(Note: To see the complete list of schools and how they’re ranked, pick up the Preps issue of Mile High Sports. High School Rankings are based on performances in the calendar year 2025.)

What a joy it is to live in the Centennial State!

Sure, 300 days of sunshine. Snow where you want it (most years). Green fairways whenever the thermometer reads anything north of 40 degrees. Views for miles and miles and miles.

All reasons we live here – that is, if you’re into such nice things.

But you know what? Ski and golf all you want. Hike a 14er if you’d like. Or even make magic at Mile High, be cool at Coors or watch the ballers ball at Ball. It’s all good.

But… Give us a metal bleacher on crisp night under the lights at JeffCo Stadium. We’ll take a slice of shade anywhere inside Runyon Baseball Complex. Find our crew right behind the scorer’s table at Manual’s ThunderDome or The Pitt in Yuma.

Take us where the kids play.

There, we’ll keep a close eye on who’s who, which teams are doing what, and what stories are worthy of our annual Preps Issue.

And next year, we’ll do it all over again. Gladly.

…

The Formula

For 23 years now, we’ve been charting Colorado’s high school athletic programs by using our famed “High School Rankings” – a list, born of a formula that’s miraculously stood the test of time.
The math doesn’t lie.
Back in the day, we set forth to create a mathematic equation of sorts designed to fairly evaluate which Colorado schools are the best at sports. We didn’t – and still don’t – care about the size of the school, or whether it’s closer to the capital or to Kansas. All that ever mattered to us is how each school performed on the court, field, ice or diamond.
Our patent-pending equations offers no subjectivity, only objectivity.

Here it is — the math behind the madness:

(Number of Team State Qualifiers / Total Sports Participated In) x 25
+
(Number of Team State Runner-Up Finishes / Total Sports Participated In) x 75
+
(Number of Team State Champions / Total Sports Participated In) x 200
+
(Number of Individual State Champs / Total Sports Participated In) x 20
+
(Number of First-Team All-State Athletes / Total Sports Participated In) x 20
=
TOTAL SCORE

…

The List

Unlike the magazine, where we count from No. 1 and move up, throughout the week, we will be counting down the top 50 as they fell in our 2025 rankings.

50: Lake County Panthers
Class: 2A
Enrollment: 287
Score: 26.25
Last Year: No. 108 (+58)

49: Pomona Panthers
Class: 4A
Enrollment: 1133
Score: 26.43
Last Year: No. 34 (-15)

48: Cheyenne Wells Tigers
Class: 1A
Enrollment: 47
Score: 26.82
Last Year: No. 1 (-47)

47: Steamboat Springs Sailors
Class: 4A
Enrollment: 843
Score: 28.13
Last Year: No. 99 (+52)

46: Ralston Valley Mustangs
Class: 5A
Enrollment: 1843
Score: 28.60
Last Year: No. 65 (+19)

45: Eaglecrest Raptors
Class: 5A
Enrollment: 3077
Score: 29.38
Last Year: No. 104 (+59)

44: Cherokee Trail Cougars
Class: 5A
Enrollment: 2928
Score: 29.60
Last Year: No. 46 (+2)

41 (tie): Kim/Branson Mustangs
Class: 1A
Enrollment: 40
Score: 30.00
Last Year: No. 175 (+134)

41 (tie): Frontier Academy Wolverines
Class: 3A
Enrollment: 353
Score: 30.00
Last Year: No. 139 (+98)

41 (tie): Ridgeway Demons
Class: 2A
Enrollment: 106
Score: 30.00
Last Year: No. 175 (+134)