Who will win the “DII A Middle” D3 Tournament Championship?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: Providence Christian Academy</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <p>Providence Christian Academy won the district outright with a home victory Friday night, but Columbia Academy, Franklin Road Academy, and Grace Christian Academy all tied for 5th and needed fate to step in. Following a series of Saturday morning coin tosses, seeds are set and the Division II A Middle District 3 Tournament is ready to go.</p> <ol> <li>Providence Christian Academy</li> <li>Webb-Bell Buckle</li> <li>Battle Ground Academy</li> <li>University School of Nashville (USN)</li> <li>Columbia Academy </li> <li>Franklin Road Academy</li> <li>Grace Christian Academy</li> <li>Middle Tennessee Christian</li> </ol> <p><strong>Tuesday 2/11/25</strong> <br />#8 Middle TN Christian @ #1 PCA<br />#5 Columbia Academy @ #4 USN</p> <p>#6 Franklin Road Academy @ #3 Battle Ground Academy<br />#7 Grace Christian @ #2 Webb-Bell Buckle</p> <p><strong>Friday-Saturday (2/13-2/14) at Battle Ground Academy<br /></strong>Semifinals/Finals</p> <p><strong>The favorite:</strong> Providence Christian Academy finished second in the State Tournament last year and they are better now.  PCA features a terrifying frontline of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1659513' first='Christopher' last='Washington Jr.']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2292618' first='Preston' last='Wade']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2367403' first='Aiden' last='Bolden']</strong>.  All three are Top 12 prospects in the state for 2026. The Lions are not unbeatable, but they are undeniably the favorite in this district. Even when PCA looks lost on offense (not that often), they can defend like no other team in Tennessee, regardless of class, which keeps them in command most nights. If there is a weakness of PCA, then it is decision-making by the guards.  The team lacks a natural point guard and there will be instances of [player_tooltip player_id='2367419' first='Davis' last='Joyner'] doing it. </p> <p><strong>The biggest threat: </strong>Battle Ground Academy features two guards that PCA simply does not have the ability to check on the perimeter. Both <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2111660' first='Greyson' last='Williams']</strong> and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1368094' first='Arnett' last='Hayes']</strong> are crafty and quick while PCA is the more frontcourt-focused team.  BGA was the only team to hand PCA a district loss.  They knocked off the Lions January 23rd, 76-71. </p> <p>"I think it validated what we thought and knew we could do," said Battle Ground Academy Head Coach Trey Meyer when previewing the District Tournament. "It validated a lot of hard work and belief we had within our team. They are incredible. They are the biggest high school team I have ever seen. They present many, many challenges throughout the game. But we have really good guards and that can offset it a little bit. We got some run-out layups. They started to worry about that a little bit."</p> <p>To be fair, PCA beat Battle Ground, 69-50 before Christmas. </p> <p><strong>The dark horse:</strong> Webb-Bell Buckle</p> <p>In their final regular season game, the Feet of Webb-Bell Buckle played PCA straight up, outright winning the second quarter and nudging slightly outperforming the hosting Lions in the third.  The guard play of Webb was strong between <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194624' first='Eli' last='Brown']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1498078' first='Jax' last='Howard']</strong>. Senior transfer <strong>Ahmed Rabie</strong> wonderfully pestered [player_tooltip player_id='2292618' first='Preston' last='Wade'] in the lane.  Junior athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2136934' first='Joel' last='Wyatt']</strong> did not play, and he may have made a difference. They lack the depth to outlast PCA in a series of games, but in a singular meeting...Webb could take the District Tournament crown should they battle PCA again.</p> <p>"I am really looking forward to the District Tournament," said Webb Feet Head Coach Micah Williams Friday night.  "I told the guys it is like a second season. We have to go out and approach it as a new task. I like the way we have been playing lately. The guys have been playing hard and competing. It is going to help."</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Players to watch</span><br />2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1259392' first='Jeremy' last='Jackson Jr.'], Columbia Academy<br />2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1498078' first='Jax' last='Howard'], Webb-Bell Buckle<br />2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1858624' first='Ty' last='Gibbs'], Grace Christian<br />2025 Ford Deshazo, Grace Christian<br />2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2194624' first='Eli' last='Brown'], Webb-Bell Buckle<br />2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2111660' first='Greyson' last='Williams'], Battle Ground Academy<br />2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1378680' first='EJ' last='Jordan'], Franklin Road Academy<br />2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1368094' first='Arnett' last='Hayes'], Battle Ground Academy<br />2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1578683' first='Clay' last='Payne'], USN<br />2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2367403' first='Aiden' last='Bolden'], Providence Christian Academy<br />2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1901670' first='Jake' last='Harney'], Battle Ground Academy<br />2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2367419' first='Davis' last='Joyner'], Providence Christian Academy<br />2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1943896' first='Nickalai' last='Anderson'], Providence Christian Academy<br />2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2292618' first='Preston' last='Wade'], Providence Christian Academy<br />2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1659513' first='Christopher' last='Washington Jr.'], Providence Christian Academy<br />2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2767429' first='Amir' last='Rabie'], Webb-Bell Buckle<br />2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2750445' first='Omarii' last='Sanders'], Franklin Road Academy</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">District Tournament History<br /></span>2024: Columbia Academy<br />2023: Webb School</p> <p>In 2024, Columbia Academy knocked off PCA in the District Tournament Championship. </p> <p>In 2023, Webb School defeated Columbia Academy, 62-55, in the title game.  After finishing second in the Region Tournament Webb was a State Semifinalist. They lost to Notre Dame, 68-62 ending their season.</p> <h4 style="text-align: center">DISTRICT FINAL PREDICTION</h4> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Providence Christian Academy vs. Battle Ground Academy</strong></p> <p>Providence Christian Academy was the PrepHoopsTN preseason pick to win the State Tournament and the only moment wherein that was not abundantly obvious to all was the night Battle Ground Academy whacked 'em good.  Can they do it again?   Yes. Will they? No.</p> <p>PCA is just too long and strong in the lane. It has an enormous impact on the game at both ends, obviously. Keeping the bigs off of the offensive glass is hard.  Scoring high-percentage buckets against PCA is borderline impossible.  They challenge shots out to 18' and make typically-manageable shots difficult. </p> <p>Should this matchup occur, it would take place in Battle Ground Academy's gym, which is a plus for them.  A key player for BGA is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2111660' first='Greyson' last='Williams']</strong> (Missouri Western signee).  "Averaging right at 25 ppg," said Battle Ground Academy Head Coach Trey Meyer. "He has improved every year. When we beat PCA he was the leading rebounder with 9 rebounds. He is this 5'9" warrior that believes he can do anything. It could be 9 rebounds, 6 assists, it could be 30 points. He just makes an impact all over the floor."</p> <p>Battle Ground Academy is solid, but this is not a matchup that favors them.</p> <p>The top four teams from the District Tournament advance to the Regional Tournament.</p> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PREDICTION:</strong> Providence Christian Academy wins, 68-59.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator -->