Maryland high school basketball: MPSSAA boys and girls state tournament preview
The postseason has arrived for Maryland public high school boys and girls basketball teams. It starts Tuesday with MPSSAA region opening round games.
Each region (East, North, South and West) in Maryland’s four classifications (1A, 2A, 3A and 4A) is split into two sections. The winners (eight in each classification) advance to the state quarterfinals (March 8th and 9th) with the four teams with the best overall regular season record hosting.
The state semifinals will take place March 12th and 13th at different neutral high school sites. The University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center will host the state championships March 15th and 16th.
Here’s a brief look at the eight postseason tournaments.
CLASS 1A
Defending girls state champion: Pikesville
Defending boys state champion: Edmondson
Region girls top seeds: Catoctin (West II) Forest Park (North I), Patterson Mill (North 2) Perryville (East I), Pikesville (South I), Snow Hill (East II), Southern-Garrett (West I), Surrattsville (South II)
Region boys top seeds: Cambridge-South Dorchester (East II), Edmondson (North I), Fort Hill (West I), Lake Clifton (North II), Loch Raven (South I), Perryville (East I), Smithsburg (West II), Surrattsville (South II)
Pikesville girls basketball coach Mike Dukes hopes to celebrate again at the University of Maryland in the Class 1A state finals. The Panthers are seeking a fourth straight championship.
Girls overview: Pikesville (19-3 overall) is the favorite to become the first team to claim four consecutive 1A crowns since defunct Brooklyn Park more than 30 years ago. Last year’s runner-up Mountain Ridge (19-3) split with Southern-Garrett (19-3) during the regular season and the winner of a likely rubber match in West 1 final is prime for a run into state semifinals. Forest Park (20-2) has the talent and experience (lost in state semifinals in 2022 and 2023) to reach its first state title game.
Boys overview: After a perfect run through Baltimore City league, Edmondson (19-2) is primed to go back-to-back as 1A champs. Rival Lake Clifton (17-5), which won the previous two 1A crowns, will be Edmondson’s biggest threat. Fort Hill (18-4) won the Western Maryland Athletic Conference championship. Surrattsville (12-9) and CMIT North (10-9; No. 2 in South II) could make a run at the state semifinals.
CLASS 2A
Defending girls state champion: Lackey
Defending boys state champion: New Town
Region girls top seeds: Fallston (East I), Francis Scott Key (West I), Hammond (West II), Hereford (North II), Huntingtown (South II), Largo (South I), Sparrows Point (North I), Wicomico (East II)
Region boys top seeds: Carver Vo-Tech (North II), Century (West II), Dunbar (North I), Gwynn Park (South I), McDonough (South II), Queen Anne’s (East II), Walkersville (West I), C. Milton Wright (East I)
After losing in the Maryland Class 2A state boys basketball finals last year, Largo's talented junior forward Cam Ward and his teammates are out for redemption. The Lions will likely have to get past Prince George's County (Md.) league rival Gwynn Park in the South regional playoffs.
Photo by Ron Bailey/DMV Elite
Girls overview: In a word, intriguing. Hammond (22-0) was the only team, boys or girls, to go undefeated in the regular season and claimed the Howard County crown. Largo (18-3) got the top seed in the South Region I over Gwynn Park (18-5), which ended Charles H. Flowers’ three-year reign in the Prince George’s County finals last weekend. Wicomico (22-1) didn’t lose to a state public opponent (lost to Delaware’s Dover) and won the Bayside Conference title.
Fallston (18-4) won the UCBAC Chesapeake championship and was the 2A state champ in 2022. Sparrows Point (12-6) may have the state’s top public senior in Myah Hazelton, who will play for Virginia Tech next season.
Last year’s champ Lackey (6-13; No. 3 seed in South II) will have a tough time repeating, having to get past Largo and Gwynn Park to advance to the state quarterfinals.
Boys overview: Gwynn Park and Largo are the head of the 2A class and should meet in the South I final this weekend. The Yellow Jackets (21-1), who won the Prince George’s County crown over the weekend, beat the Lions on a buzzer beater in the regular season. Largo (19-2), who lost in the 2A final last year, has the state’s top junior prospect in Cam Ward.
UCBAC Chesapeake champ C. Milton Wright (18-4) knocked off perennial Baltimore City power Lake Clifton on the road during the regular season and had a double-digit lead against reigning 1A state champ Edmondson before falling. Defending champ New Town (12-10; No. 2 in North II) will likely have to get past Carver Vo-Tech (16-5) in the North II final.
Carver defeated defending 3A champ City during the regular season.
CLASS 3A
Defending girls state champion: Howard
Defending boys state champion: City
Region girls top seeds: Damascus (West II), Dulaney (North I), Howard (South I), Oakdale (West I), Poly (North II), River Hill (South II), St. Charles (East II), South River (East I)
Region boys top seeds: City (North II), St. Charles (East II), Stephen Decatur (East I), Magruder (West II), Manchester Valley (West I), Northeast (South I), Long Reach (South II), Overlea (North I)
Senior forward RJ Barnes will try to lead Long Reach to the 2024 Class 3A state championship. The Lightning is the No. 1 seed in the South Region II.
Photo by John Bowers
Girls overview: Howard’s run of dominant regular seasons ended, but the Lions (14-8) are positioned to get back to the state quarterfinals. Poly (21-1), the 2022 state champ and last year’s runner-up, won another Baltimore City title and have reached four straight state semifinal rounds.
After playing in the Anne Arundel County final over the weekend, champ South River (20-2) and runner-up Severna Park (20-3) are projected to meet in the East I final. The same should be true with St. Charles (18-4) and No. 2 seed Oxon Hill (18-3) in East II.
Boys overview: After going 28-0 last year, City (14-8) will try to pull off the first back-to-back in 3A since its Baltimore City league rival Poly won three straight (2017-19). Overlea (16-6), which was in 2A the past several seasons, is a contender after claiming its first Baltimore County title in more than 30 years last week.
St. Charles (17-5) won the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference crown and is hoping to get a chance to play at Xfinity Center after its 2020 appearance was canceled due to COVID-19. Howard County rivals Long Reach and league champ River Hill (No. 2 in South II) will likely meet for a spot in the 3A quarterfinals.
After winning its first Anne Arundel County championship last weekend, South River will have to navigate through a 3A East I section that features 21-win squads Stephen Decatur and Arundel, Severna Park (18-3) and James M. Bennett (15-6). Manchester Valley (15-7) won its first Carroll County Athletic League championship.
CLASS 4A
Defending girls state champion: Glen Burnie
Defending boys state champion: Parkville
Region girls top seeds: Bethesda-Chevy Chase (West II), Bowie (East II), Crofton (East I), Charles H. Flowers (South II), Frederick (West I), Richard Montgomery (North II), Reservoir (South I), Western (North I)
Region boys top seeds: Bowie (East II), Frederick (West I), John F. Kennedy (North II), Laurel (South I), Meade (East I), Parkville (North I), Walt Whitman (West II), Henry A. Wise (South II),
Girls overview: A new champion is likely to be crowned at Xfinity Center in a few weeks. Bethesda-Chevy Chase won its first Montgomery County championship last week, overcoming a 17-point deficit against Clarksburg.
Clarksburg (No. 2 seed in West I) will likely tangle with Frederick for a state Elite Eight spot in the West I final. Frederick, which won the Central Maryland Conference Big School crown, is in 4A after a strong run in the 3A ranks (four state titles and seven Final Fours between 2011-2023).
Recent 4A champs Western (18-4; 2022) and Charles H. Flowers (19-2; 2019) each lost in league title matches last week, but should advance out of their respective sections. The East I section is the toughest with Bowie (20-2), Broadneck (19-2), North Point (18-4), Leonardtown (16-6), Annapolis (15-5) and Suitland (14-6) boasting at least a 70-percent win percentage during the regular season. North Point won the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference title and Broadneck lost in the Anne Arundel County final.
With the lone winning record in its section, Reservoir (13-7) and Crofton (11-9) hope to advance to the state quarterfinals. Glen Burnie is the No. 3 seed in East I.
Boys overview: Parkville (16-7) and Meade (15-7), last year’s final two, have the inside track to another state quarterfinal. Bowie (19-3), which lost in Prince George’s County final last weekend, seeks its first state Final Four while league rival Henry A. Wise (18-3) hopes to get a shot at its first 4A crown since 2014.
Frederick (19-4) won the Central Maryland Conference Big School title and wants to atone after its perfect season ended in the 3A state semifinals last year. Bethesda-Chevy Chase (17-4; No. 2 seed in West II) won the Montgomery County championship and looks to collide with league rival Whitman (17-5) in the West II final while MoCo foes John F. Kennedy (17-5) and Paint Branch (17-4; No. 2 seed) look to rematch in the North II final.
