2018-19 Early Season Tournaments

The 2018-19 season begins on Wednesday and over the next few weeks schools across the state of Oregon at all classifications will be playing non-league games - some of which are in some very competitive tournaments. Here are some of the top tournaments that will be going on over the next month until the end of the calendar year.

(Note: for inclusion on this list, an event must have eight or more teams and be in tournament format where not all of games are pre-arranged matchups)

Holiday Inn Wilsonville Invitational Tournament (November 30-December 2, Wilsonville High School, Wilsonville)

Wilsonville HS's annual tournament will bring in teams from the 4A, 5A, and 6A levels to town. Mountain View is the lone 6A team and Banks is the lone 4A squad, but among the 5A teams in addition to host Wilsonville will be state tournament contenders Pendleton and Springfield.

Players of note to watch: Zach Brown (2019 Springfield), Chase McClain (2019 Mountain View), Tyler Newsom (2019 Pendleton), Jack Roche (2019 Wilsonville), Dakota Reber (2020 Wilsonville), Gabe Reichle (2020 Wilsonville), Jacob Slifka (2020 Banks)

Capitol City Classic (December 18-22, Willamette University, Salem)

The 16-team tournament will feature 12 teams from Oregon and four out-of-state squads. The in-state teams are from a mixture of the 5A and 6A levels with Tigard being the top 6A team and La Salle the top 5A team present. Also of note are Cleveland, Lincoln, and Roosevelt from the PIL and 5A Crook County and 6A Mountain View coming over to Salem from the Cascades.

The four out-of-state teams are Centennial (Corona, Calif.), Dutchtown (Hampton, Ga.), Higley (Gilbert, Ariz.), and Liberty (Renton, Wash.).

In-State players of note to watch: Stevie Schlabach (2019 Tigard), Alex Boyd (2019 La Salle), Jace Norton (2019 La Salle), Chase McClain (2019 Mountain View), Joey Rodrick (2019 Cleveland), Mason Lomax (2020 Sprague), Jayoni Moore (2020 Roosevelt), Nic Boyd (2021 La Salle)

Out-of-State players of note to watch: Jaylen Clark (2020 Centennial), DJ Davis (2020 Centennial), Jason Harris (2020 Higley), Shon Robinson (2020 Higley)


LSI 'THE EIGHT' (December 20-22, Liberty High School, Hillsboro)

This brand new tournament will whet the appetite of hoops fans before the main Les Schwab Invitational the following week after Christmas. Six of the top in-state squads from three different levels not competing in the "regular" LSI will be here, notably state title contenders De La Salle North in 3A and Silverton in 5A. Two out-of-state squads in Pacifica Christian out of California and Eastside Catholic from Washington will also be in tow trying to capture the title of this inaugural event.

In-State players of note to watch: Jonah Downey (2019 Silverton), Colton Gorski (2019 Sandy), Anthony Mosley (2019 De La Salle), Kobe Newton (2019 Westview), Levi Nielsen (2019 Silverton), Braden Thorn (2019 Sherwood), David Gonzales (2020 Silverton), Jamison Guerra (2020 Sherwood)

Les Schwab Invitational (December 26-29, Liberty High School, Hillsboro)

Now in its 23rd year, the LSI has been the premier holiday event in Oregon for quite some time and this year's invitees should once again pack the stands. There will be future Division I players galore on the rosters of the twelve teams from Oregon, one team from Southwest Washington, and three other out-of-state squads that represent the 16-team field. Practically every top 6A team will be in the field, most notably last year's state title participants, Jefferson and Grant. 5A is presented by favorite Churchill who makes the trip up from Eugene, and 2A is represented by Columbia Christian.

As far as non-Oregon teams, Skyview from Vancouver figures to challenge for Washington 4A honors, as does Gonzaga Prep out of Spokane. Sierra Canyon from California and University School from Florida are the two other out-of-state teams, and both are filled with top-level players including the #1 ranked player in the country, Vernon Carey Jr of University School. While the out-of-state squads are stacked, don't discount the Oregon schools as more often than not we have seen our local squads pull off some shocking upsets of our esteemed visitors.

In-State players of note to watch: Vermont signee Aaron Deloney (2019 Grant), Portland State signee Jaden Nielsen-Skinner (2019 South Salem), Washington signee Marcus Tsohonis (2019 Jefferson), Josh Angle (2019 Lake Oswego), Brock Henry (2019 Southridge), Stevie Schlabach (2019 Tigard), Micah Garrett (2020 West Linn), Jesse White (2020 Barlow), Darius Gakwasi (2021 Central Catholic), Ben Gregg (2021 Columbia Christian)

Out-of-State players of note to watch: Vernon Carey Jr (2019 University School), Arizona signee Christian Koloko (2019 Sierra Canyon), Kenyon Martin Jr (2019 Sierra Canyon), Scottie Pippen Jr (2019 Sierra Canyon), Alex Schumacher (2019 Skyview), Cassius Stanley (2019 Sierra Canyon), Gonzaga signee Anton Watson (2019 Gonzaga Prep), Scottie Barnes (2020 University School), Terren Frank (2020 Sierra Canyon)

Some of the other holiday tournaments going on in December include (teams listings as available):

Arby's Holiday Classic (December 27-29, North Medford HS, Medford)

Forest Grove, McNary, North Eugene, North Medford, Roseburg, South Medford, West Albany, West Salem

Canby Winter Invitational (December 27-29, Canby HS, Canby)

Benson, Canby, Evergreen (Vancouver), Lakeridge, Liberty, McKay, Sheldon, Westview

Cascade Christian (December 27-29, Cascade Christian HS)

Butte Falls/Crater Lake Charter, Crater, Dayton, Hidden Valley, Phoenix, Santiam Christian, Westside Christian

McKenzie 1A Hoops Classic (December 27-29, McKenzie HS, McKenzie)

Crosshill Christian, Elkton, Hosanna Christian, McKenzie, North Douglas

Sisters Holiday Tournament (December 27-29, Sisters HS, Sisters)

Banks, Cottage Grove, Estacada, Gladstone, Henley, Marist, Mazama, Sisters

South Coast Les Schwab Tournament (December 13-15, Marshfield HS, Coos Bay)

Junction City, La Salle, Marshfield, North Valley, Philomath, Sisters, Sutherlin

Summit Holiday Tournament (December 27-29, Bend HS/Mountain View HS, Bend)

Bend, Del Norte (Calif.) Grants Pass, Madras, Pendleton, Ridgeview, Seaside, South Eugene, Thurston

Westside Winter Jam (December 6-8, Westside Christian HS, Tigard)

Amity, Cascade Christian, City Christian, Columbia Christian, Corbett, Dayton, Horizon Christian, Westside Christian