I do NOT understand this

Not even in the slightest:

2019-20 Super 25 Preseason Boys Basketball Rankings
USA Today

NO. 20 MINNEHAHA ACADEMY
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Preseason Rank: 20
2018-19 record: 23-2

My high school won a few state championships in my day. The ski team were state champions, the tennis team were state champions, and my soccer team got to state and was knocked out in the semifinal round.

The soccer team was ranked #1 in the state at one point, and I had the best 100m time for a few weeks, but our basketball team was reliably terrible. And even the good teams, like Mounds View and Minneapolis North, were never ranked in the national top 20.

Anyhow, good luck to them, even if they are no longer known as the Indians.