Holiday Hoopla High School Basketball Festival

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.