High school basketball: No. 1 Paul VI, No. 6 Edmond North and No. 11 McEachern headline Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions

The Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in annually one of the premier high school basketball events in the nation. The 39th installment will be played Jan. 11-13 at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Mo.

Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) is the headliner in this year's field. The Panthers (11-1) enter the event ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25. 

The DMV powerhouse features a roster filled with Division I talent including four-star Duke signee Darren Harris, three-star Notre Dame signee Garrett Sundra, three-star Rhode Island signee Ben Hammond, four-star Connecticut signee Isaiah Abraham and five-star sophomore Jordan Smith among others. Top 20 Duke signee Patrick Ngongba is sidelined due to injury. Paul VI faces Glendale (Springfield, Mo.) in the first round Thursday at 7:30 p.m. CT.

No. 11 McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) is another attraction in this year's field. The Indians (10-3) feature five-star Rutgers signee Ace Bailey, who is having a monster senior season with averages of 32.8 points and 14.7 rebounds per contest. 

McEachern faces a talented Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) team in the first round.

The McEachern-Vashon winner faces the Paul VI-Glendale winner in the semifinals on Friday at 9 p.m.

On the other side of the eight-team bracket, No. 6 Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) is the team to beat. The Huskies (9-0) will face their first out-of-state opponent this season in the first round when they meet Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

A senior-laden Edmond North group is led by three-star Wyoming signee Dylan Warlick, who is the program's all-time leading scorer with nearly 1,500 career points.

St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) is another contender. The Braves (15-3) have a loaded lineup headlined by under-the-radar junior Kade Bonam, No. 2-ranked sophomore prospect Brandon McCoy Jr. four-star junior Elzie Harrington and Loyola signee Jack Turner.

St. John Bosco takes on Central (Springfield, Mo.) in the first round Thursday at 6 p.m.

The Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions is one of the most well-attended events in the nation, with past crowds surpassing 10,000 on championship Saturday and approaching 30,000 fans over the course of the three-day event.