2024 Missouri High School Boys Basketball Holiday Tournaments
Christmas is always a joyful time of year but especially since we have basketball holiday tournaments galore! A lot of these tournaments are full of tradition with decades of exciting games! I just wanted to give a quick preview on the teams participating in these tournaments. However, I have not attended the vast majority of these tournaments but thought I could still compare how the coaches seeded these tournaments with how I would have them seed. Keep in mind that it is still early in the season so my ratings are still coming together but have a firm enough grasp to seed these tournaments with some confidence. All ratings are from the last update which includes all games through Saturday, December 21.
Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: We will start in the bootheel, Cape Girardeau, MO, as we have the annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament being held at the Show-Me Center. This is a unique tournament as the size of schools ranges quite drastically. Leopold, the smallest school in the tournament, has a 3 class (9th grade through 11th grade) enrollment of 42 while Jackson, the largest participating school, has a 3 class enrollment of 1382. That’s an astonishing difference of 447 kids per grade. Anyways, this tournament has often been dominated by Jackson, Cape Central, Charleston, Notre Dame, and Scott County Central. However, I believe this year that any of the top 6 seeds have a puncher’s chance at the championship.
2023 Champion: Cape Central
2024 Predicted Champion: Woodland
Predicted First Round Upsets: None
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Jackson | 3 | 127.7 |
| 2 | Central Cape Girardeau | 5 | 126.5 |
| 3 | Charleston | 6 | 122.5 |
| 4 | Notre Dame Cape Girardeau | 4 | 127.5 |
| 5 | Scott City | 2 | 130.1 |
| 6 | Woodland | 1 | 134.2 |
| 7 | Bell City | 7 | 100.3 |
| 8 | Oran | 9 | 96.4 |
| 9 | Chaffee | 12 | 94.4 |
| 10 | Meadow Heights | 10 | 95.7 |
| 11 | Leopold | 8 | 97.0 |
| 12 | Kelly | 13 | 93.0 |
| 13 | Delta | 11 | 95.7 |
| 14 | Scott County Central | 15 | 85.4 |
| 15 | Advance | 14 | 90.8 |
| 16 | Oak Ridge | 16 | 79.4 |
Bloomfield Christmas Tournament: We will move a little southwest to Bloomfield, MO now where the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament is held annually in one of the most unique gyms that I have ever been to. This is another tournament that is often controlled by the larger schools, Dexter and Kennett. But again, similar to the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, I think this tournament is wide open. Two good teams, South Pemiscot and Hayti, were kicked out of the tournament this year but were replaced with two quality teams in Risco and East Carter.
2023 Champion: Malden
2024 Predicted Champion: East Prairie
Predicted First Round Upsets: None
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Puxico | 4 | 118.8 |
| 2 | East Prairie | 1 | 121.2 |
| 3 | Dexter | 5 | 117.2 |
| 4 | Bernie | 6 | 115.1 |
| 5 | Kennett | 9 | 112.6 |
| 6 | Risco | 2 | 120.6 |
| 7 | Van Buren | 3 | 120.2 |
| 8 | Richland Essex | 7 | 113.2 |
| 9 | Twin Rivers | 8 | 113.0 |
| 10 | Doniphan | 10 | 97.5 |
| 11 | Bloomfield | 12 | 95.3 |
| 12 | East Carter | 11 | 96.4 |
| 13 | Portageville | 13 | 92.5 |
| 14 | Malden | 15 | 86.7 |
| 15 | Holcomb | 16 | 71.3 |
| 16 | Gideon | 14 | 89.5 |
Bob Sechrest Jr. Central (Park Hills) Christmas Tournament: Another tournament with a great venue is the Bob Sechrest Jr. Christmas Tournament that is held at Park Hills Central in a unique gym to say the least. Park Hills and South Iron have dominated this tournament the last 5 years (Park Hills winning the previous 2 titles and South Iron claiming the previous 3 before that). However, I think the clear favorite this year is the Farmington Knights, who have had an impressive year so far with big wins over St. Mary’s and Cape Central. Farmington could get challenged as early as the second round but I think their main threat will be the Potosi Trojans. Lastly, this tournament appears to agree with my seedings the most.
2023 Champion: Central (Park Hills)
2024 Predicted Champion: Farmington
Predicted First Round Upsets: None
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Farmington | 1 | 135.6 |
| 2 | South Iron | 4 | 114.9 |
| 3 | Potosi | 2 | 123.6 |
| 4 | Hillsboro | 3 | 116.0 |
| 5 | Festus | 5 | 112.1 |
| 6 | Steelville | 8 | 106.7 |
| 7 | Ste. Genevieve | 6 | 109.0 |
| 8 | West County | 7 | 108.4 |
| 9 | North County | 9 | 98.4 |
| 10 | Jefferson Festus | 13 | 89.0 |
| 11 | Fredericktown | 10 | 96.7 |
| 12 | Central Park Hills | 11 | 95.1 |
| 13 | DeSoto | 12 | 93.0 |
| 14 | Arcadia Valley | 14 | 81.8 |
| 15 | Herculaneum | 16 | 73.8 |
| 16 | Crystal City | 15 | 80.2 |
Blue and Gold Tournament – Blue Division: Moving to Springfield, MO where we have two big tournaments, but we will first talk about the Blue Division. This field consists of two heavy hitters according to my numbers so far (Kickapoo and Hillcrest) but I do think Logan-Rogersville and Ozark can cause some trouble.
2023 Champion: Nixa
2024 Predicted Champion: Kickapoo
Predicted First Round Upsets:
(9) Aurora def. (8) Willow Springs
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Kickapoo | 1 | 159.2 |
| 2 | Logan-Rogersville | 3 | 139.8 |
| 3 | Ozark | 4 | 135.0 |
| 4 | Hillcrest | 2 | 143.8 |
| 5 | Fair Grove | 7 | 123.6 |
| 6 | Branson | 5 | 127.5 |
| 7 | Springfield Catholic | 6 | 125.6 |
| 8 | Willow Springs | 11 | 111.8 |
| 9 | Aurora | 8 | 118.5 |
| 10 | Stockton | 10 | 112.9 |
| 11 | Mt. Vernon | 9 | 117.0 |
| 12 | Spokane | 16 | 83.6 |
| 13 | Crane | 13 | 105.0 |
| 14 | Skyline | 12 | 111.1 |
| 15 | Sparta | 14 | 104.3 |
| 16 | Buffalo | 15 | 100.7 |
Blue and Gold Tournament – Gold Division: It appears that this division is a little more open to me, however, I do not have a rating on Nixa this year as they have not played a MSHSAA affiliated team. I do think Willard got mis-seeded with getting the 6 as they are my favorite (excluding Nixa). However, there are a lot of teams with a rating of over +20.0 which is impressive and should make for some exciting games.
2023 Champion: Springfield Central
2024 Predicted Champion: Republic (Could be Nixa but I do not have data on them)
Predicted First Round Upsets:
(9) Bolivar def. (8) Camdenton
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Nixa | 1 | N/A |
| 2 | Republic | 2 | 141.8 |
| 3 | Hartville | 4 | 127.8 |
| 4 | Strafford | 5 | 125.3 |
| 5 | Greenwood | 6 | 125.0 |
| 6 | Willard | 3 | 131.4 |
| 7 | West Plains | 9 | 119.4 |
| 8 | Camdenton | 8 | 121.8 |
| 9 | Bolivar | 7 | 122.6 |
| 10 | Marshfield | 16 | 101.0 |
| 11 | Mountain Grove | 10 | 110.9 |
| 12 | Reeds Spring | 14 | 102.7 |
| 13 | Miller | 11 | 109.6 |
| 14 | Ava | 13 | 105.5 |
| 15 | Clever | 12 | 108.2 |
| 16 | Lebanon | 15 | 102.2 |
Winter Warrior Classic: We go back over to I-55 in Ste. Genevieve where Valle Catholic hosts their annual holiday tournament. A few new additions this year make it a different field of teams and I actually have 2 of those new additions as the favorites with Bunker and Bakersfield having impressive seasons thus far. The remaining teams are all right below average ratings according to my numbers.
2023 Champion: Seckman
2024 Predicted Champion: Bunker
Predicted First Round Upsets:
(5) St. Vincent def. (4) Kingston
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Bunker | 1 | 122.0 |
| 2 | Bakersfield | 2 | 121.6 |
| 3 | Valle Catholic | 3 | 95.9 |
| 4 | Kingston | 6 | 92.7 |
| 5 | St. Vincent | 4 | 94.0 |
| 6 | Saxony Lutheran | 5 | 93.1 |
| 7 | Gateway Science Charter | 8 | 56.7 |
| 8 | Fox | 7 | 84.9 |
St. Dominic – Hoff Heating and Cooling Christmas Tournament: This tournament at St. Dominic may only have 8 teams but 3 of these teams (Sikeston, Timberland and St. Dominic) have been very impressive this year. I would be excited to see how an offensive powered championship game between Sikeston and Timberland would go.
2023 Champion: St. Dominic
2024 Predicted Champion: Timberland
Predicted First Round Upsets: None
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Sikeston | 2 | 152.6 |
| 2 | Timberland | 1 | 152.9 |
| 3 | Holt | 4 | 127.2 |
| 4 | St. Dominic | 3 | 137.9 |
| 5 | Lift for Life Academy Charter | 7 | 110.0 |
| 6 | St. Charles West | 6 | 113.0 |
| 7 | Francis Howell Central | 5 | 123.3 |
| 8 | North Point | 8 | 102.3 |
Coaches vs. Cancer Holiday Tournament: Not only is this tournament for a great cause but it is by far the deepest of any tournament I am previewing. As of right now, I have 13 of the 16 teams with a rating of +20.0. If you are wanting to see some close games and possible upsets then this would be my recommended tournament to attend.
2023 Champion: Webster Groves
2024 Predicted Champion: De Smet Jesuit
Predicted First Round Upsets:
(9) Liberty Wentzville def. (8) Lafayette Wildwood
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | De Smet Jesuit | 1 | 154.4 |
| 2 | Webster Groves | 3 | 144.0 |
| 3 | Westminster Christian Academy | 2 | 153.2 |
| 4 | Vianney | 7 | 138.8 |
| 5 | Eureka | 5 | 140.5 |
| 6 | Hickman | 4 | 142.8 |
| 7 | Marquette | 6 | 140.1 |
| 8 | Lafayette Wildwood | 11 | 129.6 |
| 9 | Liberty Wentzville | 8 | 136.7 |
| 10 | Lutheran South | 10 | 132.8 |
| 11 | Lindbergh | 9 | 135.1 |
| 12 | Parkway North | 12 | 127.7 |
| 13 | Ft. Zumwalt South | 15 | 110.1 |
| 14 | Mehlville | 14 | 110.9 |
| 15 | Parkway West | 13 | 121.9 |
| 16 | Troy Buchanan | 16 | 101.6 |
Don Maurer Holiday Tournament: This tournament is right behind the Coache’s vs. Cancer Holiday Tournament in terms of depth but I think what this tournament misses is the fire power at the top. However, this is another tournament that I predict there to be a ton of close games and some possible upsets.
2023 Champion: Ladue Horton Watkins
2024 Predicted Champion: Ladue Horton Watkins (Barely over MICDS and I do not have data on Edwardsville but they are the 2 seed so obviously have a chance to come out on top)
Predicted First Round Upsets:
(9) Hazelwood East def. (8) Parkway South
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Ladue Horton Watkins | 1 | 141.5 |
| 2 | Edwardsville | 2 | N/A |
| 3 | MICDS | 3 | 141.4 |
| 4 | Christian Brothers College | 8 | 132.4 |
| 5 | Clayton | 4 | 136.6 |
| 6 | Kirkwood | 11 | 127.1 |
| 7 | Ft. Zumwalt North | 7 | 133.5 |
| 8 | Parkway South | 6 | 134.1 |
| 9 | Hazelwood East | 5 | 134.4 |
| 10 | Francis Howell | 9 | 130.2 |
| 11 | Maplewood-Richmond Hts. | 14 | 111.1 |
| 12 | St. Charles | 10 | 128.3 |
| 13 | Parkway Central | 12 | 123.3 |
| 14 | Duchesne | 16 | 102.7 |
| 15 | Ritenour | 13 | 117.0 |
| 16 | Jennings | 15 | 110.6 |
William Jewell Holiday Classic – Nelson Division: The first of three William Jewell Holiday Classic Tournaments that are held annually. All three of these tournaments only have 8 teams each but the Nelson division is absolutely loaded this year. The actual seeds of this tournament were not listed on their brackets but it did appear that they were listed in normal order so that’s the assumption I made.
2023 Champion: Staley
2024 Predicted Champion: Park Hill
Predicted First Round Upsets:
(5) KIPP KC Legacy Charter def. (4) Truman
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Liberty North | 3 | 147.1 |
| 2 | Park Hill | 1 | 156.8 |
| 3 | Summit Christian Academy | 2 | 147.3 |
| 4 | Truman | 7 | 130.7 |
| 5 | KIPP KC Legacy | 6 | 133.2 |
| 6 | Grandview | 5 | 139.5 |
| 7 | Grain Valley | 4 | 140.3 |
| 8 | Kansas City East Christian | 8 | N/A |
William Jewell Holiday Classic – Patterson Division: The Patterson Division is not quite as deep as the Nelson Division but still has it’s fair share of fire power. I think there is a slight distinction between the top 4 and bottom 4 teams. However, with all teams having well above average overall ratings, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some upsets.
2023 Champion: Oak Park
2024 Predicted Champion: Blue Springs South
Predicted First Round Upsets: None
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Raytown | 2 | 145.1 |
| 2 | Blue Springs South | 1 | 153.7 |
| 3 | Winnetonka | 4 | 134.2 |
| 4 | St. Michael the Archangel | 3 | 143.3 |
| 5 | Lincoln College Prep | 6 | 125.5 |
| 6 | Park Hill South | 5 | 134.1 |
| 7 | Pembroke Hill | 7 | 124.4 |
| 8 | Center | 8 | 116.0 |
William Jewell Holiday Classic – Holley Division: Another division full of 8 solid teams this year but I do see this division to be a two-horse race between Battle and Liberty. By my numbers, the remaining 6 teams are all fairly even and any team can win those games. Even though I see this as a Battle and Liberty collision course, an unexpected upset is always exciting.
2023 Champion: Battle
2024 Predicted Champion: Battle
Predicted First Round Upsets:
(5) Belton def. (4) Blue Springs
(6) Raytown South def. (3) Central (Kansas City)
| Seed | Team | All MO Sports Seed | OVR. Rating |
| 1 | Battle | 1 | 153.5 |
| 2 | Liberty | 2 | 144.8 |
| 3 | Central Kansas City | 8 | 121.4 |
| 4 | Blue Springs | 4 | 132.3 |
| 5 | Belton | 3 | 132.5 |
| 6 | Raytown South | 6 | 122.5 |
| 7 | Fort Osage | 5 | 129.4 |
| 8 | Van Horn | 7 | 122.2 |
Thank you for giving this quick overview a read. I know I did not cover all of the holiday tournaments across the state and apologize if I did not cover one you wanted. But hopefully I covered the majority of them and gave a little insight into the teams competing!