Five-star basketball prospects Brandon McCoy, Jordan Smith to appear at 2026 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions

Prestigious high school basketball tournament expected to host some of nation’s most talented teams and prospects in 2026

St. John Bosco's (Calif.) Brandon McCoy Jr. dunks the ball as the Braves take on the Central Bulldogs during the 39th Annual Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions at Great Southern Bank Arena on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

Death, taxes and the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions hosting the nation’s top high school basketball talent in Springfield, Missouri each season.

On Jan. 15-17, 2026, the TOC will again be a loaded spectacle inside JQH Arena.

The field for the 2026 event was released this week and, subject to change, it will feature more than a dozen of the most prized prospects from across the nation in their respective recruiting classes.

There will be some familiar faces returning to Springfield, as Paul VI Catholic (Chantilly, Virginia), the 2023 TOC champion, is in the field along with the team it beat in the TOC championship that season, St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California).

Sophomore Guard Brandon McCoy of St. John Bosco (California) prepares to shoot the ball during the championship game of the Tournament of Champions against Paul VI Catholic (Virginia) at Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. / Greta Cross/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

They’ll join Bartlett (Bartlett, Tennessee), Wheeler (Marietta, Georgia) and Calvary Christian (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) as the national teams in next year’s field, along with Missouri schools Kickapoo, Logan-Rogersville and Principia.

Each of those teams feature talented lineups in their own respect. Bosco features one of the best players in the entire nation in Brandon McCoy, the No. 2 prospect in the 2026 recruiting class who averaged a team-high 16.8 points across 17 games while also averaging 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 steals.

He’ll be joined by teammate Christian Collins, the No. 5 recruit in the 2026 class who averaged 13.3 points and 9.7 rebounds across 29 games.

They will likely battle again at some point in the tourney with fellow five-star recruit Jordan Smith and Paul VI Catholic. Smith is the No. 4 recruit in the 2026 class. Smith is joined on the court by three-star shooting guard Jordan Hunter.

Sophomore Guard Jordan Smith Jr. of Paul VI Catholic (Virginia) prepares to dunk the ball during the 39th annual Tournament of Champions against Glendale at Great Southern Bank Arena on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. / Greta Cross/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

The tournament is also expected to feature Calvary Christian prospect Cayden Daughtry – a composite five-star recruit by 247Sports who is ranked No. 23 in the 2027 recruiting class, as well as four-star recruits Collin Paul (Calvary Christian), Colben Landrew (Wheeler) and Kevin Savage (Wheeler).

A 6-foot, 175-pound sophomore guard, Daughtry averaged 16.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 22 games. Paul, a junior, also saw action in 22 games, averaging 13.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals.

In existence since 1985, the TOC boasts a long list of NBA stars - and an even longer list of college stars - who have played in the event, such as Alonzo Mourning, Jayson Tatum, Ben Simmons, Bradley Beal, Lamar Odom, John Wall, Malik Monk, Marvin Bagley III, Larry Hughes, Lonzo Ball, D'Angelo Russell and Zach Collins, to name a few.

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