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Christopher Lawlor

GEICO High School Nationals announce fields; Sunrise Christian boys and New Hope Academy (MD) girls earn top seeds for elite tournament in Florida

The nation’s top high school basketball postseason tournament is back with another turbocharged crop of teams.

The GEICO High School Basketball Nationals will be played March 31 to April 2 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.

The 14th annual event, featuring the best high school basketball teams in the country competing in postseason play, includes 10 teams in the boys’ and girls’ fields in the Blue Media Elite 25 rankings. All eleven games of the single-elimination tournament will be available on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN+.

The tournament will showcase 15 McDonald’s All-Americans.

The three-day tournament begins Thursday, March 31 with the girls’ first round at 10 a.m. on ESPN+ ET, followed by the boys’ quarterfinals starting at noon on ESPNU. The girls’ semifinals begin Friday, April 1, at 10:30 a.m. on ESPNU and the boys’ semifinals begin at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The tournament culminates on Saturday, April 2 with the girls’ championship at 10 a.m. on ESPN2 and the boys’ championship at noon on ESPN. — Christopher Lawlor

GEICO Nationals Schedule

March 31 (Al times Eastern Daylight Time)

Bishop McNamara girls (Forestville, Md.) vs. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 10 a.m. (ESPN+)

Boys first round

Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) vs. Link Academy (Branson, Mo.), 12 p.m. (ESPNU)

AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) vs. Montverde (Fla.) Academy, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)

La Lumiere School (La Porte, Ind.) vs. IMG Academy (Fla.), 4 p.m. (ESPNU)

Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) vs. Sunrise Christian (Bel Aire, Kan.), 6 p.m. (ESPNU)

April 1

Girls semifinals

Montverde (Fla.) Academy vs. DME Sports Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.), 10:30 a.m. (ESPNU)

New Hope Academy (Landover Hills, Md.) vs. play-in game winner, 12:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Boys semifinals

Tip times are 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2

April 2, Championship Saturday

Girls final, 10 a.m., (ESPN2)

Boys final 12 p.m. (ESPN)

Senior Writer and national analyst for Blue Media and compiles the Blue Star Elite 25 national boys and girls high school basketball and football rankings during the season. Lawlor, an award-winning writer, is a voting committee member and advisor for several national high school events, including the McDonald’s All-American Games. He previously wrote for USA TODAY and ESPN.com, where he was the national preps writer, while compiling the national rankings in four sports.

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