How to watch the GEICO Nationals plus other things to know about the basketball tournament
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Although there is no official national high school basketball championship tournament, the GEICO Nationals are as close to the NCAA Tournament as we can get.
For the third straight year, the high school boys and girls tournament will take place in Fort Myers at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Because of coronavirus restrictions in New York in 2021, the tournament was moved to Florida SouthWestern State College, where the City of Palms Classic is played in December.
Eight of the top boys and four of the top girls' teams from across the nation will descend for three days − March 30-April 1 − and play 10 games, all nationally televised by ESPN, to crown mythical national champions
Last season was a Montverde sweep as the boys team beat Link Academy (Mo.), 60-49, in the title game for its sixth GEICO title, while the girls captured their first Geico National Championship after defeating top-seeded New Hope Academy, 61-57.
More: Geico Nationals Day 2: Finals set, AZ Compass boys vs. Link; LuHi girls vs. Montverde
More: GEICO Nationals boast a star-studded basketball field. Here are the top players to watch
Here is how you can catch this year's action:
GEICO Nationals game and TV schedule
Thu., March 30 | Noon | Boys’ Quarterfinal 1No. 5 St. Paul VI (Va.) vs. No. No. 4 Link Academy (Mo.) | ESPNU |
2 p.m. | Boys’ Quarterfinal 2No. 11 IMG Academy (Fla.) vs. No. 3 Prolific Prep (Calif.) | ESPNU | |
4 p.m. | Boys’ Quarterfinal 3No. 15 AZ Compass (Ariz.) vs. No. 4 LuHi (N.Y.) | ESPNU | |
6 p.m. | Boys’ Quarterfinal 4No. 16 Sunrise Christian (Kan.) vs. No. 1 Montverde (Fla.) | ESPNU | |
Fri., March 31 | 10:30 a.m. | Girls’ Semifinal 1McDonogh (Md.) vs. No. 4 LuHi (N.Y) | ESPNU |
12:30 p.m. | Girls’ Semifinal 2Westtown (Penn.) vs. No. 3 Montverde (Fla.) | ESPNU | |
2:30 p.m. | Boys’ Semifinal 1 | ESPN2 | |
4:30 p.m. | Boys’ Semifinal 2 | ESPN2 | |
Sat., April 1 | 10 a.m. | Girls’ Championship Game | ESPN2 |
Noon | Boys’ Championship Game | ESPN |
GEICO Nationals boys team information
Boys player rankings are from the ESPN 100 (class of 2023), ESPN 60 (class of 2024) and ESPN 25 (class of 2025)
Montverde Academy
Record: 23-2
Tournament History: 11th appearance, Champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021 & 2022
Coach: Kevin Boyle
ESPN Ranked Players: No. 13 Kwame Evans (Oregon), No. 16 Sean Stewart (Duke), No. 35 Chris Johnson (Kansas); No. 9 Junior Derik Queen, No. 10 junior Liam McNeeley, No. 18 junior Asa Newell, No. 58 junior Curtis Givens; No. 2 Sophomore Cooper Flagg
Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.)
Record: 20-2
Tournament History: First appearance
Coach: John Buck
ESPN Ranked Players: No. 52 junior V.J. Edgecombe
Prolific Prep (Calif.)
Record: 31-1
Tournament History: Third appearance
Coach: Ryan Bernardi
ESPN Ranked Players: No. 17 Aden Holloway (Auburn), No. 44 Tre Green (Xavier); No. 15 junior Yves Missi (Baylor), No. 41 junior Zion Sensley
Link Academy (Mo.)
Record: 24-1
Tournament History: Second appearance (Runner-up in 2022)
Coach: Bill Armstrong
ESPN Ranked Players: No. 14 Ja’Kobe Walter (Baylor), No. 71 Jacolb Cole (Oklahoma), No. 89 Cameron Carr (Tennessee); No. 13 junior Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina); No. 19 sophomore B.J. Davis-Ray, No. 20 sophomore Aaron Rowe
St. Paul VI Catholic (Va.)
Record: 31-1
Tournament History: First appearance
Coach: Glenn Farello
ESPN Ranked Players: No. 45 DeShawn Harris-Smith (Maryland); No. 43 junior Darren Harris (Duke)
IMG Academy
Record: 17-7
Tournament History: Fifth appearance, Champion in 2019
Coach: Sean McAloon
ESPN Ranked Players: No. 58 Jamie Kaiser (Maryland), No. 77 Blue Cain (Georgia Tech); No. 14 junior Amier Ali, No. junior 42 Khani Rooths; No. 11 sophomore Jamier Jones
AZ Compass Prep
Record: 22-5
Tournament History: Third appearance
Coach: Ed Gipson
ESPN Ranked Players: No. 18 Mookie Cook (Oregon), No. 64 Zayden High (North Carolina), No 70 Rayvon Griffith (Cincinnati), No. 75 Trent Pierce (Missouri), No. 88 Tru Washington (New Mexico), No. 97 Jordan Ross (St. Mary’s); No. 22 junior Jamari Phillips (Arizona), No. 24 junior Vyctorius Miller, No. 55 junior Marcus Allen
Sunrise Christian Academy (Kansas)
Record: 21-7
Tournament History: Fourth appearance (Runner-up in 2021)
Coach: Luke Barnwell
ESPN Ranked Players: No. 9 Matas Buzelis, No. 24 Scotty Middleton (Ohio State), No. 25 Layden Blocker (Arkansas), No. 33 Miro Little (Baylor); No. 25 junior John Bol
GEICO Nationals girls team information
Montverde Academy
Record: 24-1
Tournament History: Second appearance, Champion in 2022
Head coach: Special Jennings
espnW Ranked Players: No. 36 Letycia Vasconcelos (Baylor), No. 40 Sahnya Jah (South Carolina), No. 86 Mjracle Sheppard; No. 34 junior Vivian Iwuchukwu
Long Island Lutheran
Record: 19-2
Tournament History: First appearance
Coach: Christina Raiti
espnW Ranked Players: No. 17 junior Kateryna Koval, No. 50 junior Kayleigh Heckel
McDonogh School (Md.)
Tournament History: First appearance
Coach: Brad Rees
espnW Ranked Players: No. 27 junior Kennedy Umeh; freshman Autumn Fleary
Westtown (Penn.)
Record: 21-4
Tournament History: First appearance
Coach: Fran Burbidge
Key Players: senior Grace Sundback; junior Zahra King; 8th grade Jordyn Palmer
How to buy tickets
General admission tickets are $15 per day and can be purchased at hsbasketballnationals.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: GEICO Nationals 2023 high school boys and girls basketball championships info
