High school basketball: Archbishop Stepinac, Columbus headline City of Palms Classic field

The City of Palms Classic, the premier high school basketball tournament in the nation, announced its 2025 field Wednesday. 

The 52nd annual event takes place Dec. 18-23 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena at Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers, Fla., and is projected to include several nationally-ranked teams.

Since 1987, over 200 participants have been selected to the McDonald's All-American Game and over 130 former players have gone on to become first-round picks in the NBA Draft, including LaMarcus Aldridge, Paolo Banchero, Cade Cunningham, Cooper Flagg, Jaylen Brown, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kyrie Irving, Joe Johnson, Kevin Love, Julius Randle, Jayson Tatum and John Wall. Here is a look at the participants in the 16-team tournament field, Signature Series and Sunshine Series.

16-team tournament field: Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), Bartlett (Tenn.), Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Columbus (Miami, Fla.), Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.), Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.), Owasso (Okla.), Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.), Petersburg, Va.), Principia (St. Louis, Mo.), Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.), Sarasota (Fla.), St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), The Villages Charter (The Villages, Fla.), Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)

Signature Series: CIA-Bella Vista (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Gillion Academy (Springfield, Va.), Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), Prolific Prep (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Sunshine Series: Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.), Olympia (Orlando, Fla.), St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Victory Christian Academy (Lakeland, Fla.)

The City of Palms Classic is expected to have major rankings implications. The winner of the event has finished ranked No. 5 or higher in every season dating back to 2012-13. Six City of Palms Classic champions have gone on to finish the season ranked No. 1 nationally while four more have finished the season ranked No. 2.

Jordan Smith, Paul VI (No. 3 prospect in Class of 2026)

Caleb Holt, Prolific Prep (No. 4 prospect in Class of 2026)

Dylan Mingo, Long Island Lutheran (No. 5 prospect in Class of 2026)

Christian Collins, St. John Bosco (No. 8 prospect in Class of 2026)

Caleb Gaskins, Columbus (No. 12 prospect in Class of 2026)

Tajh Ariza, St. John Bosco (No. 17 prospect in Class of 2026)

Qayden Samuels, Bishop McNamara (No. 20 prospect in Class of 2026)

Jaxon Richardson, Columbus (No. 21 prospect in Class of 2026)

Colben Landrew, Wheeler (No. 26 prospect in Class of 2026)

Latrell Allmond, Petersburg (No. 29 prospect in Class of 2026)

Miles Sadler, CIA-Bella Vista (No. 30 prospect in Class of 2026)

Bruce Branch, Prolific Prep (No. 1 prospect in Class of 2027)

Paul Osaruyi, CIA-Bella Vista (No. 4 prospect in Class of 2027)

Nasir Anderson, Prolific Prep (No. 7 prospect in Class of 2027)

Lincoln Cosby, Montverde Academy (No. 9 prospect in Class of 2027)

Moussa Kamissoko, Long Island Lutheran (No. 10 prospect in Class of 2027)

Cayden Daughtry, Calvary Christian Academy (No. 17 prospect in Class of 2027)