Grading The Throne 2026: You Get a ‘B’; Aim for an ‘A’ Next Year!
The Lancers, winners of The Throne 2026 (photo credit Zoe Pero).
Players from St. John Vianney Surprise as Winners!
March 25, 2026
In its third year as an event for high school girls, The Throne is a production of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and Gold Level Sports and Entertainment and was held March 19-21 at the American Dream (a huge shopping mall amongst other things) in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The event consisted of eight girls (and concurrently eight boys) high school teams wearing ‘The Throne’ jerseys in a single lose-and-go-home format. Seeded in the middle of the pack, relatively local The Lancers (composed of students from St. John Vianney High School from down the Jersey Shore in Holmdel) was an unexpected winner.
Why The Throne is not truly a high school event.
Most NFHS State Member Associations states do not allow their high school teams to represent their schools after the completion of their respective state championships. A few states do such as Nevada which is allowing Bishop Gorman High School to play in Chipotle Nationals in early April. Thus, legally this is a club event and not a high school event although all players come from the same school. By wearing ‘The Throne’ jerseys, schools cannot be stopped from participating although they may need to be coached by a non-school individual (as in the case of the winners).
Should polls count these games?
Technically no! Last year MaxPreps bit the bullet and left Morris Catholic at number 1 even though it was obvious from The Throne results that was a wrong answer to begin with. The most recent SB Live (Sports Illustrated) poll conversely chose to tinker with their high school rankings (ignoring what was just stated) as these games are played with the intensity of a major high school contest strictly by students from the school.
In this article, a brief look at the action along with strengths/criticism and suggestions on how to improve the event are made. Teams below will be referred to as coming from the school mentioned although technically in playing, they did not represent the school.
First the play itself and mention of a few players (as the teams lost).…
Round 1
Princess Anne High School (VA) 63-49 Friends’ Central School (PA)
Competitive for 3 quarters tied at 43, Princess Anne played with more energy operating on all cylinders to pull away in this last stanza. If counting in rankings, this is a quality win as Friends’ Central recently beat Westtown School which is in the field of the Chipotle Nationals. Ryan Carter (6-0, guard/forward, 2027) impressed for Friends’ Central showing positional versatility and improved shooting range (from her sophomore season) helping to solidify her national top 20 ranking by ESPN.
LuHi (NY) 63-46 St. John’s College High School (DC)
This was a re-match from December and Long Island Lutheran (LuHi as the locals refer to them) team was down multiple Power 5 players from the first meeting, won 69-44 by LuHi. Here, the team from Long Island still had too much star power controlling the game although not as decisive as in the first meeting. St. John’s has a young core returning. Stevie Harley (5-11, wing, 2028) should help lead the next wave of Cadets. She showed 3-point range and above average mobility.
Etiwanda High School (CA) 69-64 St. Frances Academy (MD)
This was more competitive than expected. Word had it that the Etiwanda school administration made their team travel on Thursday (game day). Thereby this Southern California-based squad (even though playing as a club team) had almost no time to acclimate for the long journey east. They particularly lacked their traditional energy on D in the first half and only up 30-28 at the break. As it was, the game was close right to the end. The #1 seeds survived the efforts of St. Frances’s dynamic Khloe Ison (5-6, guard, 2029).
St. John Vianney High School (NJ) 63-53 Tualatin High School (OR)
St. John Vianney was only up 36-32 at half but pulled away leading 51-36 after three quarters. Tualatin did not finish strongly this season. Having injury issues down the stretch, the team lost its last two games (semi and third place) at the Oregon State Tournament. Returning crafty point guard Love Best (5-6, 2028) and athletic forward Kendall Dawkins (6-0, 2028) should point them in a winning direction for next year.
Semifinals
LuHi (NY) 78-48 Princess Anne High School (VA)
This game really went according to script as a Princess Anne team, full of energy, led 15-13 after 1 quarter. From the second stanza forward, the LuHi superior star power came on with LuHi up 33-25 at half. Although Princess Anne made mini-runs in the second half, like an ocean’s undertow, the lead kept getting larger. While on paper this appears a total blow-out, it felt much more competitive in watching it unfold. Both Princess Anne stars, nationally ranked Micah Ojo (6-2, guard/forward, 2027) and East Carolina signee Tristan Rickenbacker (6-1, forward, 2026), played with high energy (Ojo perhaps not on two good legs as she injured an ankle in Roung 1). Going forward, the team has much talent to replace. As for this past season, I would have liked to see Princess Anne play a stronger schedule as they showed themselves to be a top 15 team nationally in the few challenging games it did play.
St. John Vianney High School 60-58 Etiwanda High School (CA)
This contest was back and forth from start to finish with St. John Vianney winning on a Taylor Sofilkanichlayup on a feed from Stella Lockhart. Due to difficulty with the broadcast platform (NBA App on cell phone unlike the first semi on NBA TV), I only watched this contest in small doses. What I mostly missed were two evenly matched teams trading punches. What I did see in Etiwanda (graduating only one starter) is a bright future in looking toward next year. Showing impressive skills and energy were Chasity Rice (5-5, point guard, 2027) and Aliyah Phillips (6-2, forward, 2027). This season, Etiwanda deserves to be ranked in the top 15 nationally and was once again one of the very best public-school teams in the USA.
Final
St. John Vianney High School (NJ) 71-68 2ot LuHi (NY)
An instant classic (which I understand is lost to the ages unless you recorded it on its NBA TV broadcast platform)! I and others had LuHi a solid favorite. It appeared the team had adjusted to only playing with three Power 4 players rather than six if injury had not shortened the bench.
What I and others did not see was the interior strength of St. John Vianney along with the ability to match LuHi perimeter shooting plus no fear of playing the Long Island power (which it beat a few years back). Having said the above, LuHi led 29-24 at half and 44-38 after three quarters. With about 20 seconds left, LuHi was still up 54-50. Here, LuHi star Savvy Swords fouled out giving St. John Vianney control of the middle. Down three in the closing seconds, Vianney’s Madison Kocis hit the equalizer (55 all) sending the game into overtime. From the start of the first overtime (ended at 62 all) it felt like LuHi was playing up hill with underdog status. Eventually the dam broke as the more energetic/ better interior team from the New Jersey Shore took control (in spite of the three-point final margin it felt more)!
One could easily put an all-tournament team together from just these two teams. From LuHi, Kentucky signees Savvy Swords (6-2, forward, 2026) and Emily McDonald (6-0, guard, 2026) respectively hit the glass and shot the three in all-star fashion. Going forward, between graduations and long-term injuries (likely carrying questions into next season), there is much that will need to be done to keep LuHi in the national rankings at a level similar to this season.
The Throne MVP Stella Lockhart in Overtime Select (Photo Credit Overtime Select).
As for St. John Vianney, there is a lot of praise to go around. Georgetown signee Stella Lockhart (6-1, power forward, 2026) earned MVP honors with her scoring and rebounding. Penn signee Madison Kocis (6-1, shooting guard, 2026) repeatedly hit big perimeter shots with none bigger than the three that sent the game into overtime #1. Duke signee Taylor Sofilkanich (6-4, center, 2026) anchored the middle. Finally, Sarah Karpell, who coached the team, looked ready to take over when her mother Dawn (not on the bench in accordance with New Jersey rules) wishes to step aside. Like LuHi, St. John Vianney has a lot of holes to fill for next season Also like LuHi, it will probably find a way to stay competitive in the upper tier of high school basketball.
What the event did well and could be improved upon before, during and after the event concluded!
Before
For girls, The Throne is only in year three and still is a relatively unknown event in the world of girls’ high school basketball. Considering dates and lack of understanding by high school coaches nationally, the field was quite respectable.
The event was moved back a week in March which unfortunately took potential teams from Michigan, Missouri, New York and Pennsylvania (PIAA) out of play as those states were still running their state tournaments. One clever thing the team selection panel did was avoid teams with McDonald’s All-Americans (other than local LuHi). Not surprisingly, in order to prevent injury and miss the McDonald’s game, such selectees sometimes will not play in the weeks leading up to the McDonald’s All-American game. This would then place a much weaker team in the event than what was on paper invited.
The lack of knowledge regarding The Throne remains great with most high school coaches believing their team cannot participate in the event and/or there is some ‘catch’ as to a team receiving an all-expenses paid trip to play in The Throne. I would recommend a packet sent to candidate teams in January explaining how the team plays as a club team wearing ‘The Throne’ jerseys. Although their high school coaches might not be allowed to coach, of the four semifinalists, only St. John Vianney had a substitute coach. Also in the packet, there should be testimonials (with contact information) from prior participating coaches explaining the experience.
During
There was great confusion as to where to watch each game. Press releases implied games would be on NBA TV, NBA YouTube Channel and the NBA App. True but not all at the same time! Quarterfinals according to my DirecTV guide were not on the channel but were well streamed on the NBA YouTube Channel (once you were able to find the tab). The first girls’ semi was a pleasure to watch on NBA TV. Unfortunately, the second semi was only available to watch on a cell phone using the NBA App, and between tiny picture and signal coming and going, this was a frustrating experience at best. The final was on NBA TV.
My recommendation would be to have all games available on the very stable NBA YouTube Channel regardless of if they were also on NBA TV (not everybody gets it) and/or the NBA App (really designed for hard-core NBA fans). Also, if archived on the NBA You Tube Channel, its availability there might help some players get a scholarship as readily available for a college coach to view.
The second issue is regarding game results. If the organizers think the event is that important (they should), post box scores on a dedicated website that media and fans can access (On site media said box scores were available in the facility). Also, announce exactly where each game will be broadcast amongst the three platforms. Needless to say, I would urge use of the YouTube platform either alone or in conjunction with the other two platforms.
After
A big question that arose is can a school accept a donation to its athletic program? On the surface, the answer would seem to be ‘yes’. And last year Biship Ireton, a VISAA school, got such a donation. However, NFHS Affiliates (like VISAA) are often more lenient. Most NFHS State Members Associations, such as New Jersey’s NJSIAA, would probably ask why is this school getting a check and not another school in its association? I would urge any school receiving a donation triggered by winning an event by students from the school to check with its governing body before depositing the check!
Assuming prize money is legal (and I hope it is) to accept, I and multiple high school coaches I talked with strongly disagreed with the prize money distribution. While $25,000 (and a few other perks) going to the winner looks splashy, multiple high school coaches thought $15,000 to first, $5,000 to second and $2500 to each semifinalist would go further to (as they say) winning friends and influencing people to support the event. One additional perk was that all members of the two teams in the final got customized sneakers so not all ‘goodies’ were showered on just the first-place team.
Also, if the event is picking an all-tournament team, it should be ready at the close of the girls broadcast (only the MVP was announced) and such a list should be posted on the dedicated website (besides Instagram) where the box scores should also be placed.
Conclusion
Does the event want prep/academies (Chipotle Nationals is heavy to them this year) or traditional brick and mortar high schools? It is up to the event organizers as to which they want. High school basketball as to possessing quality players is dying. While by no means a ‘game changer,’ The Throne would infuse a dose of positivity toward high schools if the event was restricted to them. The academies/preps will gladly come to take the money if the event wants to push in that direction!
The event is making progress from where it was two years ago, By and large, this year’s contests were exciting if not totally competitive from start to finish. If on the boys’ side, the McDonald’s players are not showing up, then move the event back one week to allow all states to be in play like two years ago. I gave this year’s event a ‘B’ grade due to suggested upgrades needing to be strongly considered. Considering the financial investment already in the event, implementing above suggestions at limited additional cost could easily move it to an ‘A’ grade with the event starting to get a bit of traction (still a long way to go) in the high school calendar.