McHENRY — The third edition of the Western Maryland Classic will tip off on Thursday at Garrett College.
The showcase features some of the top high school basketball teams from across the country, along with several area schools.
“I think as the basketball world has adapted to different guidelines, this event has gone very well,” event organizer and former Bishop Walsh Elite head coach Dan Prete said. “A lot of teams come up and enjoy coming to Western Maryland because we do such a good job of hosting, providing a solid venue and an exciting high school event.”
This year’s showcase features four teams ranked in the ESPN SCNext Top 25 as of Jan. 20.
AZ Compass of Chandler, Arizona, is ranked No. 4.
The Dragons feature three players ranked in the ESPN class of 2026 top 100.
Kaden House is committed to Maryland and is ranked 53rd.
His brother Kalek is ranked 57th and committed to Xavier.
“High level shooter, I’m excited to see him,” Prete said of Kaden House. “One of the reasons I requested AZ Compass to come was because I knew they had a kid going to Maryland. I think that would be a kinda cool thing for fans to see the future of Maryland basketball.”
They are the sons of Eddie House, an 11-year NBA veteran and 2008 champion with the Boston Celtics.
Quincy Wadley is the No. 55 prospect and holds offers from Arizona State, Clemson, Florida State, Maryland and Villanova among others.
Link Academy of Branson, Missouri, is ranked No. 7 and was No. 1 earlier this month.
The Lions have six players ranked in the top 100, led by the 30th-ranked prospect, Oregon commit Tajh Ariza.
Ariza is the son of Trevor Ariza, an 18-year NBA veteran and 2009 champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ethan Taylor (Michigan State), Luca Foster (Gonzaga), Carlos Medlock Jr. (Michigan State), Trent Perry (Kansas) and Tristan Reed (Mississippi State) are also ranked in the class of 2026.
“Their coach is a good friend from Virginia, Chad Myers,” Prete said. “I think he does a wonderful job of not just combining stars, it’s superstars, but they play like a team. They play for each other, they run good sets. I’m excited to see them up close. Imagine their sixth man is going to Michigan State, that tells you how good their starting five is.”
Wasatch Academy hails from Mount Pleasant, Utah, and is ranked No. 12.
The Tigers have three top 100 recruits, including No. 37 and UConn commit Junior County.
Katrelle Harman committed to Creighton, while Chidi Nwigwe is No. 63 and holds offers from Georgia Tech, Illinois, Michigan and Oklahoma State among others.
Nwigwe played for Sunrise Christian at last year’s event.
La Lumiere returns after competing in the 2023 Western Maryland Classic.
The Lakers hail from La Porte, Indiana, and are ranked No. 13.
Jon Sanderson is a Notre Dame commit while Jacob Webber committed to Purdue.
“La Lumiere and I have a relationship that goes back many years” Prete said. “One of the schools around the country I really respect. They do a really good job of producing student-athletes. I try and make sure they come, they always wanna come to our events. I’m expecting a really good performance, I think Thursday’s Link and La Lumiere game will be an absolute dogfight.”
Five other national schools will also compete.
Bishop O’Connell, out of Arlington, Virginia, is led by Darius Bivins.
The 51st-ranked prospect is considering Texas Tech, Rutgers, Seton Hall and VCU.
Tennessee Collegiate Academy from Memphis, Tennessee, features UCF commit Christian Gibson who is ranked 67th.
Mason Williams is No. 150 on the 24/7 Sports class of 2026 rankings and holds offers from Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Washington and Memphis among others.
Mt. Zion Prep from Lanham, Maryland, Christ School from Arden, North Carolina and CATS Academy of Boston are the other schools.
Mt. Zion Prep features Zion Green, ranked No. 53 in the class of 2027.
He holds offers from Kansas State, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State.
The national schedule begins on Thursday at 4 p.m. with Tennessee Collegiate and Christ School.
CATS Academy faces AZ Compass at 5:45 p.m. before La Lumiere plays Link Academy at 7:30 p.m.
Mt. Zion Prep opens the Friday slate with Wasatch at 2:15 p.m.
AZ Compass and Christ School play at 4 p.m.
Link Academy faces CATS Academy at 5:45 p.m. before La Lumiere and Tennessee Collegiate tip off at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Christ School plays CATS Academy at 5:15 p.m.
The finale of the showcase is at 7 p.m. between Bishop O’Connell and Wasatch.
The showcase will also spotlight six area public schools.
Allegany, Keyser, Northern, Paw Paw, Petersburg and Southern will compete.
“As we got more established, that was the goal,” Prete said. “Try to get schools from Cumberland up to Garrett was important. Each year we hope to make that grow.”
The Southern boys open the event on Thursday at 2:15 p.m. against Petersburg.
The Southern girls face Thomas Jefferson of Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, on Friday at 9 p.m.
Saturday’s slate opens with the Northern girls against Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, at noon.
The Allegany boys play Keyser at 1:45 p.m. before the Northern boys face Paw Paw at 3:30 p.m.
“We’re super excited, we were very happy that they asked us to play,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “Allegany’s a top-tier team this year. They’ve got one of the best players in the area.
“It reminds me a whole lot of (Frankfort’s) Jeremy Phillips, they’re just like mirror images of each other. If we don’t take care of finding out where Mr. (Chris) Manherz is, it’s gonna be a long night.”