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Summary
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.
What makes this tournament distinct
Ohio runs the most state-championship games per year of any major Midwest state because of seven divisions on each side.
Who it fits
Best for: Ohio member schools. The Dayton venue rotation means consistent fan access regardless of where teams are based.
Tradeoffs: Closed state series — no out-of-state programs. Sectional draws can land powerhouse programs on the same side of the bracket.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
National Prep Tournament in Fort Walton Beach, Florida takes both high school and post-grad programs. Applications stay open through October 31. If you want a competitive early-March slot without invitation-only barriers, this is the one to apply for.