There are two questions to be asked, though I know I don’t have the answer for either: 1) Who is No. 1? and 2) Who deserves to be No. 1? Maybe the answers are the same. Maybe they are different. I’ve done rankings in some capacity for nearly 20 years and this update on the 17s divisions was spent riding the struggle bus the whole way through! Admittingly, I’m not sure which team is No. 1, deserves to be No. 1 and/or is actually No. 1? I’m not sure anyone knows.

Somehow, I ended up with A5 17 Jing remaining at No. 1 in the rankings. Placing NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami at No. 1 after winning Triple Crown wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, I just like to take in the totality of the season and all results, not just results from one weekend. It might be tedious to go through and chart all the results in terms of wins and losses, but how can you even begin to rank teams without using results as a guideline?

A tournament like Triple Crown can’t be judged on final finishes alone, because you need to know which teams other teams are beating and which teams they are losing to. While it’s simple to track all the results it doesn’t make it any easier to make sense of any of it.

The issue with NKYVC is it has losses to Academy 17 Tsunami and Rock City 17-1 at Central Zone. Yes, NKYVC was playing short-handed and showed what it can do with its full lineup available. And that’s why NKYVC jumped up from No. 28 to No. 9 in our latest rankings. There’s no scenario that makes complete sense. NKYVC did beat A5 head-to-head at Triple Crown and I really struggle with how to deal with that result. But if we step back and look at the whole season, it’s why I kept A5 at No. 1.

To me, A5’s overall results have the strongest argument to be No. 1. It might sound odd, but A5 has the best collection of losses. It has fallen to TAV 17 Black, NKYVC, Triangle 17 Black and Wave 17 Juliana. All four of those teams are ranked in the Top 16 of the latest version of the Top 50. In addition, A5 has victories over Dynasty 17 Black, 1st Alliance 17 Gold, Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite, Premier Nebraska 17 Gold (twice), Drive Nation 17 Red, TAV, OT 17 Aaron and HJV 17 Elite. Every one of those teams is ranked No. 12 or higher.

When it comes down to it, we have to remember it’s all for fun! The fact is these teams are going to spend the next two months traveling the country in hopes of qualifying for Chicago this summer and the results are only going to get more jumbled and more mixed up. That’s why we love it!

vballrecruiter.com’S TOP 50 NATIONAL RANKINGS

1. A5 17 Jing (GA) (1 – previous ranking)

2. Dynasty 17 Black (KS) (2)

3. Drive Nation 17 Red (TX) (13)

4. TAV 17 Black (TX) (3)

5. Triangle 17 Black (NC) (7)

6. HJV 17 Elite (TX) (5)

7. 1st Alliance 17 Gold (IL) (4)

8. Co Jrs 17 Kevin (CO) (6)

9. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (KY) (28)

10. OT 17 Aaron (FL) (23)

***

11. Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite (MO) (10)

12. Premier Nebraska 17 Gold (NE) (9)

13. Hou Skyline 17 Royal (TX) (8)

14. AZ Sky 17G (AZ) (35)

15. Momentous 17 Dan (CA) (24)

16. Wave 17 Juliana (CA) (12)

17. KC Power 17 Black (KS) (18)

18. Vision 17 Gold (CA) (14)

19. Metro 17 Travel (DC) (15)

20. Coast 17-1 (CA) (16)

***

21. Academy 17 Tsunami (IN) (34)

22. SCVC 17 Roxy (CA) (n/r)

23. Tri-State Elite 17 Blue (OH) (29)

24. OT 17 Felix (FL) (17)

25. Miami Hype 17 Emilio (FL) (48)

26. 417 Jrs 17 Black (MO) (n/r)

27. Skyline 17 Royal (TX) (19)

28. VCNebraska 17 Elite (NE) (27)

29. Madfrog 17 Green (TX) (11)

30. MKE Sting 17 Gold (WI) (40)

***

31. AVC Cle 17 Red (OH) (21)

32. Club V 17 Ren Matthew (UT) (22)

33. Top Select 17 Elite (FL) (26)

34. AJV 17 Adidas (TX) (20)

35. SG Elite 17 Rosh (CA) (25)

36. City 17 Gold (CA) (39)

37. Elevation 17 Ulland (OH) (30)

38. Circle City 17 Purple (IN) (31)

39. Ku’Ikahi 17 Wahine RSB (HI) (n/r)

40. Adidas KiVA 17 Red (KY) (32)

***

41. Boiler Jrs 17 Gold (IN) (37)

42. Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar (CA) (38)

43. Rock City 17-1 (OH) (40)

44. Shockwave 17 Black (KS) (49)

45. Northern Lights 17-1 (MN) (44)

46. AZ Rev 17 Premier (AZ) (41)

47. Iowa PowerPlex 17U Black (IO) (n/r)

48. Pohaku 17-1 (KS) (n/r)

49. Arizona Storm 17 Thunder (AZ) (42)

50. Team Pineapple 17 Black (IN) (33)

ON THE CUSP

Absolute 17 Black (CA) (43)

MAVS KC 17-1 (KS) (36)

Rev 17-1 Raptors (IN) (45)

Norco 17 Black (CO) (47)

Seal Beach 17 Black (CA)

Mintonette Sports m.71 (OH)

Alamo 17 Premier (TX)

FC Elite 17 Navy (WI)

CHAVC 17 Black (NC)

Arete 17 Navy Telos (TX)

NorCal 17-Black (CA)

A5 17-AG (GA)

Academy 17 Diamond (NC)

Legacy 17-1 Adidas (MI) (50)

Excel 17 National Red (TX)

Rocky Elite 17 National (CO)

Union 17 UA (IN)