Winning a high school basketball state championship is always a
challenge regardless of the state, classification or matchups along the
way. Today, we examine the toughest hardwood state tournament brackets
in 2024-25. Hundreds of classifications across 50 states and the
District of Columbia were narrowed down to the 10 most daunting.
Determining
factors include MaxPreps Top 25 teams in the field, quality of
favorites and top contenders, depth and quality of the tournament field
and overall difficulty of capturing the championship.
Read on for a full rundown of the top 10 state tournaments in high school basketball below.
1. California Open DivisionEtiwanda,
Ontario Christian (Ontario),
Mater Dei (Santa Ana),
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth),
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose),
Clovis West (Fresno)Rundown: Though only one will advance from Northern and Southern California, the process to get to the final proves you will have earned the right to play for the title. The winner in the south will most likely have to win four games against an opponent in the MaxPreps Top 25 just to get to Golden 1 Center. The north battle should come down to Mitty vs. Clovis West as it did last year.
2. Texas Class 6A Division 2
2023 champion: N/A, first year with added division
Contenders: Boswell (Fort Worth),
Frenship (Wolfforth),
Lancaster,
Cypress Springs (Cypress),
Churchill (San Antonio),
San Marcos (San Marcos),
Fort Bend Hightower (Missouri City),
Alief Taylor (Houston)Rundown: The bracket is down to a final eight and ranked teams Boswell and Judson looked to be on a collision course for the final. However, Churchill didn't get the memo and upset Judson on Tuesday. Lancaster, with former Duncanville coach Leanna Howard, and Cypress Springs with McDonald's All American
Ayla McDowell are on the Boswell side of the bracket.
3. lllinois Class 4ARundown: The field is flat-out loaded. Lyons has spent time in the MaxPreps Top 25 while Kenwood, Nazareth Academy, Benet Academy and Loyola Academy each have fewer than three losses. Then there's 22-8 Whitney Young with
Destiny Jackson. She put up 42 en route to beating Kenwood on Saturday to win the Chicago Public League title for the fourth straight year.
4. Georgia Private 1A-3ARundown:
The top seeds should advance in this hybrid bracket of regional and
national powers against smaller private schools. Hebron Christian has persevered through injury and is ranked No. 3 in the country behind
Danielle Osho and
Ja’kerra Butler. St. Francis has four double-digit scorers led by sophomore
Giaunna Rogers while Holy Innocents is fueled by Stanford commit and McDonald's All American
Hailee Swain.
Rundown: There
have already been a few major upsets as the highest classification in
the Hoosier State gets set for semi-state action this weekend. No. 9
Hamilton Southeastern has been ranked all season but losses by
Lawrence Central to Lawrence North and South Bend to Warsaw put everybody on notice.
6. Texas Class 6A Division 1
2023-24 champion: DuncanvilleContenders: Duncanville,
Cedar Hill,
North Crowley (Fort Worth,),
Plano East (Plano),
Summer Creek (Houston),
Dawson (Pearland),
Steele (Cibolo),
Brennan (San Antonio)Rundown: Even after splitting the classification into two divisions, winning the Lone Star State's biggest bracket is a massive accomplishment. Duncanville is battle-tested this season with a national slate under its belt and superstar sophomore
Samari Holmen leading the way. However, Plano East could be a spoiler pick in the final eight with its own fabulous underclassman, freshman
Arianna Robinson. She is averaging 21 points per game and scored eight in the fourth quarter of a key early-round win over South Grand Prairie, which reached last year's final.
7. Iowa Class 5A2023-24 champion: JohnstonContenders: Johnston,
Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines),
Waukee,
Ankeny Centennial (Ankeny),
Cedar Falls,
Davenport North (Davenport),
Pleasant Valley,
Prairie (Cedar Rapids)Rundown: Everyone's chasing defending champion Johnston, who check in at No. 13 in the MaxPreps Top 25. But Dowling Catholic, which reached last year's final, fell 64-62 in January to Johnston in a nip-and-tuck game that came down to the end. Pleasant Valley beat Johnston in the 2022-23 championship game and Davenport North could get hot behind LSU commit
Divine Bourrage.
8. New Jersey Non-Public B
Rundown: Though it's divided into north and south with the winners meeting for the state title, Non-Public B features a gauntlet of programs with individual stars that have carried their teams to success this season and in past years. Led by twins
Mia Pauldo and
Mya Pauldo, Morris Catholic is who the field is chasing but Paul VI is unbeaten, Red Bank Catholic was ranked for part of the season, coach Dawn Karpell is no stranger to winning at St. John-Vianney and
Jada Lynch of St. Rose is a straight-up baller.
9. Colorado Class 6A
Lowdown: The defending champion Eagles haven't lost in-state this season, beating Grandview 65-62 in January. Grandview is fueled by UCLA commit and multi-year MaxPreps All-American
Sienna Betts, who is averaging 23.8 points and 16.8 rebounds per game. Valor Christian brings Pepperdine commit
Quinn VanSickle along with 2026 guard
Peyton Jones and 2026 post
Camryn Gunter. No team in the top seven in the state rankings has more than six losses.
10. Kentucky Sweet 16
Rundown: The last state to have a winner-take-all bracket has to be included. Sacred Heart has dominated the tournament for the past few years behind LSU commit
ZaKiyah Johnson. But 21-5 Simon Kenton showed earlier this month the Valkyries can be beat. George Rogers Clark is battle-tested after competing at the Nike Tournament of Champions in December.
