2025 BATV Tournament Field Announced

Middleton, Fla. — The tournament field for the 2025 Battle at The Villages was officially announced on Wednesday.

The eight-team, three-day event will feature a first for the tournament — more out-of-state teams than Florida representatives — with the 2025 edition set for Dec. 29-31 at The Villages High School in Middleton.

The host VHS, which won the event for the first time in 11 tries last December, welcomes De La Salle Institute (Chicago, Ill.), East Hall (Gainesville, Ga.), McCallie School (Chattanooga, Tenn.), St. Mary’s (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Upper Arlington (Columbus, Ohio) to the Sunshine State. Those squads will be joined by a pair of in-state participants in Bartow and Victory Christian (Lakeland) to round out the bracket-format event.

“We’re extremely excited and happy to have teams from across the country represent their schools,” said Marty Dzuro, tournament director for the Battle at The Villages. “The opportunity to have first-time states represented such as Arizona and Tennessee shows that in the 12th iteration of this tournament, we can still offer new and thrilling entertainment for our fans. The tournament committee hopes everyone can join us by ringing in the New Year with the 2025 Battle at The Villages.”

The official tournament bracket will be released in October. Games are scheduled for 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on all three days of the event.

Advanced ticket purchase opportunities for the tournament, held inside the 1,200-seat VHS Gymnasium, will also be made available at a later date.

12TH ANNUAL BATTLE AT THE VILLAGES – 2025 PARTICIPANTS

The Villages

Nickname: Buffalo

Location: Middleton, Florida

Last Season Record: 26-6

Last Season Finish: Lost in FHSAA Class 3A state championship

Note: The host Buffalo won their first-ever BATV title last December, knocking off Windermere by a final of 77-74 in the 11th annual event’s finale.

Bartow

Nickname: Yellow Jackets

Location: Bartow, Florida

Last Season Record: 20-9

Last Season Finish: Lost in FHSAA Class 6A region semifinals

Note: The top seven scorers from last season’s roster are all projected to return for the Yellow Jackets, who fell to the eventual state runner-up.

De La Salle Institute

Nickname: Meteors

Location: Chicago, Illinois 

Last Season Record: 16-18

Last Season Finish: Lost in IHSA Class 3A section semifinals

Note: A veteran De La Salle squad is ready for a return to the Battle at The Villages, after longtime head coach Gary DeCesare led the Meteors to a fifth-place finish in the 2023 event.

East Hall

Nickname: Vikings

Location: Gainesville, Georgia

Last Season Record: 23-6

Last Season Finish: Lost in second round of GHSA AAA state tournament

Note: The Vikings are back on the upswing after just seven wins in 2022-23 and a 14-13 mark two seasons ago, East Hall won 23 games and made a state tournament appearance last winter.

McCallie School

Nickname: Blue Tornado

Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Last Season Record: 13-16

Last Season Finish: Lost in TSSAA region finals

Note: Former McCallie-student-turned-head-coach Kenneth White embarks on his second year of leading the Blue Tornado, who suffered injuries throughout much of the 2024-25 season.

St. Mary’s

Nickname: Knights

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Last Season Record: 18-12

Last Season Finish: Won AIA Class 4A state championship

Note: An overtime victory for a state title last season was made even more special for St. Mary’s head coach Damin Lopez, who matched his father, David, in winning his second state championship for the Knights.

Upper Arlington

Nickname: Golden Bears

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Last Season Record: 14-10

Last Season Finish: Lost in OHSAA Division I region semifinals

Note: The alma mater of golf legend Jack Nicklaus, the Columbus powerhouse program is poised to bring a physical brand of basketball to its first BATV appearance.

Victory Christian

Nickname: Storm

Location: Lakeland, Florida

Last Season Record: 25-7

Last Season Finish: Lost in FHSAA Class 1A state championship

Note: The Storm continued their history of deep playoff runs last winter in advancing to the Class 1A state title game, their third straight trip to the regional finals or beyond in three different classifications.