Sixteen things to get you ready for Kentucky’s 2025 Boys’ Sweet 16 basketball tournament
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2025 Boys’ Sweet 16 basketball preview
Click below to view more coverage from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com previewing the boys’ state high school basketball tournament to be held March 26-29 in Rupp Arena in Lexington.
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The 2025 UK HealthCare Boys’ Basketball Sweet 16 state tournament begins Wednesday as teams from around the commonwealth will square off to see who will capture Kentucky high school basketball’s ultimate prize.
Here are 16 things to think about as the tournament returns to Rupp Arena this week:
1. Who’s No. 1?
Louisville’s St. Xavier (31-2) ended the regular season as the No. 1 team in Kentucky Boys High School Basketball Media Top 15 poll. The Tigers’ only two losses came in out-of-state showcases back in December to Maryland No. 10 Georgetown Prep (Bethesda) and Texas No. 25 St. Francis Episcopal (Houston).
St. X took over the No. 1 spot after it defeated Great Crossing 72-58 on Dec. 15 in a game in which they held the now-No. 2 Warhawks to 33.3% from the field while the Tigers themselves shot 52.9% and buried 10 3-pointers to the Great Crossing’s three in front of a standing-room only home crowd.
Before that, Great Crossing (31-4), which features Kentucky signee Malachi Moreno, was the overwhelming No. 1 in the Herald-Leader’s Preseason Top 25, based on a vote of the state’s coaches. The Warhawks got 91 No. 1 votes to St. X’s 13. Great Crossing’s other three losses also came to out-of-state teams in December.
The KHSAA’s quirky RPI standings place St. X at No. 3 and Great Crossing at No. 5 thanks to a mathematical formula that often grossly undervalues out-of-state opponents compared to Kentucky schools. The RPI’s Nos. 1, 2 and 4 teams — Frederick Douglass, Marshall County and Hazard — didn’t make it to Lexington.
Of note, longtime Herald-Leader computer rankings guru Dave Cantrall retired last year and there has been no equivalent to take his rankings’ place.
It’s left for the Boys’ Sweet 16 to settle the issue once and for all. And St. X and Great Crossing each have a side of the bracket to themselves if they can survive and advance.
Will we see No. 1 vs. No. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Rupp Arena?
2. Mr. Basketball
For the second year in a row, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball honor was bestowed before the start of the state tournament. Moreno, Great Crossing’s 6-foot-10 center, took home the crystal trophy honoring the season’s most outstanding senior player.
Moreno has averaged 21.5 points and 14.8 rebounds this year. His career totals of 611 blocks and 1,896 rebounds rank him in the KHSAA’s top five on both all-time lists. Moreno was also recently honored as the Kentucky Gatorade player of the year.
Like his predecessor Travis Perry, Moreno signed with the University of Kentucky. He hopes to follow in Perry’s footsteps by claiming a state championship as well. Moreno knows being “Kentucky Mr. Basketball” at the Sweet 16 carries some pressure.
“Definitely, a little bit, but at the same time though, you don’t really worry about pressure,” Moreno said. “You just go out and play your own game.”
Great Crossing opens with 3rd Region champion Daviess County (25-6) at 6 p.m. Thursday.
3. Region players of the year
In addition to Moreno, there are four other senior region players of the year who were Mr. Basketball candidates in the field.
▪ Jonah Butler (22.3 points), a 6-5 guard from the 1st Region’s Calloway County, committed to Stony Brook.
▪ Connor Loy (20.4), an uncommitted 6-0 guard from the 5th Region’s Adair County.
▪ Andy Johnson (23.7), a 6-5 forward from the 9th Region’s Cooper, signed with Illinois-Chicago.
▪ Zander Carter (23.8) a 6-6 guard from the 16th Region’s Ashland Blazer, signed with Liberty.
4. Other names to know
Other top players in the field include:
▪ Great Crossing’s Vince “Trey” Dawson III (18.1 points), 6-6 senior guard, Morehead State signee.
▪ St. Xavier’s Jeremiah Jackson (14.6), 6-4 senior guard, offers include Ohio and Cincinnati; and Chance Dillingham (13.9), a 5-9 senior.
▪ North Laurel’s Reece Davidson (20.6), 6-8 junior forward, one of Reed Sheppard’s cousins and has offers including Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech.
▪ Daviess County’s Jonathan Moss (19.9), 6-0 junior guard, offers include East Carolina; and DeAaron Watkins (16.2), a 6-8 junior forward, offers include East Carolina and Jacksonville State.
▪ Breathitt County’s Austin Sperry (23.5), 6-4 senior guard, Indiana University-Indianapolis signee.
▪ Calloway County’s Eli Finley (21.2), 6-1 senior guard, the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer.
▪ South Oldham’s Julian Miles (22.4), 6-2 senior guard, needs two points to become the Dragons’ all-time leading scorer.
▪ Jeffersontown’s Camron McDaniels (22.3), 6-5 forward with college interest in both football and basketball.
▪ Adair County’s Isaiah Cochran (16.6), 6-7 senior forward.
5. Poll positions
The Herald-Leader preseason Top 25 was a decent indicator of who might make it to Rupp Arena.
Nine H-L preseason Top 25 teams are in the state tournament — preseason No. 1 Great Crossing, No. 2 St. Xavier, No. 6 Adair County, No. 9 Ashland Blazer, No. 13 Bowling Green, No. 17 Cooper, No. 19 Jeffersontown, No. 21 Calloway County and No. 23 South Oldham.
Of those, only St. Xavier, Great Crossing and Adair County were ranked in the final media Top 15 poll (at Nos. 1, 2 and 6, respectively). Media No. 9 Danville Christian was not ranked in the preseason.
Six teams went unranked in both polls — Breathitt County, Daviess County, Henderson County, Lawrence County, Montgomery County and North Laurel.
6. Unpredictable
Media poll members tried to predict the tournament field when the postseason began Feb. 23. None picked Bowling Green, North Laurel, Breathitt County nor Lawrence County to win their respective regions.
In fact, the best any of the 16 journalists could do this year was pick 10 of 16 regions correctly. Hat tip to Josh Claywell of the Bardstown Kentucky Standard/LaRue County Herald News.
7. The big layoff
The extra week due to Rupp Arena hosting part of the NCAA Tournament last week meant an unusually long layoff for some region champions.
For instance, Calloway County will not have played for 17 days between their 1st Region finals on March 9 and Wednesday’s game against Ashland Blazer. North Laurel matches that gap between its region finals on March 10 and its Thursday game.
Other teams with more than a week and a half off include Ashland Blazer, Breathitt County, Danville Christian, Daviess County, Great Crossing, Lawrence County and St. Xavier.
The shortest layoffs go to Bowling Green and Montgomery County, who won their regions on Wednesday.
8. First-timer and a traditional power
Danville Christian (29-3) is the only first-time region champion in the field. The tiny private school in Boyle County has only played a full KHSAA schedule in the 12th Region since 2019.
Ashland Blazer’s seventh straight 16th Region title tied a record it already held with three other schools for consecutive state tournament trips. The Tomcats’ 38 state tournament appearances are also the most in the field.
9. Going for ‘the double’
Danville Christian will try to become only the second school to win both the small-school All “A” Classic state championship that’s conducted in the middle of the season and the Boys’ Sweet 16. Shelby Valley accomplished the feat in 2010.
DCA had a total of 78 students last school year. Their boys and girls varsity basketball rosters totaled 38 players this season. The Warriors are the only boys team from this year’s All “A” Classic field to make the Boys’ Sweet 16.
10. Thrilled to get here
Six of this year’s 16 teams went down to the wire in their region finals.
▪ Montgomery County stunned No. 8 George Rogers Clark in the 10th Region finals as senior point guard Cayden Reed banked in a game-winning 3-pointer from the left wing as the horn sounded for a 59-56 win.
▪ North Laurel outlasted South Laurel 49-44 in overtime in the 13th Region finals after dropping both regular-season contests to the Cardinals.
▪ Danville Christian survived a wild 12th Region Tournament that included three double-overtime games in the quarterfinals. The Warriors needed overtime to prevail 39-36 against Mercer County in the finals.
▪ South Oldham topped North Oldham 53-50 in overtime after Brooks Bee hit a 3-pointer for the lead with 39 seconds left and then made a layup to help seal the 8th Region championship.
▪ Great Crossing successfully defended a 3-pointer at the horn to snuff a furious rally by No. 3 Frederick Douglass and preserve a 59-57 win in the 11th Region finals.
▪ Breathitt County lost to Hazard an astounding four times during the regular season but stunned the No. 7 Bulldogs 61-59 in the 14th Region finals thanks to an 8-2 run in the fourth quarter.
11. Sizing them up
Here’s a look at how the first-round matchups compare using the KHSAA’s RPI standings:
26. Bowling Green (27-6) vs. 15. Adair County (30-5).
29. Jeffersontown (26-6) vs. 3. St. Xavier (31-2).
8. South Oldham (29-5) vs. 7. Danville Christian (29-3).
17. Ashland Blazer (23-7) vs. 6. Calloway County (31-3).
43. North Laurel (22-10) vs. 53. Breathitt County (24-8).
79. Lawrence County (23-10) vs. 59. Montgomery County (21-10).
30. Daviess County (25-6) vs. 5. Great Crossing (31-4).
28. Henderson County (25-6) vs. 13. Cooper (23-5).
12. Toughest draw
A glance at the RPI rankings of Wednesday’s first-round teams shows they have the toughest overall path with all eight teams among the RPI’s top 30, including St. Xavier.
Thursday’s first-round teams rank much lower by comparison, but Great Crossing has the two other highest-rated squads directly in its path, starting with No. 30 Daviess County on Thursday followed by a potential quarterfinal showdown with No. 13 Cooper on Friday.
13. Toughest schedule
According to the KHSAA’s RPI standings page, Ashland Blazer had the field’s toughest regular-season schedule with an opponents’ winning percentage of 0.64247. Cooper came in second with a 0.63306.
14. Easiest schedule
Lawrence County had the easiest regular-season schedule with its opponents’ winning percentage at 0.49503.
15. Top team stats
From the KHSAA’s online stat leader’s page — Scoring offense (points per game): St. Xavier (80.2). Scoring defense (points against per game): Danville Christian (42.6). Scoring margin (points per game): St. Xavier (24.8). Field-goal percentage: Great Crossing (55.2). Three-point field goal percentage: Bowling Green (46.7). Free-throw percentage: Daviess County (80.4).
16. Top individual stats
Scoring (points per game): Austin Sperry, Breathitt County (23.5). Rebounding (per game): Malachi Moreno, Great Crossing (14.8). Field-goal percentage: Will Hanke, St. Xavier (77.6). Three-point shooting (makes per game): Jake Fithian, South Oldham (3.4). Three-point percentage: Luke Idlett, Bowling Green (59.6). Free-throw percentage: Jonathan Moss, Daviess County (86.9).
2025 BOYS’ SWEET 16
What: Sixteen-team tournament to decide Kentucky’s high school basketball state champion
When: March 26-29
Where: Rupp Arena
Tickets: Available for purchase at KHSAA.org.
Online bracket: Boys’ Sweet 16 schedule at KHSAA.org
WEDNESDAY’S FIRST-ROUND GAMES
11 a.m.: Bowling Green (27-6) vs. Adair County (30-5)
1:30 p.m.: Jeffersontown (26-6) vs. St. Xavier (31-2)
6 p.m.: South Oldham (29-5) vs. Danville Christian (29-3)
8:30 p.m.: Ashland Blazer (23-7) vs. Calloway County (31-3)
THURSDAY’S FIRST-ROUND GAMES
11 a.m.: North Laurel (22-10) vs. Breathitt County (24-8)
1:30 p.m.: Lawrence County (23-10) vs. Montgomery County (21-10)
6 p.m.: Daviess County (25-6) vs. Great Crossing (31-4)
8:30 p.m.: Henderson County (25-6) vs. Cooper (23-5)
FRIDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
11 a.m.: Bowling Green-Adair County winner vs. Ashland Blazer-Calloway County winner
1:30 p.m.: South Oldham-Danville Christian winner vs. Jeffersontown-St. Xavier winner
6 p.m.: North Laurel-Breathitt County winner vs. Lawrence County-Montgomery County winner
8:30 p.m.: Daviess County-Great Crossing winner vs. Henderson County-Cooper winner
SATURDAY’S GAMES
11 a.m.: Semifinal 1: Winners of Friday’s afternoon session
1:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2: Winners of Friday’s evening session
7:30 p.m.: Championship game
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 9:40 AM.
