According to Sports Illustrated, The Baylor School has the best high school sports program in Tennessee and the 23rd best in the nation.
In this week's edition of Sports Illustrated, the private school nestled on the bank of the Tennessee River receives high acclaim for its boys and girls programs.
Of the more than 38,000 high schools in the United States, fewer than one in a thousand made SI's Top 25. The criteria emphasized all-around excellence during the last 10 years and included state titles won and college athletes produced.
"I think one of the most impressive things is the versatility of our program,'' said Baylor athletic director Austin Clark, who has guided the school's sports program the last 15 years. "We have had 17 different sports win a state title over the last 10 years.
"Some schools are dominant in one sport or another, but we've won in several different sports, and we're very proud of that.''
Clark said everyone at Baylor is proud of the national acclaim.
"Everyone is jacked up, really excited,'' he said. "But it's kind of like that turtle on the fence post. How did he get up there? He got up there because someone put him up there.
"A lot of student-athletes and coaches have placed Baylor on that post. They should be proud of this significant honor and achievement.''
Clark said he is most proud of being No. 1 in Tennessee.
"No question,'' he said. "Because I have such respect for all the other outstanding sports programs around the state.
"This is a great honor for us and for the city of Chattanooga. We're part of Chattanooga, and we're very proud to be a part of Chattanooga.''
Baylor has won 77 state titles during the last 16 years and 52 during the last 10. Since joining Division II in 1997, Baylor has won 43 state titles.
Every sport has won a state championship with the exception of boys and girls basketball, but the Raiders finished second in 2002 and the Lady Raiders were runners-up in 2001.
The No. 1 high school sports program belongs to Long Beach Polytechnic High School, the alma mater to notables such as Billie Jean King, Willie McGinest, Gene Washington, among others.
Baylor has the smallest enrollment of any school in the Top 25.
In a League of Their Own: The Top 25.
1. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.)
2. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
3. Saint Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale)
4. Punahou (Honolulu)
5. Cheery Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.)
6. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
7. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)
8. Edina (Minn.)
9. Bolles (Jacksonville)
10. Carmel (Ind.)
11. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
12. New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.)
13. Parkersburg (W. Va.)
14. Saint Xavier (Louisville)
15. Marist (Atlanta)
16. Highland Park (Dallas)
17. Hoover (Ala.)
18. Saint Ignatius (Cleveland)
19. Fayetteville (Ark.)
20. West Monroe (La.)
21. Ben Davis (Indianapolis)
22. La Cueva (Albuquerque)
23. Baylor (Chattanooga)
24. Duncanville (Texas)
25. Mountain View (Mesa, Ariz.)
Best By State
Here are the top schools from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia (More information about each school will be posted on SI.com on Wednesday). States listed alphabetically.
State School
Alabama Hoover
Alaska Service (Anchorage)
Arizona Mountain View (Mesa)
Arkansas Fayetteville
California Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
Colorado Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village)
Connecticut Daniel Hand (Madison)
Delaware St. Mark’s (Wilmington)
Florida St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale)
Georgia Parkview (Lilburn)
Hawaii Punahou (Honolulu)
Idaho Bishop Kelly (Boise)
Illinois New Trier (Winnetka)
Indiana Carmel
Iowa Iowa City
Kansas Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission)
Kentucky St. Xavier (Louisville)
Louisiana West Monroe
Maine Bangor
Maryland DeMatha (Hyattsville)
Massachusetts Brockton
Michigan Marquette
Minnesota Edina
Mississippi Tupelo
Missouri St. Joseph’s (St. Louis)
Montana Capital (Helena)
Nebraska Lincoln Southeast
Nevada Green Valley (Henderson)
New Hampshire Manchester Central
New Jersey Bergen Catholic (Oradell)
New Mexico La Cueva (Albuquerque)
New York St. Anthony’s (Millville)
North Carolina East Chapel Hill
North Dakota Red River (Grand Forks)
Ohio St. Ignatius (Cleveland)
Oklahoma Jenks
Oregon Jesuit (Portland)
Pennsylvania North Penn (Lansdale)
Rhode Island LaSalle (Providence)
South Carolina Bishop England (Charleston)
South Dakota Stevens (Rapid City)
Tennessee Baylor (Chattanooga)
Texas Highland Park (Dallas)
Utah Mountain View (Orem)
Vermont Essex
Virginia Brentsville District (Nokesville)
Washington King’s (Seattle)
Washington, D.C. St. John’s
West Virginia Parkersburg
Wisconsin Arrowhead (Hartland)
Wyoming Campbell County (Gillette)
(E-mail Stan Crawley@earthlink.net)