Ohio high school basketball's top showcases in 2025-26 OHSAA season

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Ohio high school basketball's top showcases in 2025-26 OHSAA season

Dave Purpura, Columbus Dispatch · The Columbus Dispatch

Mon, Dec 8, 2025 ·

8 min read

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The boys and girls high school basketball seasons have begun, with most central Ohio teams already into league play.

Many area teams will participate in showcase events over the next two months in central Ohio and beyond.

Several of those – including the return of The Challenge after a one-year absence – span multiple days, giving fans a chance to see several games and top-tier players with a single ticket.

Here are several showcases to put on your calendar for the remainder of the winter. Schedules are subject to change.

Reynoldsburg's Jorden Bowens dunks during a Division I state semifinal win over West Chester Lakota West on March 16. The teams will meet again Dec. 21 during the Capital City Coaches for a Cure Classic at Capital University.

Capital City Coaches for a Cure Classic (Dec. 20-21 at Capital University)

The seventh installment of this event includes Division I state semifinal rematches between Olentangy Orange and Cleveland St. Ignatius as well as Reynoldsburg and West Chester Lakota West and a matchup of defending state champions in Westerville North (Division II) and Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (Division V).

The event has raised more than $17,000 for cancer research, according to organizer and Capital assistant men's coach Anthony Gholson.

Saturday, Dec. 20

Big Walnut vs. Kings Mills Kings, 2 p.m.
Centennial vs. Walnut Ridge, 3:40 p.m.
Africentric vs. Newark, 5:30 p.m.
Olentangy Orange vs. Cleveland St. Ignatius, 7:10 p.m.
Hartley vs. Cincinnati Summit Country Day, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 21

Pickerington North vs. Dayton Dunbar, noon
Olentangy Liberty vs. Brunswick, 1:40 p.m.
Pickerington Central vs. Youngstown Ursuline, 3:20 p.m.
New Albany vs. Upper Arlington, 5:10 p.m.
Westerville North vs. Cleveland Heights Lutheran East, 6:50 p.m.
Reynoldsburg vs. West Chester Lakota West, 8:30 p.m.

Westerville South's Xavier Jones (23) blocks the shot of Rocky River Lutheran West's Gavyn Kittelberger during last year's Holiday Hoopla. South is in the field again this year for the event, which has to grown to include 27 high school teams and will span three days the weekend before Christmas.

Holiday Hoopla (Dec. 20-22 at Greater Columbus Convention Center)

Held a week earlier than the inaugural event a season ago , 62 high school teams and eight middle school squads will play on three courts over three days. Middle school teams will play a tournament. Here are the games involving central Ohio high school teams.

Saturday, Dec. 20

Boys: Marysville vs. Medina, 11:15 a.m.
Girls: Northland vs. Walnut Ridge, 11:15 a.m.
Boys: Fairbanks vs. Genoa Christian Academy, 1 p.m.
Girls: Liberty Union vs. Massillon Washington, 1 p.m.
Girls: Hilliard Bradley vs. West Chester Lakota West, 2:45 p.m.
Girls: Big Walnut vs. Akron St. Vincent-St, Mary, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 21

Boys: Dublin Jerome vs. Licking Heights, 2:45 p.m.
Boys: Hilliard Bradley vs. Cecilia (Kentucky) Central Hardin, 4:30 p.m.
Boys: Ready vs. Lima Central Catholic, 6:15 p.m.
Boys: Columbus Academy vs. Huber Heights Wayne, 8 p.m.
Boys: Hamilton Township vs. Toledo St. Francis, 8 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 22

Boys: Walnut Ridge vs. Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 11:15 a.m.
Girls: Briggs vs. Licking Heights, 11:15 a.m.
Boys: Harvest Prep vs. Rocky River, 11:15 a.m.
Boys: Dublin Coffman vs. Central Hardin, 2:45 p.m.
Girls: Harvest Prep vs. Springfield, 2:45 p.m.
Boys: Grove City vs. Westerville South, 4:30 p.m.
Boys: Northland vs. Euclid, 4:30 p.m.
Girls: Eastmoor Academy vs. Cleveland John Marshall, 4:30 p.m.
Boys: Hilliard Darby vs. Watterson, 6:15 p.m.
Boys: Olentangy Orange vs. Cincinnati Aiken, 6:15 p.m.
Boys: Reynoldsburg vs. South Bend (Indiana) St. Joseph, 6:15 p.m.
Boys: Jonathan Alder vs. New Madison Tri-Village, 8 p.m.
Boys: Pickerington North vs. Centerville, 8 p.m.
Girls: Gahanna vs. Watterson, 8 p.m.

Shot Clock Shootout (Dec. 27-28 at Canton Fieldhouse)

The second Shot Clock Shootout will feature three area teams, including Olentangy's boys after the Braves girls team participated a season ago .

Ten games will be played over two days.

Saturday, Dec. 27

Boys: Olentangy vs. North Canton Hoover, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 28

Girls: Olentangy Berlin vs. Rocky River, 1:45 p.m.
Boys: Hamilton Township vs. Canton Central Catholic, 3:30 p.m.

New Year's Bash (Jan. 3 at Harvest Prep)

The fifth annual New Year's Bash features seven games, including six boys matchups and a girls game to end the day between a Harvest Prep team that reached a Division V regional semifinal last winter and Division I Reynoldsburg. Defending Division III state champion Louisville highlights the boys field.

Patriot Prep vs. Monroe, 10:30 a.m.
Watterson vs. Perrysburg, noon
Louisville vs. Newport (Kentucky), 1:30 p.m.
Rocky River Lutheran West at Harvest Prep, 3 p.m.
Genoa Christian Academy vs. Dayton Meadowdale, 4:30 p.m.
Hartley vs. Cincinnati Aiken, 6 p.m.
Girls: Reynoldsburg at Harvest Prep, 7:30 p.m.

Olentangy Orange, including senior guard Treyton Schroeder, will be one of four OCC teams participating in The Challenge on Jan. 10 at Africentric against City League teams.

The Challenge (Jan. 10 at Africentric)

The Challenge was not played in 2025 after fights brought the 2024 event to a premature end , but the brainchild of brothers Jason and Michael Bates – the coaches at Pickerington North and Africentric, respectively – returns in January with four City League-OCC matchups.

Olentangy Orange vs. Centennial, noon
Pickerington North vs. Walnut Ridge, 1:45 p.m.
Delaware vs. Northland, 3:30 p.m.
Hilliard Bradley at Africentric, 5:15 p.m.

Senior guard Hayden Henry and Upper Arlington will participate in Flyin' to the Hoop in mid-January at Kettering Fairmont.

Flyin' to the Hoop (Jan. 16-19 at Kettering Fairmont)

The 23rd annual extravaganza in suburban Dayton includes 18 games but only two involving central Ohio teams, a decrease from previous years.

Friday, Jan. 16

Reynoldsburg vs. Geneva SPIRE Academy, 8:15 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 18

Upper Arlington vs. Kettering Alter, 6:30 p.m.

Columbus Academy's Jason Singleton (5) makes a steal from Cleveland Heights Lutheran East's Chris Hill during the Division V state final in March.

Battle in the 614 (Jan 17-19 at Ohio Dominican)

The first half of Battle of the 614 for this season took place Dec. 6 and 7 with boys and girls teams, and the event's fifth January event comes up over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.

Both of central Ohio's defending state champions as well as Division V runner-up Columbus Academy are in the field.

This event will be one of three statewide on this weekend to be played with a 35-second shot clock .

Saturday, Jan. 17

Centennial vs. Worthington Kilbourne, 11 a.m.
Licking Heights vs. Northland, 12:30 p.m.
Marysville vs. Springfield, 2 p.m.
Columbus Academy vs. Springfield Kenton Ridge, 3:30 p.m.
Hartley vs. Cincinnati Winton Woods, 5 p.m.
Olentangy Orange vs. Cincinnati Princeton, 6:30 p.m.
Africentric vs. Hamilton Township, 8 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 18

Dublin Coffman vs. Lancaster, 11 a.m.
Pickerington Central vs. Toledo Central Catholic, 12:30 p.m.
Gahanna vs. Louisville, 2 p.m.
Newark vs. Toledo St. Francis, 3:30 p.m.
Big Walnut vs. Perrysburg, 5 p.m.
Olentangy Liberty vs. Berea-Midpark, 6:30 p.m.
Westerville North vs. Cincinnati Aiken, 8 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 19

Fairfield Union vs. London, 11:30 a.m.
Granville vs. New Carlisle Tecumseh, 1 p.m.
Ready vs. St. Clairsville, 2:30 p.m.
Watterson vs. Trotwood-Madison, 4 p.m.
Marion Harding vs. Newport (Kentucky), 5:30 p.m.

Classic in the City (Jan. 17-19 at Pickerington Central)

The fifth Classic in the City involves 30 teams from six states and Ontario, including the host and defending Division I state champion Tigers and five more central Ohio teams that reached the regional tournament a season ago.

Saturday, Jan. 17

Olentangy Liberty vs. Reynoldsburg, 9 a.m.
Frankfort (Illinois) Example Academy-Blue vs. Orangeville (Illinois), 10:30 a.m.
Olentangy Berlin vs. Chillicothe Unioto, noon
Westerville South vs. Toronto Crestwood Prep-Blue, 1:30 p.m.
Olentangy vs. Hudson Western Reserve, 3 p.m.
Clarksville (Tennessee) Christian vs. Niagara Falls (Ontario) Niagara Prep, 4:30 p.m.
Oakville (Ontario) Kings Christian Collegiate at Pickerington Central, 6 p.m.
Crestwood Prep vs. Example Academy-National, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 18

Dayton Chaminade Julienne vs. Elizabethtown (Kentucky) John Hardin, 9 a.m.
Gahanna vs. Crestwood-Blue, 10:30 a.m.
Clarksville Christian vs. Orangeville, noon
Pickerington North vs. Proctorville Fairland, 1:30 p.m.
Upper Arlington vs. West Chester Lakota West, 3 p.m.
Niagara Prep vs. Western Reserve, 4:30 p.m.
Example Academy-Varsity vs. Winchester (Kentucky) George Rogers Clark, 6 p.m.
Huntington (West Virginia) Prep vs. Kings Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 19

Crestwood-Blue vs. Indianapolis Lawrence Central, 9 a.m.
Crestwood Prep at Pickerington Central, 10:30 a.m.
George Rogers Clark vs. Kings Christian, noon
Huntington Prep vs. Niagara Prep, 1:30 p.m.
Lakota West vs. Lawrence Central, 3 p.m.
Watterson vs. Stewart Federal Hocking, 4:30 p.m.
Harvest Prep vs. Chillicothe Unioto, 6 p.m.
Hartley vs. Westerville South, 7:30 p.m.

Classic in the Country (Jan. 17-19 at Berlin Hiland)

The 23rd installment of Classic in the Country consists of 22 games in three days, with eight each on Jan. 17 and 19. Olentangy and Kent State-bound point guard Whitney Stafford highlight central Ohioans in the event. Here are the games involving local teams.

Saturday, Jan. 17

Dublin Coffman vs. Berea-Midpark, noon

Sunday, Jan. 18

Granville vs. Castalia Margaretta, noon
Newark vs. Kettering Fairmont, 6 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 19

Olentangy vs. Mason, 10:30 a.m.

Big Walnut, including junior guard Remy Largent (in white), will host the six-game 28.5 Ohio Classic on Jan. 31.

Big Walnut 28.5 Ohio Classic (Jan. 31 at Big Walnut)

The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association is putting on this six-game event, which it advertises as a "historic day for Ohio high school hoops – girls teams, coached by women and officiated by women."

The host Golden Eagles reached their first state tournament a season ago.

Worthington Kilbourne vs. Dublin Jerome, 10:45 a.m.
Fort Loramie vs. Cincinnati Indian Hill, 12:30 p.m.
Whitehouse Anthony Wayne vs. Medina, 2:15 p.m.
Akron Hoban vs. Versailles, 4 p.m.
Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary vs. Cincinnati Princeton, 5:45 p.m.
Copley at Big Walnut, 7:30 p.m.

High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA basketball showcases in Ohio high school 2025-2026 season

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