The UIL boys basketball playoffs begin with bi-district games Monday and Tuesday. Here is a preview.
To see the matchups and schedule for the first round, go here.
It’s a new dawn for boys basketball in Texas with the UIL launching its new split-division postseason format that will crown two state champions in each classification. And this year’s 6A Division I bracket is looking like the toughest in the state.
The field features several teams ranked top 10 in Texas, including No. 2 Allen, No. 3 Mansfield Lake Ridge, No. 6 Duncanville and No. 7 North Crowley. Defending 6A state champion Plano East, ranked 14th in the state, will also appear in the bracket along with No. 15 Flower Mound Marcus.
Those are just the Dallas-Fort Worth teams. State No. 1 San Antonio Brennan is another marquee name in the 6A Division I bracket and looks like it could be Allen’s biggest challenger for a state title. Brennan handed Allen its only loss of the season, a 71-66 defeat in overtime this past November.
When Lancaster won a state title last season, it was the program’s last championship in Class 5A. Lancaster moved up to Class 6A this year and looks like it could be a real contender in the 6A Division II bracket. Ranked fifth in the state among Class 6A teams, Lancaster has fared well in its new classification.
The program has one regular season game remaining, a Friday contest against Cedar Hill, but is currently 12-1 in District 11-6A. This season, Lancaster has beat some of the top teams in the state, including No. 6 Duncanville and No. 3 Mansfield Lake Ridge. It’s possible Lancaster will have to contend with No. 4 Alvin Shadow Creek for the 6A Division II title. Shadow Creek went 16-0 in district play and is nationally ranked by MaxPreps.
No. 8 Crowley and No. 12 Denton Guyer are among the other contenders from D-FW in the 6A Division II bracket.
The 5A Division II bracket, particularly Region II, features some of the state’s top teams. In that field, Dallas-Fort Worth will be represented by programs such as No. 21 Lovejoy, No. 20 Frisco Memorial, and No. 19 The Colony, a regional finalist last season. No. 3 Killeen Ellison, the 5A state runner-up in 2024, looks like a favorite to win the 5A Division II state title and also appears in the Region II section of the bracket. No. 6 Mansfield Summit will be in Region I.
No. 7 Frisco Heritage, No. 12 Mansfield Timberview, No. 16 West Mesquite and No. 17 Red Oak will compete in the Class 5A Division I playoffs, where No. 1 Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial enters with a 35-0 record.
Kayden Edwards, Duncanville: The four-star TCU signee is averaging 26.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for No. 6 Duncanville. He has made 60 3-pointers this season and is averaging three per contest. Edwards has scored in double figures at least 24 times this season and has scored 30 or more points in at least seven games.
DJ Hall, Plano East: Representing 40-0 Plano East, he was the MVP of the 6A state tournament last season and seems to have only upped his game as a senior. The three-star Texas State signee is nearly averaging a double-double with 24.6 points and nine rebounds per game for No. 14 Plano East.
Dakari Spear, The Colony: Spear is the No. 4 player in Texas in the Class of 2026 and holds at least 13 college offers. The four-star junior, who helped The Colony to a regional final last season as a sophomore, is averaging 23 points per game for the District 12-5A champion.
Antoine Shannon, Allen: He has been a dynamic player for a nationally-ranked Allen team that went 16-0 in District 6-6A. Shannon is averaging 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. He has scored in double figures at least 25 times this season.
Austin Goosby, Melissa: The four-star junior holds at least 10 offers, with Kansas and Kentucky being among them. Goosby, a 6-5 guard, is averaging 24.1 points and 5.7 assists for Melissa, which finished third in District 9-5A.
Denton Guyer (28-7): No. 12 Guyer went 12-2 in District 5-6A for the district title. Guyer boasts one of the top defenses in the area, holding opponents to an average of 50.5 points per game. Senior Jordan Lowery, a three-star UT Arlington commit, has averaged 16.5 points for Guyer. Junior Silas Rodriguez has made 54 shots from three this season.
Mansfield Lake Ridge (32-2): Nationally ranked Lake Ridge did not miss a beat after advancing to the state semifinals last season. The state’s third-ranked 6A team went 12-0 in District 3-6A for the district title. Senior Eze Nwakamma is averaging 15.2 points, eight rebounds and 2.1assists per game for a team that has averaged 66 points per contest.
Mansfield Summit (27-7): Summit, a regional semifinalist last season, ranks No. 6 in the state among 5A teams. The program went 13-1 in District 8-5A to win its third consecutive district championship. Summit has allowed opponents an average of 44.5 points per game.
Frisco Heritage (28-4): No. 7 Heritage won its second straight district championship, finishing 14-0 in District 11-5A. Heritage is averaging 69.2 points per game. Cameron Lomax has helped the team to success with an average of 22.1 points per contest.
Kimball (22-5): Kimball is chasing what could be the program’s eighth UIL state title after last winning in 2023. The school moved down from Class 5A to Class 4A this season, but has still proven to be one of the best teams in the state. Ranked No. 1 in Texas among Class 4A teams, Kimball went 14-0 in District 11-4A. Kimball beat several teams that are currently state-ranked including Duncanville, Red Oak, Beaumont United and DeSoto. It was competitive with marquee 6A program North Crowley.
6A Division I: Allen
6A Division II: Alvin Shadow Creek
5A Division I: Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial
5A Division II: Fort Bend Marshall
4A Division I: Kimball
4A Division II: Canyon Randall
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