High school basketball: Montverde Academy, AZ Compass Prep headline 10-team 2021 GEICO Nationals field

The matchups are set for GEICO Nationals, which is scheduled for March 31-April 3 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. The event is designed to help crown a true national champion in high school basketball and each of the top four teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 will be featured this season.

The 13th annual event sees the field expand to 10 teams (from eight) with first-time participants AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), Milton (Ga.), Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) and Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) joining mainstays Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.), IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah), Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.).

The four-day tournament is live streaming on the ESPN family of networks (full schedule below) and features eight of the top 16 teams in MaxPreps Top 25 rankings.

Due to last season's event being canceled, IMG Academy enters as the defending champion after capturing its first GEICO Nationals title in 2019. The Ascenders earned the No. 3 seed with a first-round showdown against Georgia Class AAAAAAA state champion Milton — ranked No. 7 in the MaxPreps Top 25.

Top-ranked Montverde Academy makes its 10th appearance and has walked away with the trophy four times. Although the Eagles will be a slight favorite over the field, things are wide open for a handful of teams to make a run.

Along with the Montverde Academy and IMG Academy, No. 4 seed AZ Compass Prep will be playing with a chip on its shoulder as the No. 2-ranked team in the MaxPreps Top 25 is notably seeded behind Sunrise Christian Academy, who the Dragons beat head-to-head Jan. 30. The upstart program also took Montverde Academy to overtime before suffering its only loss of the season. GEICO Nationals Schedule

Wednesday, March 31
Games on ESPN3, All times ET
6 p.m. – Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) vs. La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.)
8 p.m. – Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) vs. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)

Thursday, April 1
Games on ESPNU
Noon – IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) vs. Milton (Ga.)
2 p.m. – Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) vs. Prolific Prep/La Lumiere winner
4 p.m. – Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) vs. Pace/Oak Hill winner
6 p.m. – AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) vs. Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)

Friday, April 2
Games on ESPN2
2:30 p.m. – Semifinal
4:30 p.m. – Semifinal

Saturday, April 3
Game on ESPN
Noon – Championship