Northeast Basketball Tournaments

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.