The FHSAA basketball state tournaments have a new locale and a revised schedule with their move to Jacksonville this year.
But what hasn’t changed is the challenge Orlando area teams have in trying to bring state championships back home after being shut out last season.
South Florida boys teams won all seven titles outside the Rural division in 2025 in Lakeland and are the rankings’ favorites in six of those classifications this year.
On the girls side, teams from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach are top seeds in five of the seven brackets for 1A through 7A teams. The exceptions are Orlando’s Bishop Moore and Winter Haven.
A year ago, the top-ranked team won seven of the eight titles above Rural in both the girls and boys tournaments.
The championships stretch over three weeks for the first time. Final four play began last week at the 5,400-seat University of North Florida arena with two first-time Rural champions. Williston won the girls title before its boys lost to Crossroad Charter of Quincy in an overtime game.
Week 2 tips off Thursday at UNF with 1A semifinals. Orlando Christian Prep’s girls play the first game of the day, followed by Central Florida Christian Academy’s boys.
“It feels amazing. The girls worked hard,” OCP coach Stephanee Velez said after her team defeated North Tampa Christian last Friday to earn the program’s first state tourney trip since 2019. “We’ve been having a lot of injuries the last three weeks but we’ve been able to play together and keep fighting and that’s the biggest thing I want for them.”
CFCA, in coach Albert Settles’ second year at the school, returns to the final four for the first time since it won a state title in 2019.
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Teams in 3A through 7A are idle this week before making their bids for championships in Week 3 of the event. Class 7A girls teams, including Ocoee, will have 13 days without a game before they play their state semifinal on March 13 — a delay that disappoints most coaches.
Oak Ridge and Lake Mary have 12 days off before their boys semifinals.
There are five Orlando area teams in both the boys and girls brackets.
Evans and Lake Howell, boys champions in two different regions, are matched up in 6A — assuring Central Florida of at least one finalist. The other Orlando-area boys region winners were Oak Ridge and Lake Mary in 7A.
Lake Highland Prep, a seven-time state champ, is again in the running for a girls title, as are Ocoee and Gateway of Kissimmee.
Four of the seven 2025 1A-7A boys state champs return, all South Florida powerhouses. Miami Columbus seeks to tie the state record with its fifth consecutive big-school title. Broward County had five champions in 2025 and three are back: St. Thomas Aquinas, Calvary Christian and Sagemont Prep.
Orlando area teams go 5-1 in FHSAA girls basketball region finals
FHSAA basketball
At UNF Arena, Jacksonville
Teams are listed with their FHSAA power ranking. G denotes girls game; B is boys game.
WEEK 2
Thursday, March 5
Class 1A semifinals
G: No. 2 Orlando Christian Prep (20-7) at No. 3 Seacrest (20-7), 1 p.m.
B:L No. 1 Sagemont (22-6) vs. No. 4 CFCA (23-6), 3 p.m.
G: No. 1 Grandview Prep (24-4) at No. 4 NFEI (16-14), 5 p.m.
B: No. 2 Impact (27-4) vs. Victory Christian (24-6), 7 p.m
Friday, March 6
Class 2A semifinals
G: No. 2 Evangelical Christian (24-4) vs. No. 3 Holy Trinity (19-12), 1 p.m.
B: No. 3 Miami Country Day (23-7) vs. No. 4 Santa Fe Catholic (23-7), 3 p.m.
G: No. 1 Miami Country Day (26-2) vs. No. 4 San Jose Prep (20-9), 5 p.m.
B: No. 1 Providence (27-3) vs. No. 5 Northside Christian (19-11), 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 7
G: 1A state final, noon
G: 2A state final, 2:30 p.m.
B: 1A state final, 5 p.m.
B: 2A state final, 7:30 p.m.
WEEK 3
Monday, March 9
Class 3A semifinals
G: No. 1 Somerset Canyons (22-4) vs. No. 5 Carrollton (22-2),1 pm.
G: No. 2 Bolles (25-4) vs. No. 3 Lake Highland Prep (24-5), 5 p.m.
B: No. 1 Calvary Christian (22-1) vs. No. 9 NSU University School (23-5), 3 p.m.
B: No. 5 Andrew Jackson (28-1) vs. No. 4 Villages (23-7), 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10
Class 4A semifinals
B: No. 1 Suncoast (23-5) vs. No. 12 Boca Ciega (18-10), 1 p.m.
G: No. 1 Bishop Moore (24-4) vs. No. Sarasota Booker (18-9), 3 p.m.
G: No. 2 Bishop Kenny (26-4) vs. No. 3 Plantation American Heritage (17-8) 5 p.m.
B: No. 3 Bishop Kenny (26-3) vs. No. 5 Atlantic (21-9), 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11
Class 5A semifinals
B: No. 1 Pembroke Pines (20-6) vs. No. 6 Lecanto (24-6), 9 a.m.
G: No. 1 Ely (20-5) vs. No. 9 St. Petersburg (21-7), 11 a.m.
G: No. 2 Pensacola Washington (22-3) vs. No. 3 Kissimmee Gateway (26-3), 3 p.m.
B: No. 2 Fleming Island (22-8) vs. No. 4 Tampa Jesuit (24-6), 1 p.m.
G: Class 3A final, 5:30 p.m.
B: Class 3A final, 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 12
Class 6A semifinals
B: No. 3 Lake Howell (25-5) vs. No. 2 Evans (22-7), 9 a.m.
G: No. 1 Aquinas (20-8) vs. No. 12 Steinbrenner (23-6), 11 a.m.
B: No. 1 Aquinas (26-4) vs. No. 10 Sickles (26-4), 1 p.m.
G: No. 4 Bayside (22-8) vs. No. 10 Bartram Trail (16-9), 3 p.m.
G: Class 4A final, 5:30 p.m.
B: Class 4A final, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 13
Class 7A semifinals
G: No. 1 Winter Haven (19-6) vs. No. 4 Ocoee (24-5), 9 a.m.
G: No. 2 Doral Academy (20-8) vs. No. 3 Centennial (23-6), 11 a.m.
B: No. 1 Columbus (24-6) vs. No. 15 Lake Mary (23-7), 1 p.m.
B: No. 2 Oak Ridge (20-9) vs. No. 6 Sarasota (24-6), 3 p.m.
G 5A state final, 5:30 p.m.
B: 5A state final, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 14
B: 6A state final, noon
G: 6A state final, 2:30 p.m.
B: 7A state final, 5 p.m.
G: 7A state final, 7:30 p.m.
OCP girls basketball head coach Stephanee Velez and her team have reached the Class 1A final four. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.