Twelve days until the MaxPreps Holiday Classic: 12th annual event

It's December 14 and we all know what that means. It's 12 days until the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in Palm Springs, California.

Today we celebrate the 12 years of the 128-team tournament and the 11 past champions, including last year's surprise winner, Jackson (Mill Creek, Wash.) which upended surprise finalist Capital Christian (Sacramento, Calif.) 54-45. Game story/2013 results

Jackson was the first top-division team from the tournament not from California.

The previous 10 MPHC champions (previously known as the Desert Heat Invitational from 2003-2010):

2012 – Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) def. Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas), 70-62 - Game story

2011 – Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) def. Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 76-69 — Game story

2010 – Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) def. Silverado (Las Vegas), 65-57

2009 – Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) def. Foothill (Henderson, Nev.), 78-67

2008 – Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) def. Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo, Calif.), 85-70

2007 – Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) def. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 62-55

2006 –De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) def. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 78-57

2005 – Etiwanda (Calif.) def. Loyola (Los Angeles)

2004 – Cathedral City Calif.) def. Elsinore (Wildomar, Calif.)

2003 – Indio (Calif.) def. Cathedral City (Calif.)

Last year's champion Jackson surprised most, but with 10 seniors on a 13-man roster, including tournament MVP Jason Todd, the Timberwolves were simply steady, cohesive and nearly flawless.

Todd, now at the University of Portland, finished the year with averages of 17.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while Jackson finished 25-2, but was upset in the 4A state first-round finals by Issaquah. (Jackson won its final two consolation games).

See story on Jackson's remarkable team chemistry

Invitational Division teams from last season went on to account for three state titles and four section crowns in California. Sixteen of the 23 schools in the field won 20 or more games and eight surpassed the 25-win mark.

Christian Brothers (St. Louis), Columbia Christian (Portland, Ore.) and nationally-ranked St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) all returned home following the Classic and went on to win a state title.Though Jackson didn't win a state crown, but three teams from the Invitational division went on to claim state championships:

Calabasas, Capital Christian (Sacramento), JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) and Long Beach Poly emerged as section champs in California's competitive hoops landscape.

As strong as the highest division has been the last several years, the 2014 field tops them all.

Defending high school basketball national champion Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) will join a cast of six state and section title winners from the 2013-14 season. Thirteen of the 17 teams in the tournament's Open Division won 20 or more games last year.

"This year's MaxPreps Holiday Classic promises to deliver the most competitive tournament that we have ever hosted," tournament co-director Wayne Merino said. "Several teams are capable of taking home the championship trophy."

Rancho Mirage will serve as the primary host, but games will be played in seven venues around the Coachella Valley from Dec. 26-30.

Teams from 30 states and six countries have participated in the event during its decade-plus run. Entries from Germany and Spain will be part of the proceedings in December.

In addition to Mater Dei, which went 35-0 en route to its fourth consecutive state title last season, other headliners include Texas private school state champion Prestonwood Christian (Plano), California section champions Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), Folsom, JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) and Moreau Catholic (Hayward) and New Jersey group champ St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City).

Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) is another program to watch after going 29-4 a year ago with a rotation that featured four freshmen — including MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year Cody Riley — and sophomore point guard Devearl Ramsey, a USA Basketball gold medalist.

The Open Division will also feature state championship hopefuls from Georgia, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley is one of the premier resort destinations in the United States. It's a haven for golf enthusiasts and home to numerous festivals and conventions — including the famed Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held in nearby Indio.

For additional information, visit MaxPrepsHolidayClassic.com, like us on Facebook, follow on Twitter @MPHolClass or Instagram @maxpreps_holiday_classic. For inquiries and interested teams, contact Rob Hanmer (rob@geartothemax.com) or Wayne Merino (wayne@geartothemax.com).

Participating Teams

Open Division
Alemany (Mission Hills, Calif.), American Fork (Utah), Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), Damien (La Verne, Calif.), Episcopal School of Dallas (Dallas, Texas), Folsom (Calif.), Issaquah (Wash.), JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), Rufus King (Milwaukee, Wis.), Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.), Oakley (Tafira Alta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain), Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.), Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas), Sacramento (Calif.), Rancho Mirage (Calif.), Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.)

Other Boys Divisions
Anchorage Christian (Anchorage, Alaska), Benicia (Calif.), Brawley (Calif.), Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.), Brentwood School (Los Angeles, Calif.), Canyon Crest Academy (San Diego, Calif.), Capital Christian (Sacramento, Calif.), Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Cathedral City (Calif.), Centennial (Bakersfield, Calif.), Chaparral (Temecula, Calif.), Colton (Calif.), Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta, Calif.), Dana Hills (Dana Point, Calif.), Downey (Calif.), Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Evergreen (Seattle, Wash.), Foothill (Henderson, Nev.), Gahr (Cerritos, Calif.), Galena (Reno, Nev.), Green Valley (Henderson, Nev.), Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), Hoover (Glendale, Calif.), Laguna Acoma (New Laguna, N.M.), La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, Calif.), Leuzinger (Lawndale, Calif.), Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), King (Riverside, Calif.), Mission Viejo (Calif.), Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta, Calif.), Oak Hills (Hesperia, Calif.),  Olympia (Wash.), Pacific Hills (Los Angeles, Calif.), Palm Desert (Calif.), Palo Verde Valley (Blythe, Calif.), Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.), Patriot (Riverside, Calif.), Palos Verdes Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.), Pleasant Grove (Utah), Ponderosa (Shingle Springs, Calif.), Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.), Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, Calif.), Saddleback Valley Christian (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), Shadow Hills (Indio, Calif.), Sierra Pacific (Hanford, Calif.), Simi Valley (Calif.), Sutter Union (Sutter, Calif.), Tahquitz (Hemet, Calif.), Torrance (Calif.), Urspring (Ulm, Germany), Victor Valley (Victorville, Calif.), Viewpoint (Calabasas, Calif.), Villa Park (Calif.), Villanova Prep (Ojai, Calif.), Westminster (Calif.), Yucca Valley (Calif.), Xavier Prep (Palm Desert, Calif.)

Desert Christian Academy Boys Division
California School for the Deaf (Riverside, Calif.), Desert Christian Academy (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.), Hesperia Christian (Hesperia, Calif.), Los Angeles Adventist (Los Angeles, Calif.), Pacifica Christian (Santa Monica, Calif.), Palm Valley (Rancho Mirage, Calif.)

Desert Christian Academy Girls Division
Desert Christian Academy (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.), Desert Mirage (Thermal, Calif.), Hesperia Christian (Hesperia, Calif.), Los Angeles Adventist (Los Angeles, Calif.), Palm Valley (Rancho Mirage, Calif.), Rancho Mirage (Calif.), Xavier College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.)