NCSAA Basketball Championships
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - Saturday, March 7, 2026
2026 NCSAA Basketball Championships
 | Girls' Varsity Basketball March 4-7, 2026
Monday, February 6, 2025 |
Date: March 4-7, 2026 (Girls: March 4-6, Boys: March 5-7)
Registration Deadline:
The 2026 NCSAA Basketball Championships are open to girls' varsity basketball and boys' varsity basketball teams. Teams from any region of the country are welcome to attend.
This tournament will be limited to a maximum of 128 teams (comprised of a maximum of 48 girls' varsity basketball teams and a maximum of 96 boys' varsity basketball teams). Register soon in order to be sure to claim a spot!
The final registration deadline is February 6, 2025. At that time we will close registration to begin making the brackets and schedule for the tournament.
Tournament Format:
- This tournament will be limited to a maximum of 128 teams (comprised of a maximum of 48 girls' varsity basketball teams and a maximum of 96 boys' varsity basketball teams) -- which will compete in as many as nine girls' basketball and fourteen boys' basketball divisions.
- Teams will be placed into divisions based on the results of pre-tournament seeding and then sometimes Opening Round match-up (depending upon the total number of teams registered). We put a lot of work into making sure your team will be placed in a fitting division where you will have a good competitive experience; that commitment is one of the distinctives of our tournaments. If you have any question about divisional breakdown, please feel free to contact us with your questions.
- Homeschool teams are welcome to participate, as long as their players meet our eligibility requirements. (1 - All players must be regular members of your team during the season. 2 - High school graduates are not permitted to participate with your team. 3 - All team members must be homeschooled or not a member of any other school team or homeschool basketball team.) If you are a homeschool team that is interested in participating, please be sure that your players meet these requirements. Feel free to call for clarification, if necessary.
- Age Eligibility: A student-athlete shall be ineligible for participation upon attaining the age of nineteen years, with the following exception: if the age of 19 is attained on or after July 1, the student-athlete shall be eligible, age-wise, to compete through that school year.
Tournament Features and Information:
Tournament Description:
- The NCSAA Basketball Championships offers an exciting post-season championship tournament experience -- in a Christ-centered environment -- for your basketball teams. Highly-organized and hosted at excellent facilities, this event allows teams of all sizes and levels to finish their seasons with the challenge and reward of a competitive post-season tournament.
Tournament Format:
- This tournament is open to Christian and private schools from any region of the country. The tournament will be limited to a maximum of 128 teams (comprised of a maximum of 48 girls' varsity basketball teams and a maximum of 96 boys' varsity basketball teams) -- which will compete in as many as nine girls' basketball and fourteen boys' basketball divisions.
- Boys and girls in grades 7-12 are eligible to compete.
- Each team will play three or four games during the tournament. If you have any concern regarding the number of games your team might play, please give us a call.
- We are planning to hold a special evening of basketball skills contests (Point Guard Challenge and Three-Point Shootout) on Thursday night.
Closing Ceremony and Awards:
- All participating teams will be recognized during each division's closing ceremony, which will also include a special time of recognition and prayer for each team's senior athletes. Each senior athlete will receive a special gift from NCSAA.
- Awards will be presented to the 1st and 2nd place teams in each division.
- A number of players from each team will be named to an All-Tournament Team and will be presented with specially-designed NCSAA All-Tournament Team patches to recognize their selection to this team. Each team will also have the opportunity to nominate players for consideration for the annual NCSAA All-American Teams.
- The NCSAA Coaches' Award will also be awarded to players throughout the tournament. These awards will be given by the coaches of the participating teams, as a way to recognize and encourage athletes who demonstrate noteworthy effort, leadership, encouragement, determination, humility, courage, grace, and other qualities of Biblical discipline in their play. This program allows us to encourage coaches to be intentional in "building into the lives" of the players who are competing this weekend.
Christ-Centered Environment and Team-Building Opportunities:
- The opportunity to go away to a tournament provides a great time for teammates to grow closer, and we structure our tournaments to encourage this team-building. We are intentional about providing a consistent spiritual challenge for your athletes throughout the event -- from the devotional challenges at the evening program, to the spirit of mutual encouragement and healthy competition typically displayed at this event, to the unified time of team prayer for senior athletes at the closing ceremony. This NCSAA event is distinctive in its goal of being more than just an athletic event; we desire that your players deepen their relationships with God and their teammates during their time here!
- The setting of this tournament -- which is partially hosted at the Christian college campus of Cedarville University -- presents an opportunity for your players to visit the campus while you attend the tournament. Opportunities may include family or team campus visits, interaction with admissions personnel, and participation in other college-organized activities during the tournament event. Teams that attend our tournaments have remarked that these opportunities have been very valuable, as the event doubles as an opportunity to expose your athletes to the value of and options for Christian education beyond high school.
Beneficial Exposure for Your Athletes:
- We invite college coaches to attend the event each year and provide each of them with a tournament packet including information about the teams and top athletes that are competing. In addition, we send out the tournament results (and the all-tournament team) to many college coaches following the event. This opportunity presents your players with a great chance to be seen by college coaches, scouts, and recruiters.
- Select games from the tournament may be broadcast live online (accessible via the NCSAA web site). College coaches are able to follow these games and matches online, providing additional recruiting exposure for top teams and athletes -- and parents and fans are able to watch their teams play!
Location:
Basketball games will be played at both:
Athletes in Action Sports Complex
1195 South Detroit Street
Xenia, OH 45385
Cedarville University
251 N. Main Street
Cedarville, OH 45314
The basketball facilities at both Athletes in Action and Cedarville University are excellent and will provide a quality experience for all teams; we have access to four courts at each location, and your teams will enjoy the beautiful campuses of both AIA and Cedarville!
Check out details about the Athletes in Action facilities via the links below:
Team Registration Fee (per team, per event):
$500 for NCSAA full member schools (paying members)
$550 for non-member schools
Your registration fee is non-refundable, except in the event of the cancellation of the tournament.
All teams are expected to pay their full registration fees by the registration deadline date. Any exceptions to this rule must be discussed with and approved by NCSAA. If you have any questions regarding this procedure (or if you are already late with your payment), please contact us ASAP.
Individual Athlete Fee:
$25 per athlete
* Each team pays athlete fees for a maximum of 20 athletes. You are welcome to have more than 20 athletes on your team, but you will not need to pay athlete fees for athletes past 20 total.
Individual athlete fees are due the week before the tournament; we'll be in touch with you to let you know when the payment deadline is arriving. You can mail those fees in ahead of time, or you can pay online via PayPal.
(Most schools have their athletes contribute to cover this fee.) If you have any questions regarding these fees, please contact us ASAP.
Withdrawals:
We understand that occasionally there may be reason for a team to withdraw from a tournament, after having already registered. If any team must withdraw after already registering for the tournament, that team still will be expected to honor its commitment to pay the full team registration fees. NCSAA must budget based on the number of registered teams, and all fees for all registered spots are critical in order to plan for and conduct a successful tournament. Thanks for your understanding of this!
In addition, any team that withdraws from a tournament two weeks (or less) before the start of a tournament will be required to pay an additional $250 late withdrawal fee (per team), in order to allow us to recoup extra expenses that will we incur in such a circumstance. If you do have to withdraw after having registered, please do so as early as possible -- to avoid this extra fee.
Teams that need overnight lodging have the option of staying in the dormitories at the Athletes in Action Retreat Center, or at local hotels. There is limited availability on the AIA campus, so this is available first-come, first-serve.
- The Athletes in Action Retreat Center offers retreat-style overnight housing for teams, perfect for tournament-style team bonding. Teams can stay within walking distance of the AIA gym in dorm-style accommodations, including free access to recreation areas and meeting rooms.
- Team Dorm Plan - $90 per person - Rooms provided for the nights of October 5 and 6 - Linens, towels, and pillows are provided in each room.
- All Inclusive Meal Plan - $95 per person - Includes lunch & dinner on October 5; breakfast, lunch & dinner on October 6 and breakfast & lunch on October 7.
- Meal Plan without Dinner - $65 per person - Includes lunch on October 5; breakfast & lunch on October 6 and breakfast & lunch on October 7.
- AIA Premium Plan - $175 per person - Combine the Team Dorm Plan and All Inclusive Meal Plan.
- AIA Regular Plan - $145 per person - Combine the Team Dorm Plan and Meal Plan without Dinner.
- Reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis, and you should make your meals arrangements when you call for reservations.
- Contact Kristianna Durham at 937-351-1023 (phone) or kristianna.durham@athletesinaction.org (e-mail) to book your team's reservation.
- If you have a need for additional (or different) nights of lodging, or additional meals, you will need to inquire directly with Athletes in Action about that possibility.
CLICK HERE for a list of suggested hotels around the Xenia and Cedarville areas. You are welcome to use any hotel that you'd like; this list is just provided as a help to you.
The following lodging facilities have partnered with this NCSAA tournament, so if you are looking for a place to stay and would like to consider these options, as a way to express gratitude for their support, you could do so:
(COMING SOON)
The following restaurants are also NCSAA partners for this event, and we would recommend them for your consideration for your team's meals when at the event:
(COMING SOON)
Directions:
The Athletes in Action Headquarters (dormitories) is located at 651 Taylor Drive, Xenia, OH 45385.
(NOTE: The address above is for the Athletes in Action Retreat Center and office location. For those teams staying at the AIA dormitories and / or eating meals on campus, you should use the above address. You can walk over to the basketball gym from the dormitories.)
Basketball games at AIA will be played at the Sports Complex, which is adjacent to this property -- but has a different street address. The address for the AIA Sports Complex gate is 1197 South Detroit Street, Xenia, OH 45385. - CLICK HERE for directions to the Athletes in Action Sports Complex.
Basketball games will also be played at nearby Cedarville University, which is located at 251 N. Main Street, Cedarville, OH 45314. - CLICK HERE for directions to Cedarville University.
If you need further assistance with directions to the Athletes in Action Sports Complex, please call Athletes in Action at 937-352-1234.
If you need further assistance with directions to Cedarville University, please call Cedarville at 937-766-7700.
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