Preseason rankings are officially out for North Carolina, and Wake County Public Schools are making a strong showing across the board. Click the link below to see which WCPSS schools made the list.
HighSchoolOT has released their 2026 preseason Statewide Top 25 for boys cross country. Wake County Public Schools had five teams total in the top 25 with Broughton Boys Cross Country being the top team in WCPSS at No. 2.Â
No. 2 Broughton
No.6 Apex Friendship
No. 10 Green Hope
No. 15 Holly Springs
No. 23 Green Level
HighSchoolOT has released their 2026 preseason Statewide Top 25 for girls cross country. Wake County Public Schools had eight teams total in the top 25 with Green Level Girls Cross Country being the top team in WCPSS at No. 5.Â
No. 5 Green Level
No.7 Apex Friendship
No. 9 Panther CreekÂ
No. 10 Holly Springs
No. 12 Broughton
No. 22 Green Hope
No. 24 Apex
No. 25 Athens Drive
Three Wake County Public School System football teams will begin the 2026 season ranked among the top 25 programs in North Carolina.
Millbrook is the highest-ranked Wake County team at No. 9 in the MaxPreps preseason North Carolina Top 25. The Wildcats finished 13-1 last season, advancing to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 8A state championship game before falling to Hough.
Rolesville enters the season at No. 19 after posting a 9-4 record in 2025.
Garner follows closely at No. 22. The Trojans also finished last season 9-4, giving Wake County three teams that won at least nine games during the first season of the NCHSAA’s expanded eight-classification format.
WCPSS teams in the preseason MaxPreps Top 25:
No. 9 Millbrook — 13-1 in 2025
No. 19 Rolesville — 9-4
No. 22 Garner — 9-4
Millbrook will enter the fall attempting to make another championship run after coming within one victory of completing an undefeated season. Rolesville and Garner will look to build on successful 2025 campaigns and move further up the statewide football picture.
The three teams combined for 31 victories last season.
HighSchoolOT has released their 2026 preseason Statewide Top 25 for girls golf. Wake County Public Schools had fourteams total in the top 25 with Felton Grove Girls Golf being the top team in WCPSS at No. 6. Felton Grove opened last season and the Girls Golf Team is already No. 6 in the state!
No. 6 Felton Grove
No. 11 Green Hope
No. 17 Apex Friendship
No. 19 Green Level
Nine Wake County Public School System boys soccer teams will begin the 2026 season ranked among the top 25 programs in North Carolina. The highest ranked in Wake County is Wakefield at No. 3.Â
No. 3 Wakefield
No. 6 Middle Creek
No. 10 Athens Drive
No. 11 Green Hope
No. 14 Holly Springs
No. 15 RolesvilleÂ
No. 16 Leesville Road
No. 18 Heritage
No. 24 Broughton
HighSchoolOT has released their 2026 preseason Statewide Top 25 for girls tennis. Wake County Public Schools had five teams total in the top 25 with Broughton Girls Tennis being the top team in WCPSS at No. 3. Records shown are the final records last season.
No. 3 Broughton (18-2)
No. 8 Leesville Road (12-5)
No. 10 Millbrook (19-3)
No. 12 Panther Creek (13-2)
No. 13 Green Hope (11-5)
No. 17 Green Level (14-2)
Green Level has started their season strong after going 28-0 in 2025 and winning the NCHSAA 8A State Championship last season. Ranked No. 7 in the Fall 2026 Top 25 by Maxpreps the Gators are already undefeated going 7-0 so far on the season adding another win since the top 25 came out on Monday, August 24. The Gators look to repeat as back-to-back state champions.Â
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Wake Players to Watch by the NCVBCA
- Allison Albion – Needham Broughton High School
- Amelianna Brown – East Wake High School
- Andrea Quiroz – Apex High School
- Anna Knuffman – Needham Broughton High School
- Carrozza Savannah – Wakefield High School
- Cayden Edwards – Rolesville High School
- Chloe Burbage – Green Hope High School
- Davis Smith – Needham Broughton High School
- lla Twitty – Rolesville High School
- Elyse Smelcer – Apex High School
- Emma Ingraham – Apex High School
- Ivy Wirth – Green Hope High School
- Jessica Furlough – Heritage High School
- Kendall Gaskins – Heritage High School
- Kylie Allen – Wakefield High School
- Lyelah Pitters – East Wake High School
- Madison Simmons – Green Level High School
- Payton Woodle – Rolesville High School
- Scarlett Taylor – Green Level High School
- Webster Makenna – Wakefield High School
- Zoey Schabot – East Wake High School
