There will be plenty of familiar faces at this year's Times Free Press Best of Preps basketball tournament, including Baylor's girls and McCallie back to defend last year's titles.
The annual Best of Preps tournament at Chattanooga State begins on Dec. 26 and continues through the boys' and girls' championship games the night of Dec. 28.
"We're excited to host the tournament again," said Chattanooga State men's and women's coach Jay Price, who serves as tournament director. "It's a big event for us and we love having all the teams, coaches and fans on our campus."
The tournament tips off that Thursday with four girls' games, beginning with GPS taking on East Hamilton at 10 a.m., followed by Brainerd against Lookout Valley, Tyner against Heritage and Baylor against Signal Mountain. The boys' teams begin playing at 4 p.m with Grace Academy against Notre Dame, followed by Tyner against McCallie, Baylor against Boyd-Buchanan and Ringgold against Ooltewah.
All teams are guaranteed to play three games, culminating with the girls' championship on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., followed by the boys' title game. Tickets are $8 and are good for all-day passes, while children 5 under get in free, but seating is limited to 2,500 fans.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.