Gulf South Basketball Tournaments

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.