Basketball Tournament Directory: All 50 States

Birmingham, Alabama — all seven classifications, boys and girls, play semifinals and finals at Legacy Arena at the BJCC over a single week (February 24 through March 1 in 2025). Alabama was the first state to consolidate the championship into one venue this way. Hoover went 35-0 to take its third straight 7A title.

Mobile, Alabama — 32 teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana across two college venues over three days at the back end of Christmas week. Roster-heavy on D1 prospects, which keeps college-coach traffic strong on the sidelines.

Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus. Two weekends — 1A/2A first (March 11-14), then 3A/4A (March 18-21). NFHS Network livestreams every game. Branded as ASAA March Madness, hosted by ASAA and Anchorage School District.

Juneau, three days between Christmas and New Year's. Hosted at JDHS since 1991, Princess Cruises is the title sponsor. The largest high school holiday tournament in Alaska. Brings teams from across Alaska plus a few Lower 48 invites willing to make the ferry/flight to Southeast.

Naismith Hall of Fame's western showcase — runs the first weekend of January at Skyline High in Mesa. National-tier field built around the 8-team main bracket plus a 6-team round-robin and four Nike EYBL Scholastic games. Pairs with Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix the same week, so the Valley becomes a one-week recruiting hub.

June, Mesa. The largest scholastic team event in the West — 400+ varsity teams across three weekends, 5,000+ players, 900+ college coaches. Run by the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association during the NCAA June scholastic live period, so it's where college recruiting happens with your school team rather than a club roster.

Hot Springs. Arkansas Activities Association state finals, classes 1A through 6A boys and girls, all played at Bank OZK Arena over three days in mid-March. Free live streaming through Arkansas TV makes this one of the easiest state finals in the region to follow.

Pine Bluff. Founded 1982 by banker Travis Creed and revived in 2018 after a long gap. Roughly half the field is Arkansas schools, half national invitees. Hosted the first regular-season high school basketball game on national prime-time ESPN (1987).

Mater Dei hosts a two-day January slate at the Meruelo Athletic Center. Format is showcase, not bracket — teams come in for one marquee game. Mater Dei's boys play twice over the weekend; the rest of the field is California's top programs (Orange Lutheran, Servite, Sierra Canyon, etc.) with a few national invites mixed in.

Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, two-day final weekend. The Open Division boys final is the most loaded state title game in the country most years — you have to win your CIF section first, and the Open bracket pulls eight teams from those section champs. Eastvale Roosevelt won the 2025 Open over Archbishop Riordan; Brayden Burries dropped 44 in the final.

Rancho Mirage and Shadow Hills HS, the week between Christmas and New Year's. 117 teams across 11 divisions — the 16-team Open is the national-draw bracket, and the lower divisions are how regional programs actually get a competitive holiday tournament. Slam dunk and 3-point contests run during semifinal play.

Hosted at Damien High School in La Verne, CA. 9th edition in 2025. Massive field — 144 teams across 9 divisions, played at Damien plus other area gyms over five days. SoCal basketball density makes it a go-to for both California and visiting programs.

San Diego, last week of December. Five brackets played across six county high schools — National at Torrey Pines, American at St. Augustine, Senator's at Carlsbad, Governor's at Rancho Buena Vista, Mayor's at El Camino. Teams from 12 states fill the field. National Division is the showcase; lower brackets give SoCal mid-tier programs a real holiday event without being overmatched.

Denver. Colorado state finals for both boys and girls, classes 1A through 6A. Great 8 round opens the week, all six championship games run on the final Saturday at Denver Coliseum. Every game streams on NFHS Network.

Denver. Prep Hoops-run spring event scheduled May 1-3, 2026. Falls on the high school side of the spring calendar (not AAU travel) and brings in Prep Hoops scouts plus visiting college coaches.

CIAC moved finals to Mohegan Sun Arena and runs both boys and girls D-I through D-IV champion games over a single weekend. Public + private all together (CT doesn't separate them). Ellington won D-IV 2025 — their first state title in 53 years. Greenwich girls took D-I.

Founded by former pro Anthony Ireland through his nonprofit The Leadership University. Two days, eight matchups, mix of CT, NY, and RI programs — Crosby, Kolbe Cathedral, Northwest Catholic, East Catholic on the rosters in recent years. Doubles as a fundraiser and toy drive for the Rivera Memorial Foundation.

The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association crowns boys, girls, and unified basketball champions each March. The 2025 boys final saw No. 6 Sanford School upset No. 1 Dover 37-34 — typical of a small-state bracket where seeding doesn't carry as much weight as program continuity.

Lewes, Delaware — built to fill the void after Slam Dunk to the Beach paused. Eight Delmarva teams across two brackets (Bay and Ocean) at Cape Henlopen High over two days, hosted by the Cape boys program. The 2025 field included three Maryland teams alongside five Delaware programs.

Early-March national tournament hosted at FCP Sports in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Open to both high school and post-grad divisions, with applications taken through the fall. Designed for programs wanting a competitive early-March tournament without invitation-only barriers.

One of the longest-running national-tier holiday tournaments in the country. Eight invited programs, single-elimination, played over four days at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers. The field is consistently top-25 nationally ranked.

West Palm Beach, late December. Run by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. National invitational structure with the destination factor of South Florida in the holiday week.

Miami, late December. Hosted at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. The high school basketball event tied to the Junior Orange Bowl (separate from the college Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise). 37 years running. Mix of South Florida and visiting national programs.

Wesley Chapel, north of Tampa, late December. Two sessions across the holiday break (Dec 20-23 before Christmas, Dec 27-30 after). 9th edition in 2025. Sanctioned by NFHS. Larger field than the invitation-only events on the Florida holiday calendar.

Atlanta, Georgia — girls-only showcase, part of a six-market national series that also runs in Charlotte, Dallas, Jersey Shore, Nashville, and DC. Atlanta event runs the first weekend of January, drawing perennial powerhouse programs (Legion Collegiate, Valor Christian and others). Operated by The St. James organization.

Georgia's state championship across all classifications. Held at Macon Centreplex in early March, with class finals played across two days.

Atlanta, Georgia — Hawks-Naismith season opener at Holy Innocents' Episcopal in late November. Sixth annual in 2025, two girls games and four boys games on a single Saturday. Same operating partnership (Hawks, Tipoff Club, Naismith) as the December Holiday Classic.

Norcross, Georgia — partnership between the Atlanta Hawks, the Atlanta Tipoff Club, and the Naismith Awards. One-day, twelve-team co-ed showcase at Norcross High the second weekend of December. Ken Nugent's Score for Scholarships pledges $1 to the Hawks Foundation per point scored.

Marietta, Georgia — held at Wheeler High School's 3,000-seat arena. The Tournament of Champions runs a Super Saturday in early December plus Christmas-week sessions, drawing top in-state programs (McEachern, Grayson) and out-of-state visitors. The 2025-26 season opened with Super Saturday on December 6.

Honolulu, mid-December. Hosted at Iolani School since 1983 (founded by Glenn Young). 16-team boys field plus an 8-team girls field. National-caliber mainland programs travel in to play Hawaii's top teams.

Punahou hosts a 16-team Christmas-week bracket at Hemmeter Fieldhouse. Field mixes ILH and OIA programs with mainland and international invites. Runs the same week as the Iolani Classic — the two combined make Honolulu the West's most concentrated holiday basketball destination.

Branded the Real Dairy Shootout. Six classifications (1A through 6A) play simultaneously across Treasure Valley venues — Ford Idaho Center, Idaho Center Arena, plus high school and college gyms in and around Boise. Owyhee won the 2025 6A title over Lake City, 77-46.

Pocatello, mid-December. Run by Idaho Prospects Basketball at Mountain View Event Center. Smaller than the headline holiday events — practical December reps for southeast Idaho and bordering Utah programs without the travel cost of going to Boise or out-of-state.

Illinois's boys' state series, presented by OSF Healthcare. The 2026 finals run March 12-14 at the State Farm Center in Champaign with all four classes packed into one weekend. The IHSA dates back to 1908, making it one of the oldest state series in the country.

First held in 1942, the Centralia Holiday Tournament is one of the oldest continuously running high school holiday events in the country. Sixteen teams, three days between Christmas and New Year's, drawing 6,000+ spectators each year to the home of the Centralia Orphans.

Pontiac, Illinois — running since 1925, the oldest holiday basketball tournament in the country. Sixteen invited teams, played at Pontiac Township High School over five days during Christmas week.

Founded in 1961 as the first holiday basketball tournament in the Chicago area. Sixteen teams, 28 games over four days. Between 1964 and 2008, 95 Proviso West teams reached the IHSA state tournament the same year — 13 of which won state titles.

One of the largest co-ed high school holiday tournaments in the country. Sixty-four teams (32 boys, 32 girls) play for four days after Christmas across multiple Bloomington-Normal venues. Started in 1975 as the Illinois State Classic. Awards four scholarships annually.

Indiana's girls' state series. Four classes, single-elimination through Sectionals, Regionals, and Semi-States to State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Runs about a week ahead of the boys' bracket each season.

Indiana's state championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Class finals (1A-4A) played across one weekend in late March. The Indiana state finals have run continuously since 1911 — one of the longest unbroken state-tournament traditions in American sports.

First played in 1916, ran through 1972, restarted in 2000. Sixteen teams, four days starting the day after Christmas, split between the two Terre Haute high school gyms. Sponsored by First Financial Bank.

Run by the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame at the New Castle Fieldhouse — at 8,424 seats the largest high school fieldhouse in the country. A flagship in-season high school basketball event in Indiana, with boys and girls games over the holiday break.

Early-December showcase hosted at Bill Green Arena — Marion's 7,500-seat high school gym, one of the historic large-capacity Indiana fieldhouses. Run by Marion Project Graduation as a fundraiser, the event is built around the Marion Giants tradition.

Iowa's girls' state series — the oldest girls' state high school tournament in the country, dating to 1920. Five classes, 40 teams, single-elimination at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Iowa PBS broadcasts every game live on statewide TV with free YouTube and iowapbs.org streams.

Iowa's boys' state series — eight teams from each of four classes converge on Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for a five-day single-elimination tournament. The event moves to Hilton Coliseum in Ames starting in 2027. Iowa PBS will broadcast championships starting 2025-26.

Topeka. Three-school city tournament (Topeka High, Topeka West, Highland Park) plus invited regional opponents like Wichita Northwest and Lansing. Played at Highland Park in mid-January as a midseason marquee for Shawnee County.

Kansas spreads its state finals across seven venues in five cities. 4A and 3A play at Hutchinson Sports Arena, 1A Division I in Dodge City. Quarterfinals March 10-11, semis and finals March 12-14. Total field of 112 teams across all classes.

Founded in 1947, Kentucky's oldest regular-season high school basketball tournament. Run as Louisville's biggest in-season showcase, with both boys' and girls' brackets. Has occasionally been delayed by weather (snow pushed the boys' bracket back in recent years).

Kentucky's all-class boys' state championship — 16 regional champions advance to Rupp Arena in Lexington for four days of single-elimination basketball. Multi-year venue deal with Rupp Arena was renewed in 2024.

Held at Fairdale High School in the Louisville area. 44th edition in 2025 (founded 1982). 16-team field, mix of top Kentucky programs and out-of-state national-tier teams. Sponsored by Chad Gardner Law since recent years. Streams on NFHS Network.

Three-day national showcase at Reed Conder Gymnasium in Benton, Kentucky. Pulls top high school programs from 10 states. Booker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Durant, Tre Johnson, and Derrick Rose all played here before the NBA. Affiliated with Nike's EYBL.

Hosted by Lexington Catholic across the Bueter and Alumni gyms. Forty games over five days with both boys' and girls' brackets and teams from 12 Kentucky regions plus out-of-state visitors. Travis Perry headlined the 2023 boys' field as a Kentucky commit.

Lake Charles. Louisiana boys state finals, branded 'Marsh Madness,' run six straight days at Burton Complex. Roughly 40 teams across all classifications, drawing about 18,000 attendees over the run. Southwest Louisiana holds hosting rights through at least 2027.

Alexandria. Four-day holiday tournament hosted by Alexandria Senior High that wraps on New Year's Eve. Pulls central and north Louisiana programs (Denham Springs, Marksville, and similar) into a competitive holiday slate.

Maine's three-venue model: Northern regionals at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Southern regionals at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, then state finals at the Augusta Civic Center. The Augusta Civic Center is part of Maine's basketball identity — 'Tourney Time' is one of the better-attended state tournaments in the country relative to population.

35-year-old showcase at the Portland Expo run by Portland HS coach Joe Russo. Pulls teams from Maine, NH, and New York for a 4-day post-Christmas slate. Roughly 24 games on the schedule across boys and girls. Benefits the Portland HS basketball program.

Maryland public-school state finals run by the MPSSAA. Four classifications (1A through 4A) play out from regional rounds into a state final weekend, traditionally at SECU Arena on the Towson University campus. The bracket is built off region tournaments seeded through the regular season.

Salisbury, Maryland — running since 1981. About 134 teams across boys, girls, and JV brackets at four Eastern Shore venues with the Wicomico Civic Center as the centerpiece. Teams come from across the country and the field draws roughly 15,000 spectators over the week.

Hoophall's regional event that runs the weekend immediately before the Hoophall Classic. 2026 expanded the field after a 2025 debut — 56 boys teams, 20 girls teams across 8 Springfield-area gyms over Saturday and Sunday. Targets New England and surrounding-state programs that aren't in the Classic itself.

MLK weekend at Springfield College, the Naismith Hall of Fame's flagship high school event. Hosted at Blake Arena since 2003. ESPN broadcasts the marquee games on the family of networks. The 2026 24th edition has Long Island Lutheran, Sierra Canyon, Christopher Columbus, Brewster, Oak Hill, IMG and Prolific Prep — effectively the country's top half-dozen programs in one building.

Public-school state finals at UMass-Lowell's arena. 10 champions are crowned (5 boys, 5 girls divisions) over a Friday-Sunday window in mid-March. NFHS Network streams everything; tickets $20 per day. NEPSAC and Catholic Conference programs are not in this bracket — those are separate.

Class A is where smaller New England prep schools without post-grad rosters but with strong varsity programs land. Williston Northampton went undefeated in Class A play in the 2024-25 regular season as the No. 1 seed entering the tournament. Quarters early March, semis the next week at higher seeds.

Second tier of NEPSAC postseason below AAA. Worcester Academy swept boys and girls AA in 2025. The AA bracket is where programs that aren't quite at Brewster/Putnam Science budget compete — still legit prep talent, just one tier removed from the national-top-10 conversation.

The top division of New England prep school basketball. Eight programs qualify for the Class AAA bracket, played in early March. Most NEPSAC schools include a post-grad year, so the field mixes traditional senior-year HS players with PG athletes.

Michigan's boys' state series. Districts run February 22-26 in 2026, Regionals March 2 and 4, Quarterfinals March 9, Semifinals March 11-12 at Breslin Center, Finals March 13. Four divisions.

The largest holiday basketball event in Michigan, debuted in 1995 at Calihan Hall and now run out of Ferndale High School. Pulls teams from across Michigan and into Chicago and Ohio. More than 25 years of continuous operation.

Minnesota's boys' state series. Quarterfinals at Target Center, semis split between Target Center and Williams Arena, finals at Williams Arena. The 2026 finals were March 28 with Totino-Grace beating DeLaSalle 72-70 in Class AAA.

Eight-team south-central Minnesota holiday tournament played at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato. JV games in afternoons, varsity at night. Field includes Fairmont, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, Lake Crystal, Maple River, Minnesota Valley Lutheran, Mankato Loyola, New Ulm, and St. Clair.

Clinton, Mississippi — the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (formerly MAIS / MPSA) crowns its overall basketball champions at Mississippi College. The 2025 tournament ran February 17-18 and 24-26. Jackson Prep took the boys overall over Jackson Academy 53-51; Parklane Academy beat MRA for the girls title 45-42.

Mississippi public-school state finals at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. Seven classifications played over multiple days — Germantown took 7A boys 69-52 over Madison Central in 2025; Coffeeville won 1A; Booneville and Canton claimed 3A and 5A respectively. Brackets seed off region tournaments.

Springfield, Missouri's national high school showcase. Eight teams over three days at Missouri State's Great Southern Bank Arena. The 2026 edition was the 41st annual and featured five teams in MaxPreps' national top 10. More than 60 future NBA players and 370 D-I signees have come through it — Wall, Cousins, Tatum, LaMelo Ball, Beal, Barrett, Hansbrough.

Missouri's boys' and girls' state series, played over two weekends at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Smaller classes (1-3) play first weekend, larger classes (4-6) the second. MSHSAA.TV offers all 48 games for $15 or $10 per individual game.

MHSA runs four classification championships (AA, A, B, C) on the same March weekend across Bozeman, Billings, Missoula, and Butte. AA is the largest-school bracket, typically rotating between Worthington Arena (Bozeman) and Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. Smaller classifications get their own host cities — Class C draws huge crowds because small-town Montana basketball travels.

Founded by the late Bobby Small at Rocky Boy. Recent fields have grown to 14 teams from across Montana — south, east, north central, and west. Played both at Rocky Boy and at C.M. Russell HS in Great Falls. Cultural event as much as a basketball event — brings Native communities together during the winter season.

Lincoln. Nebraska boys state finals, all classes A through D-2, run four days at Pinnacle Bank Arena (the Husker home floor). One venue, every class — rare for a state this size.

Omaha. Metro Conference's holiday tournament dates to the 1962-63 season. Five days, boys and girls, played across Bellevue West and Creighton Prep with the finals doubleheader on January 2. Routinely the strongest holiday field in Nebraska.

Nevada's largest classification (5A) is functionally Bishop Gorman versus the rest of Las Vegas. Gorman beat Mojave 71-59 for the 2025 title. Lower classifications — 4A through 1A — play their finals separately. Title weekend rotates between Las Vegas-area venues.

Las Vegas, mid-December. Massive field — 100+ teams across multiple competitive tiers, played at high schools across the valley. Named for Jerry Tarkanian. The scale is the differentiator: every team gets in if there's a tier that fits.

Four divisions, public-school only — prep schools (Brewster, Tilton, New Hampton) compete in NEPSAC, not here. Finals rotate among NH college venues. Hammond Lumber Co. has been the recent presenting sponsor across all four divisions.

62-year-old Manchester holiday tournament hosted at Memorial High School. Eight teams, mostly NH Division I plus a Division II at-large — Bedford, Alvirne, Exeter, Goffstown, Manchester Central, Manchester West, Memorial. Bedford and Memorial have met in the last three finals; Bedford holds the most recent two titles. Central holds the all-time record with 25 titles.

Hoop Group's mid-season showcase in central Jersey. Recently moved from Brookdale Community College to Georgian Court. Slate is built around Shore Conference top-six teams plus a couple of statewide draws — gets you against ranked opponents in a one-day window.

Six group champions are crowned at Rutgers each March (Groups 1-4 public + Non-Public A and B). The old Tournament of Champions that crossed Non-Public A against the public groups has not returned — so 'state champion' in NJ now means group champion. Hillsborough won Group 4 in 2025; Don Bosco and Roselle Catholic still drive the Non-Public A field.

The deepest single-talent bracket in New Jersey. Don Bosco, Roselle Catholic, Paul VI, St. Peter's Prep, St. Joseph (Metuchen), CBA — all in one division, settled in two sectional brackets that meet at Rutgers. The 2024 final featured Dylan Harper and Don Bosco vs Paul VI; 2025 had Paul VI defending as top seed.

One of the largest single-venue coed holiday tournaments in the country. Wildwood and Wildwood Catholic host the event in their convention center; tournament has raised over $400,000 in scholarships for graduating seniors at the host schools and other Cape May County schools since 1998. Mostly South Jersey and Delaware Valley teams.

Run by the NJ Basketball Coaches Association as the early-season measuring-stick weekend. Pulls in top NJ public and Non-Public programs (Don Bosco, Montgomery, Neptune typical). Held at member host schools in mid-December rather than a single arena.

Albuquerque. New Mexico state finals, classes 1A-5A boys and girls, with the bulk of championship games at UNM's Pit on the final Friday and Saturday. Earlier rounds use the Pit and surrounding venues. Title sponsor is Nusenda Credit Union.

Hobbs. Three-day mid-season tournament inside Tasker Arena that pulls programs from New Mexico, West Texas, and Arizona. The 63rd edition was held recently — one of the longest-running holiday tournaments in the Southwest. Hobbs is consistently a top-five girls program and a state finalist on the boys side.

Catholic-school championship covering NYC, Long Island, Westchester and Buffalo dioceses. Stepinac and St. Raymond have owned recent finals; the 2025 game went to overtime. Realistically the highest level of New York high school basketball year over year — CHSAA-AA programs routinely beat PSAL champions in the annual Challenge.

After 38 straight years in Glens Falls, NYSPHSAA moved this to Binghamton starting 2025 on a contract through 2027. Six classes (AAA down to D) crown a champion across one weekend. Public-school only — the CHSAA, PSAL and NYSAISAA winners do not cross over since the Federation Tournament of Champions went on indefinite hiatus after 2024.

NYC public-school championship run by the Public Schools Athletic League. Borough playoffs feed into a city championship game played at a major NYC venue (historically Madison Square Garden, more recently rotating).

Rochester-area public-school sectional finals run on one floor over two days. Section V is one of NYSPHSAA's deepest pools in Class AAA and the AA splits — Rush-Henrietta, Fairport, Penfield and Webster Thomas are regulars. Winners advance to the NYSPHSAA state tournament.

Westchester County Center has hosted this since 1999 as a holiday-week showcase for Westchester and NYC-area programs. Mount Vernon vs Xaverian-type matchups are the bread and butter. Recent editions partnered with the Crusader Classic at Iona, but the County Center remains the home venue.

North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association postseason, with all four boys titles staged at Providence Day in 2025 and the girls split between Providence Day and Charlotte Latin. Caldwell Academy took 2A boys and Rocky Mount Academy 2A girls — a typical NCISAA bracket where small private programs decide titles.

North Carolina public-school championship week, with all eight title games (boys and girls across four classes) staged at Wake Forest's LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem. WCCB and the CW handle TV in the Charlotte market; NFHS streams the rest. Reidsville came in on a 60-game streak in 2025.

Morganton, North Carolina — 51st annual in 2025, hosted in Freedom High's Crump-Rogers Gym. Eight-team boys bracket, four-team girls round-robin (champion only crowned at 3-0). Field draws western NC programs (Asheville Christian, McDowell, West Caldwell) plus a Charlotte-area visitor or two.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina — 46th of the modern era, 71st overall, named for the late Winston-Salem Journal sports editor Frank Spencer. Twelve WS/Forsyth County programs plus four Northwest NC visitors split into the Atrium Health and Pepsi brackets across multiple host schools. West Forsyth took the 2025 Atrium Health bracket at Reagan.

Raleigh, North Carolina — 53rd annual in 2025. Boys games at Broughton, girls at Southeast Raleigh, four days the back half of Christmas week. Boys split into the Rudy Watson, Coby White, and Day'Ron Sharpe brackets; girls into the Frances Pulley and Wonderland brackets. Hoop State streams everything.

Bismarck. North Dakota's largest-class boys state tournament, eight teams over three days at the Bismarck Event Center. Class A and B finals run a week later in Fargo and Minot. The AA format is the cleanest of the three to attend.

Mandan. Class B holiday tournament for small-school North Dakota programs, played the last three days of December at Mandan HS. Field draws from across the western half of the state — Flasher, Bottineau, New Salem-Almont, Linton-HMB, Glen Ullin-Hebron and similar.

MLK weekend boys' basketball event in Dayton, founded in 2003 by Eric Horstman. The 2026 edition drew 29 teams from eight states with 100+ college coaches and national media on-site. More than 90 alums have reached the NBA, NFL, or MLB.

Three days of girls' high school basketball in Ohio Amish Country over MLK weekend. Twenty games on a single floor at Hiland High School, with more than 100 college coaches working the gym each year. The 2026 edition was the 23rd annual.

OHSAA crowns champions across seven divisions. The Final Fours moved back to UD Arena in Dayton for the 2025-26 season after experimenting with split sites. Sectional, district, regional, and regional final games run February into early March; the state semifinals and finals fill the second and third weekends of March.

Ohio's girls' state series mirrors the boys' format with seven divisions. Final Four weekends moved back to UD Arena in Dayton for 2025-26 alongside the boys'. The girls' field finishes one week ahead of the boys' bracket.

Ohio high school basketball festival run by Bleacher Republic at the Columbus Convention Center. Started in 2024 with a 'Central Ohio vs. the State' theme. The 2025 edition expanded to 125+ games adding girls' high school games and youth/middle school divisions.

Oklahoma's state finals across classes B through 6A. Larger classes (3A-6A) play at OG&E Coliseum in Oklahoma City and Lloyd Noble Center in Norman; smaller classes at Carl Albert HS in Midwest City. Class B-II tips off the first weekend, larger classes follow.

Tulsa Public Schools' 60+ year holiday tournament played in an NBA-grade arena (BOK Center). Eight boys and eight girls teams, three-day format Dec 29-31. Alumni list runs through Wayman Tisdale, Lee Mayberry, Kevin Pritchard, Shea Seals.

Oregon's largest-classification state title plays at Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus. 6A field is dominated by Portland-metro programs — Barlow, Jesuit, Tualatin, Central Catholic. Lower classifications (5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A) play at separate venues across the state during the same window.

Portland, between Christmas and New Year's. 16 teams, 32 games, four days. The strongest holiday tournament in the Pacific Northwest. Moved out of Liberty High in Hillsboro after rental costs spiked, now plays at Portland State's Viking Pavilion. Nike-backed and selective — the field mixes Oregon's top six or seven programs with national heavyweights.

Pennsylvania Independent Schools state-tournament for prep schools that don't compete in PIAA — Hill, Westtown, Perkiomen, Phelps, Episcopal Academy, Penn Charter. Perkiomen beat Westtown in the 2024 boys final 71-64. Westtown girls have a 5-year title streak.

League bracket among the Philadelphia archdiocesan schools, finals at The Palestra. Roman Catholic, Neumann-Goretti, Father Judge, Archbishop Wood and Carroll have rotated the trophy in recent years. Roman ran a three-peat into 2024-25; St. Joe's Prep was top seed in 2025 looking for first title since 2004. The PCL champion typically rolls to the PIAA 6A title soon after.

Pittsburgh Public Schools play their own championship instead of WPIAL. Allderdice has won five straight (2021-2025), most recently beating Obama Academy 59-53 in February 2025. Champions go straight to PIAA states. Smaller field but consistently produces a state-quality team in 5A or 6A.

District 7 (Western PA) finals at Pitt's home arena. The path to PIAA states starts here for everyone west of Altoona. Belle Vernon (4A), Chartiers Valley (5A) and Jeannette won 2025 boys titles. Allderdice has rolled the parallel City League four straight years — they don't enter WPIAL.

Hershey hosts all 12 PIAA boys and girls finals across three days at the Giant Center. The 2025 boys 6A final was Father Judge vs Roman Catholic, both Philadelphia Catholic League. PCN broadcasts everything statewide. PIAA includes both public and private schools, which is why Catholic-league programs win at every classification level.

Western PA programs get an NHL-arena game once a year before the holiday break. Lincoln Park, Montour, South Fayette, Moon, Peters Township, Fox Chapel are typical. Started in 2023 and has run three straight years. Tip-off around 1 p.m., wraps that night.

RIIL's regular-season league championships, separate from the state-tournament finals two weeks later. Class A at 9 a.m., B at 12:30, C at 3:30 — all at PCTA. Girls and boys state finals follow at the same venue. Determines league seeding more than ultimate state hardware.

Rhode Island state finals at the AMP (formerly the Dunkin' Donuts Center) in downtown Providence. Three divisions, both boys and girls, run over a 3-day window in early March. Smaller state means tighter field, but the venue is legitimate — 12,000-plus seats, also home to Friars college basketball.

South Carolina High School League state finals returned to Colonial Life Arena in 2026 for the first time since 2020 — a five-year gap that ended with both boys and girls finals back on the SEC-sized floor March 5-7. Brackets seed off region tournaments through the regular season.

Myrtle Beach Convention Center, late December. Sixteen-team national field — every team plays multiple games. Long history (since 1981) and consistent national media coverage put this near the top of the holiday tournament tier.

Columbia, South Carolina — in its 13th year at Ridge View High School. Six South Carolina programs and six national-draw teams play a nine-game weekend in early-to-mid December. The 2025 field pulled programs from Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia. Includes a Nike EYBL Scholastic matchup and a free kids camp.

Charleston, South Carolina — SCHSL-sanctioned holiday tournament running December 27-30 across the top high school gyms in the Lowcountry footprint. Four divisions: varsity boys and girls, JV boys and girls. BallerTV streams every game.

Columbia, South Carolina — multi-bracket holiday tournament that has hosted future NCAA and NBA stars for over two decades. Title sponsor changed after 2024 (the local Chick-fil-A operators stepped back), but the tournament continues under the same brand and management. Plays the back half of Christmas week across multiple Columbia gyms.

Rapid City. South Dakota's largest-class boys state finals moved to The Monument complex in 2026, ending Sioux Falls's 65-year hosting run for that one year. Returns to Sioux Falls in 2027. Class A also at The Monument (Summit Arena), Class B in Aberdeen.

South Dakota's play-in round between region champs and the state tournament. 16 teams per class play single-elimination games hosted by the higher seed; eight survive to the state tournament. Plays out the Tuesday before state weekend.

Memphis, Tennessee — high school basketball showcase running the first weekend of January across Harding Academy and Briarcrest Christian. Mid-South programs draw alongside out-of-state visitors. The event has produced future pros including Anthony Edwards.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee — TSSAA boys state finals at MTSU's Murphy Center. Two division windows: Division I (March 11-15 in 2025) and Division II (March 18-22). Class 4A title went to Bradley Central 70-28 over Bartlett (Div I) and Hillsboro 57-42 over Oak Ridge (Div II) in 2025 — a first state title for Hillsboro.

Started in 1971 by Lloyd Williams and Vertis Sails to give inner-city Memphis players a competitive stage. Began at Melrose with nine teams. Hamilton High became the permanent host in 1992; girls divisions started 1993, middle schools 2009. 50+ years running.

Bristol, Tennessee — running since 1981. Sixteen-team field at Viking Hall. The tournament has produced some of the deepest holiday-week competition in the East over four decades.

Formerly the Arby's Classic, rebranded after Bristol Tennessee City Schools and AES Restaurant Group couldn't agree on naming. Same tournament, same week, same Viking Hall — 30,000+ spectators across six days. The 41st running drew 18 teams from nine states. Two dozen alumni have made the NBA.

Texas private/parochial state finals, classifications 1A through 6A boys and girls. Played at multiple host sites the last weekend of February. The TAPPS counterpart to UIL for accredited Texas private schools.

San Antonio. The UIL public-school state tournament for boys and girls, all classifications 1A through 6A, played at the Alamodome in March. Earn your way through district and regional brackets to get here.

Houston-area Pasadena ISD hosts what's been billed as Texas's largest pre-Thanksgiving high school tournament. Played the Thursday-Friday-Saturday before Thanksgiving across multiple Pasadena ISD gyms, with a free YouTube stream.

Lubbock. About 96 teams across nine gyms in four ISDs over three days at year-end. Run by Lubbock Caprock AMBUCS, with proceeds funding adaptive AmTrykes for people with disabilities. Every team gets at least four games, no entry fee.

Allen, north Dallas suburb. Roughly 96 games over three days at end of December. Field skews heavy on Texas 6A programs with national invitees mixed in. The host gym (Eagle Fieldhouse) seats more than most college venues, so attendance is real.

Fort Worth / DFW Metroplex, late December. 65 editions running. Played across multiple Mansfield/Fort Worth high schools (Whataburger sponsors but is HQ'd in San Antonio — the tournament moved to DFW years ago). Operated by Championship Basketball Inc. Two divisions: Orange (top tier) and Blue.

6A and 5A title weekends play at the Huntsman Center on the Utah campus. 4A goes to America First Event Center (SUU); 3A plays at the UCCU Center (Utah Valley University). Utah's 6A is loaded — Lone Peak, Corner Canyon, Herriman, Westlake, Riverton — and the Huntsman gives the title game a real college-arena setting.

Hosted by the Lehi boys program at the high school — Quincy Lewis built it into a national showcase. Recent fields have pulled teams from Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, New York, Virginia, Missouri, Colorado, California, Idaho, and Oregon to play Utah's best. KSL streams every varsity game.

VBCA's season-capping showcase — North vs. South, all four divisions, boys and girls — held annually at Windsor High School after state championships wrap. Doubles as the awards day for milestone scorers, scholarship winners, and coach honorees.

All four VPA divisions hold semifinals and finals at the Barre Aud. Montpelier beat U-32 81-48 in the 2025 D-II final. Smallest state in the region — field sizes per division are modest, but the Barre Aud is the spiritual home of Vermont basketball going back decades.

Four-team prep/post-grad invitational hosted by Hargrave at Walter Davis Gym since the 2003-04 season. Title sponsor First Piedmont Corp. is a Davenport-family business out of Chatham. The bracket is small but the talent is dense — most years it draws 20+ D1 prospects from Hargrave, Fork Union, Massanutten, Combine, and Mt. Zion. Hargrave has won it 15+ times.

Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association runs four divisions of state basketball, drawing the state's private and prep programs into a defined postseason. Hargrave Military Academy played into the 2026 Division 2 semifinal — typical of how prep programs slot in alongside traditional independents.

Virginia public-school state finals across six classes (1 through 6). The 2025 brackets produced John Marshall over Graham 107-81 (Class 2) and other class champions in mid-March. The Siegel Center has been a frequent host for finals weekend.

Arlington, Virginia — 23 years running, started by Wakefield head coach Tony Bentley in 2003-04 and named for George Long, who died of ALS in 2010. Eight-team field, three days, late December, drawing programs from Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William and Tidewater. Colonial Forge took the 2025 title over Forest Park.

Burke, Virginia — Lake Braddock hosts a three-day holiday bracket pulling in NoVA programs along with traveling teams like Atlee from Richmond. Field sits in the six-to-eight team range with mid-major caliber matchups across the weekend.

Federal Way HS's MLK Day showcase — eight games, boys and girls, featuring South Sound contenders against statewide and out-of-region opponents. Has hosted matchups like Davis (Yakima) vs. Federal Way and Class 4A girls title contenders.

Tacoma Dome, first week of March. 3A and 4A boys (and girls) play simultaneously across multiple courts. Big building, big crowd, real atmosphere — the kind of state final venue most states would envy. Title sponsor is Gesa Credit Union; 1B/2B finals run separately at Spokane Arena.

The largest holiday tournament in the Inland Northwest — 41 varsity teams across boys and girls in recent fields, hosted by West Valley HS in Spokane Valley. Used to lean on small-school participation; pivoted to bring Greater Spokane League teams home for the holidays. Two guaranteed games against similar-sized opposition.

West Virginia's boys state finals run March 18-22 at the Charleston Coliseum, with the girls bracket the week prior (March 11-15). All games stream on NFHS Network with championships also on the WV MetroNews app and statewide radio network.

St. Albans, West Virginia — in its 26th year, founded by Coach Tex Williams and co-organized by FCA West Virginia since 2006. Pre-Christmas showcase format featuring matchups between WV programs and out-of-state visitors. Profits support FCA programming.

Annual MN vs. WI showcase created in 2006 by Breakdown USA and the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook. Site rotates between the two states. Minnesota leads the all-time series 69-44 through 20 years.

Wisconsin's boys' state series, with the State Tournament played at the Kohl Center in Madison since the late 1990s. The 2025 event was the 109th edition. Five divisions, with all semis and finals at the Kohl Center on a single weekend.

Casper hosts both classification weekends — 1A/2A on the first weekend in March, 3A/4A the next. Ford Wyoming Center is the title floor; Casper College and Natrona County HS handle prelims. Laramie won 4A in 2025; Campbell County won 3A. Wyoming has a small basketball state but the title game atmosphere at the Ford is real.

First running was December 2025. 11 Wyoming high schools brought 53 total teams to Casper for a season-opening event split between WYO Sports Ranch (multiple courts) and the Ford Wyoming Center's championship floor. Cody, Jackson Hole, Sheridan, Kelly Walsh, Natrona County, Lovell were in the inaugural field.