Every year, high school girls basketball is packed with more new, exciting showcases and tournaments than the prior regular season was.
But there's still nothing like the Nike TOC.
If you want to see some of the best teams from every part of the country – not to mention Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond – in a particularly competitive format, Phoenix is the place to be.
READ: Archbishop Mitty is No. 1 in SN's national rankings entering Nike TOC
The list of entrants includes No. 1 Archbishop Mitty, No. 3 Long Island Lutheran, No. 4 Westtown, No. 12 Mater Dei, No. 18 Bishop McNamara, No. 20 Bullis, San Ramon Valley, Las Vegas Centennial, Christ the King, Osbourn Park, Kingdom Collegiate Academy, Friends Central, Riverdale Baptist, Fairmont Prep, University School of Jackson, Xavier College Prep, Bella Vista College Prep, Bartlett, Cypress Springs, Desert Vista, Valley Vista, Legend, Grandview, Dream City Christian, Example Academy, Lone Peak, Mt. Zion Prep Academy National, Mullen, and Sage Hill. And countless other state-ranked teams just below national radars will be there.
Top storylines
Can Archbishop Mitty three-peat without the MVP?
Archbishop Mitty has walked out of the last two Nike TOCs with a perfect record on the season and a consensus or near-consensus No. 1 ranking in the country.
Two years ago the Monarchs beat Long Island Lutheran 73-72 in the finals, and last year it was a 59-34 rout of Ontario Christian. Both were unbeaten and ranked No. 1 before facing them.
Both times, it was an outstanding team-wide effort anchored by tournament MVP McKenna Woliczko averaging well north of 20 PPG, 10 RPG, and 50% FG.
The 5-star Iowa commit isn't quite back from a knee injury she suffered in January, so Archbishop Mitty (6-0) isn't a clear favorite in such a loaded field despite entering with multiple national No. 1 rankings. But the Monarchs have been so good even without Woliczko for the past 11 months that they're still a can't-miss threat to repeat. The team is still well-rounded, deep, and stacked with talent headlined by PGs Ze'Ni Patterson and Tiera McCarthy, Ws Emma Cook and Abi James, and P Maliya Hunter.
Long Island Lutheran is back where it all began
The last generation of LuHi girls basketball – the one with the 5-star 2024 trio of PG Kayleigh Heckel (USC, now at UConn), C Kate Koval (Notre Dame, now at LSU), and W Syla Swords (Michigan) – announced its rival at the 2022 Nike TOC.
It entered the TOC 5-0 with wins over fellow national powers before beating Lake Highland Prep 79-67 and, coincidentally, Archbishop Mitty 70-48 in the first two rounds. The semifinals was one of the more significant games in recent high school hoops history as the Crusaders delivered a 63-60 upset of Sidwell Friends – the consensus No. 1 team in the country, off to a 6-0 start after its legendary undefeated 2021-22 season. LuHi then more or less cruised past La Jolla Country Day 63-50 for the title.
2024-25 likely would have brought a shot at a national title for the Crusaders if a few of their top players didn't miss extended time with injuries. But now they're healthy and widely ranked as one of the very best teams in the country with a 63-56 win over Bishop McNamara and 69-44 rout of St. John's under their belt. Long Island Lutheran has unmatched an armory of elite guards and wings with Savvy Swords, Olivia Jones, Emily McDonald, Sanai Green, and Taylor Brown leading the way. There's a strong argument that they stand alone as the team to beat in the Vincent Cannizzaro Division.
Every division is loaded
The TOC is as deep as ever, if not deeper. The Vincent Cannizzaro Division, considered to be the top division, consists of Mitty, LuHi, Mater Dei, DPAC, Bishop McNamara, Bullis, Scanlan, Mt. Zion Prep Academy, Fairmont Prep, Homewood Flossmoor, San Ramon Valley, St. Mary's (NY), Newcastle, Millennium, Bartlett, and Lone Peak.
Does that include all the national-caliber competition at the TOC? Not even close. Even without that division, the tournament would still be one of the top events of the regular season. The Clare Droesch and Joe Smith divisions also contain nationally ranked competition, and most or all of the other divisions are packed with teams that have achieved statewide prominence in competitive states. So success at the Nike TOC is a big deal even in the lower divisions.
Top potential matchups
Round 1: Millennium (6-1) vs. Monsignor Scanlan (7-1)
This one isn't exactly a "potential" matchup per se, because it's definitely happening. And it has a strong chance to be the most exciting game of the first round. Both of these nationally ranked teams have realistic paths to solidifying their status among the nation's elite, and each enter with just one loss coming against fellow ranked competition.
Making it even better, both teams have lethally quick guards and blue chip freshmen. Millennium Gs Dashia Richardson (2027), T'maea Eteuati (2026, Colgate), and Brooklyn Williams (2029) will tangle with Scanlan's Madison Howard (2026, Syracuse) and Crystal Thomas (2029). Millennium is also tasked with stopping 6-foot-3 Scanlan C Mikaiya Beasley (2027).
Quarterfinals: Democracy Prep Agassi Campus (3-0) vs. Archbishop Mitty (6-0)
Democracy Prep is unbeaten and just did the one thing that has painfully eluded Archbishop Mitty for three years and counting: taking down Etiwanda. So, the Blue Knights have a chance to make the semifinals against the two-time reigning TOC champion, and what a matchup that would be between two teams that'd be unbeaten in that scenario.
It would be an army of top-notch guards and wings going at it as DPAC's Keonni Lewis, Elyah Ocampo, Bray'ana Miles, and Ella Smith would do battle with Mitty's Ze'Ni Patterson, Tiera McCarthy, Abi James, Emma Cook, and Devin Cosgriff. The big question would be if the undersized Blue Knights could simultaneously contain 6-foot-2 sophomore Maliya Hunter, one of the top PFs in the Class of 2028.
Quarterfinals: Bishop McNamara (3-2) vs. San Ramon Valley (7-1)
Whereas every girls hoops fan who's paid attention the few years knows Bishop McNamara, San Ramon Valley is the best team in this field that most fans don't know. The Wolves are nationally ranked too, and despite their early loss to fellow NorCal juggernaut St. Mary's (Stockton), we aren't convinced they aren't going to pull a big upset or two this week. In this quarterfinal, they'd look to make their biggest splash yet against a reigning disputed national champion that's formidable once again in 2025-26 but has single-digit losses to Long Island Lutheran and St. Francis Academy.
This matchup would feature two pairs of highly productive guard duos with the Mustangs' juniors Qandace Samuels and Nyair McCoy dueling against San Ramon Valley senior Alyssa Rudd (San Jose State) and junior Ella Gunderson. Both teams are deep with other contributors, the most physically imposing of whom by far is 6-foor-4 Bishop McNamara freshman C Tegan Primus.
Quarterfinals: Long Island Lutheran (4-0) vs. Mater Dei (7-0)
When LuHi came up one bucket short of repeating as champion in 2023, it was a 5-star forward from California – Mitty's McKenna Woliczko – who took down the star-studded Crusaders in an upset.
In this projected semifinal, LuHi will be a heavy favorite against another 6-foot-2 and versatile 5-star California forward in Kaeli Wynn, a South Carolina commit. This isn't the scariest Mater Dei team of recent years on paper, but the Monarchs are always greater than the some of their parts and they're ranked 12th in the country for a reason. They also tend to raise their play against the top teams from other parts of the country. Could they have a shot against another star-studded LuHi national contender?
Semifinals: Bullis (5-1) vs. Long Island Lutheran (4-0)
Despite a one-point loss to St. John's, Bullis is looking scary in a bit of a reloading season. 5-star G/W Ivanna Manyacka-Wilson has been even better than she was as a sophomore, and the retooled core around her has rounded out nicely. Since the loss, the Bulldogs have bounced back to beat Bishop Ireton, St. Francis (Alpharetta), and IMG Academy, so they can't be ruled out from winning the whole thing.
Semifinals: Archbishop Mitty (6-0) vs. San Ramon Valley (7-1)
Northern California fans would enthused in the event that San Ramon Valley upsets Bishop McNamara for an all-NorCal Open Division section champion semifinal of the Wolves and Archbishop Mitty. Even without McKenna Woliczko, the Monarchs would be heavy favorites, but the pressure on them would be even higher than usual as getting upset by a NorCal opponent would be a particularly tough blow for the four-time defending regional champion.
Finals: Long Island Lutheran (4-0) vs. Bishop McNamara (3-2)
In the more likely scenario than the above semifinal in which Bishop McNamara wins its side of the bracket against top-ranked West Coast competition, there's a good chance it'll go up against the top-ranked team on the East Coast, LuHi, in the finals. LuHi won 67-40 when these teams met at the TOC two years ago, not that it carries much with for very different squads in 2025-26, but it was much closer when they met just last week with LuHi prevailing 63-56.
Finals: Long Island Lutheran (4-0) vs. Archbishop Mitty (6-0)
What neutral fan would wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of the two top-ranked teams in the whole Nike TOC meeting in the finals when these two programs have combined to win the last three finals? While Mitty is ranked No. 1 by SN as well as MaxPreps, it would admittedly be an underdog here with McKenna Woliczko not yet back from her knee injury. But what a battle this game would be.
Finals: Westtown (7-0) vs. Friends' Central (7-2)
We head to the Clare Droesch Division for this one as one of the likeliest championship matchups happens to pit two very familiar opponents from far away – the top-ranked teams in Pennsylvania – against each other. For Friends' Central, it'd be a chance at revenge and to step out of the shadow of a perennial national contender on a particularly large stage. (Its mascot is the Phoenix – who knows, maybe it's a sign.) The Phoenix went 0-3 against Westtown last season by scores of 63-54, 82-51, and 71-47, but this appears to be a stronger Friends' Central group. Its only losses have come by single digits to Bishop McNamara and The St. James Performance Academy.