Eight Georgia basketball teams, representing a quarter of the field, are making their schools’ first state finals appearance in Macon this week. Four others are trying to win state championships for the first time. Six reigning champions are alive.
Here is a closer look at the 16 championship games played over four days at the Macon Coliseum.
First-timers: Programs making their first finals appearances are B.E.S.T. Academy’s boys. Cherokee Bluff’s girls, Creekside’s girls, Hughes’ girls, McIntosh County Academy’s boys, North Cobb Christian’s boys, Washington-Wilkes’ girls and Wilcox County’s girls. Most are probably underdogs, but Creekside (31-0) is the state’s only undefeated boys or girls team.
Never won: Other programs that have never won state titles are Banks County’s girls, Hardaway’s girls, Holy Innocents’ boys, Newton’s girls and Union County’s boys. Butler’s boys, Newton’s boys and Murray County’s girls haven’t won since the 1960s.
Reigning champions: The 2024 champions still playing are Baldwin’s girls, Grayson’s girls, Hebron Christian’s girls, Maynard Jackson’s girls, North Oconee’s boys and Sandy Creek’s boys. Sandy Creek and Hebron Christian can win their third consecutive titles.
Mountain ball: Three schools from counties bordering Tennessee are in the finals. They are Fannin County’s girls, Murray County’s girls and Union County’s boys. Only one boys team bordering Tennessee, Towns County in 2021, has won a state title since 1970. Five girls teams have done it, including Fannin County in 1993 and 1999. Murray County’s girls last won in 1966. Union County’s boys are chasing their school’s second state title in any sport. They won cross country in 2018. This is their first boys basketball final since 1971.
Cinderellas: Only one unranked team made the finals. That was Washington-Wilkes’ girls, who had never won a state-tournament game until this year and was 8-15 last season. The team was 8-8 about this time a month ago, but the six-game win streak that got the Tigers here also included two wins over top-10 teams and the program’s first region championship.
Cinder-fellas: B.E.S.T. Academy, an Atlanta Public Schools team, had qualified for only one state tournament in history, in 2021, advancing one round, and last year’s Eagles team was 2-21. Jacob Mickell and Josh Mickell, identical twins, moved in from Douglass, Nicholas Dozier came from Washington, and the rest is history.
Pink and blue: Two schools have their boys and girls teams in the finals. They are Holy Innocents’ and Newton. Schools have swept boys and girls titles 26 times, most recently with Grayson and Greenforest Christian in 2024.
All-Americans: Caleb Wilson and Hailee Swain of Holy Innocents’ are the GHSA’s only McDonald’s All-Americans. They can become the second McDonald’s classmates to win state championships, the first since Bobby Portis and Tyler Scaife of Arkansas’ Hall High in 2013. Wilson signed with North Carolina, Swain with Stanford.
Other top boys players: Watch for Wheeler’s Tylis Jordan (signed with Ole Miss) and Colben Landrew (top-100 junior prospect), Newton’s Ted Neal (Appalachian State), Woodward Academy’s Zac Foster (Clemson), Pace Academy’s Eric Chatfield (Georgia Tech), Cedar Grove’s Manny Green (top-100 junior) and Tri-Cities’ Jalan Wingfield (top-100 junior).
Other top girls players: Watch for Hebron Christian’s Ja’kerra Butler (Auburn) and Danielle Osho (Miami), River Ridge’s Kayla Cleaveland (Georgia Southern) and Finley Parker (top-25 sophomore prospect), Grayson’s Tatum Brown (Jacksonville) and Creekside’s CeCe Dennis (four-star sophomore).
For fans: Georgia Public Broadcasting will televise and stream all games. Fans can purchase tickets at $20 per day through GoFan.
Schedule:
Wednesday
1 p.m. – Class 3A-A private girls: Hebron Christian (24-5) vs. Holy Innocents’ (29-1)
3 p.m. – Class 3A-A private boys: North Cobb Christian (28-3) vs. Holy Innocents’ (26-4)
5 p.m. – Class 3A girls: Cherokee Bluff (24-8) vs. Baldwin (25-6)
7 p.m. – Class 3A boys: Sandy Creek (28-3) vs. Cedar Grove (28-3)
Thursday
1 p.m. – Class 2A girls: Murray County (30-1) vs. Hardaway (25-6)
3 p.m. – Class 2A boys: Butler (20-8) vs. Union County (26-5)
5:30 p.m. – Class 4A girls: Creekside (31-0) vs. Maynard Jackson (20-7)
7:30 p.m. – Class 4A boys – Class 4A: Pace Academy (27-4) vs. North Oconee (29-2)
Friday
1 p.m. – Class A-D2 girls: Wilcox County (27-1) vs. Washington-Wilkes (14-8)
3 p.m. – Class A-D2 boys: Savannah (26-4) vs. McIntosh County Academy (26-5)
5:30 p.m. – Class 5A girls: Hughes (29-2) vs. River Ridge (30-1)
7:30 p.m. – Class 5A boys: Woodward Academy (27-4) vs. Tri-Cities (25-6)
Saturday
11 a.m. Class A-D1 girls: Fannin County (28-2) vs. Banks County (25-5)
1 p.m. – Class A-D1 boys: B.E.S.T. Academy (24-7) vs. Southwest (27-2)
3 p.m. – AAASP: Clayton Eagles vs. Houston Sharks
5:30 p.m. – 6A girls: Grayson (30-1) vs. Newton (24-5)
7:30 p.m. – 6A boys: Wheeler (28-3) vs. Newton (21-9)
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