholic	VISAA DI/WCAC	25-6	8-4
6	8	Bishop O'Connell	VISAA DI/WCAC	22-5	5-4
7	6	Independence HS	VHSL Class 6	17-2	3-1
8	7	Abingdon HS	VHSL Class 3	17-0	2-0
9	10	James River (Midlo) HS	VHSL Class 5	15-1	3-1
10	9	Madison HS	VHSL Class 6	16-2-1	2-1
11	11	Greenbrier Christian	VISAA DII	25-5	4-4
12	12	Western Branch HS	VHSL Class 6	15-4	4-1
13	13	Mills Godwin HS	VHSL Class 5	15-3	4-2
14	17	Centreville	VHSL Class 6	17-3	4-1
15	14	Great Bridge HS	VHSL Class 5	12-4	1-3
16	15	Glen Allen HS	VHSL Class 5	12-3	3-3
17	18	Lake Braddock HS	VHSL Class 6	18-1	2-0
18	16	Manchester HS	VHSL Class 6	14-2	2-2
19	19	New Kent HS	VHSL Class 3	15-2	2-1
20	20	Jefferson Forest HS	VHSL Class 4	16-1	2-1
21	24	Franklin County HS	VHSL Class 5	15-2	2-1
22	25	Ocean Lakes HS	VHSL Class 5	13-4	1-3
23	NR	Cosby HS	VHSL Class 6	13-3	4-3
24	22	Highland School	VISAA DII	17-9	4-5
25	21	Walsingham	VISAA DIII	22-6	4-4

Just A Bit Outside: Kellam (13-3), Riverbend (15-5), Dinwiddie (17-2), Spotswood (14-3), John Battle (14-3)

Dropped Out: Liberty Christian (11-5)