PIAA Class 1A State Championship Tournament Preview (Kehler On Hoops)
Written by: Andy Herr on March 2, 2026
Article by David Kehler
This is the first in a series of tournament previews.
The PIAA state championship tournament begins on Friday and concludes on Saturday, March 21. Overall, 192 teams will contest for championships in a single elimination format. Champions will be crowned in six classifications which are mostly based on the number of boys enrolled in the high schools. Class 1A contains the smallest schools, and Class 6A the largest. Unlike the NCAA’s March Madness, seeding is not based on power rankings. As such, key games can—and will—occur in the early rounds of the PIAA tournament. Just for fun, here are some predictions:
Last season, Neighborhood Academy, from Pittsburgh, defeated Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter, of Philadelphia, for the Class 1A state title. These two teams look to be poised for a rematch in the state championship game to be played in Hershey on March 19.
Sankofa returned most of the guys who played in the title game last year. A member of the Philadelphia Public League, Sankofa played a challenging non-conference schedule and has a savvy veteran coach. Sankofa advanced to the quarterfinals of the Philadelphia Public League championship tournament where they were defeated by an outstanding West Philadelphia squad. They won at West Philadelphia earlier in the season. During the regular year, Sankofa beat a number of teams that are in various classifications in the in the PIAA tournament, including Murrell Dobbins Tech (4A), Devon Prep (4A), Constitution (2A), Future (3A), Frankford (5A), and Universal Audenreid Charter (3A). Sankofa is 17-8, with most of the losses coming in games against teams from much larger schools, such as York William Penn and Central Bucks West. Key plyers include Nafis Dubose, who was a 1st team All-State selection last season, and Smad Geary-West, a terrific rebounder. Sankofa is in the eastern bracket.
Neighborhood Academy has had another sensational season, capped with a thoroughly convincing victory over Serra Catholic in the District 7 championship game. In earlier rounds of the District 7 tournament, Neighborhood Academy crushed Monessen by 29 points and Summit Academy by 40 points. Neighborhood Academy is 21-3 with some notable wins, a 76-32 defeat of Erie First Christian Academy among them. They lost by a point to Penn Hills (a Class 5A team that is in the state championship tournament) and by four to Kiski Area. In their third loss, they were topped by 24 by Sewickley Academy, which may be the best overall team in Pennsylvania this season. Neighborhood’s leading player is Kedron Gilmore, who can shoot and slash, and is averaging about 26 points per game. Neighborhood is in the western bracket.
While Sankofa and Neighborhood look to be the class of the field, there are several other fine squads to consider. Bethlehem Christian, the District 11 champion, is 25-2 and scores an average of 77 points per game. They are remarkably accurate shooters, hitting a team average of 47% from the floor. Their two losses were to much bigger schools, Allentown Central Catholic and Nazareth Area. They defeated Executive Education Academy Charter, which is playing in the Class 3A section of the state championship tournament. Key players include Gabe Transue, a 2nd team All-State selection last season, who is averaging 29 points and 12 rebounds per game, and Myles Harris, who is averaging 23 points per game. Bethlehem Christian is in the eastern bracket, as is York Country Day.
York Country Day, 21-4 this season, was upset by High Point Baptist by two points in the District 3 championship game. York Country Day has wins over Lancaster Country Day, Lancaster Catholic, Annville-Cleona, Steelton-Highspire, and Central Dauphin East. They were defeated twice by a terrific Berks Catholic squad and lost by four points to Lansdale Catholic, of the Philadelphia Catholic League. Berks Catholic is one of the best Class 4A teams in Pennsylvania, and Lansdale Catholic is in the 3A state championship tournament.
In the western bracket, Elk County Catholic, as usual, has a fabulous record. The District 9 champs are 24-2. Their games are generally low scoring, and, in a few recent wins, the margin of victory was narrow. They have not played the level of competition of the teams mentioned previously. High scoring Erie First Christian Academy is led by Avery Collins, a 1st team All-State selection last year who is averaging over 32 points per game. They are 18-6 and in the western bracket.
Top teams: Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter, Neighborhood Academy, Bethlehem Christian, York Country Day, Elk County Catholic, and Erie First Christian Academy.
Dark horse: Chester Charter Scholars Academy
Projected final four: Coventry Christian, Sankofa, Neighborhood Academy, and Erie First Christian
Projected championship game: Sankofa over Neighborhood Academy
On X (formerly Twitter) @david_kehler
LLhoops.com contributor David Kehler chairs the Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ selection of the boys All-State basketball teams.
Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops
