Among 32 contenders in finals, 15 seeking first state titles

Seven 2023 champions and 13 No. 1-ranked teams also in the mix.

Nearly half the 32 teams playing in state basketball championships this week have never won state titles, but seven defending champions and 13 No. 1-ranked teams stand in the way at the event running today through Saturday at the Macon Coliseum.

Among those making their first appearance in the finals are Midtown’s girls, representing a school formerly known as Grady that dates to 1947. Midtown is part of an all-Atlanta Public Schools Class 5A final against Maynard Jackson, another of the 15 teams that have never won titles. Jackson was a runner-up in 2016.

The pre-eminent school in the finals is Grayson, despite its history without championships. The Rams boys and girls teams are No. 1 in Class 7A and hold multiple top-20 national rankings. Grayson’s boys play No. 2 McEachern, which features the state’s top recruit, Ace Bailey. The girls play No. 6 North Paulding, making its first finals appearance.

Here is a closer look at 16 championship games:

First finals: Nine teams are in the finals for the first time. The boys teams are Riverwood, North Oconee, Toombs County and Mount Vernon. The girls teams are Grayson, North Paulding, North Forsyth, Midtown and Hardaway.

Never won: In addition to the nine first-timers, teams that can win their first state titles are Grayson’s boys, Holy Innocents’ boys, Paideia’s boys, Jackson’s girls, Galloway’s girls and Greenforest Christian’s girls.

Defending: The seven 2023 champions still playing are Alexander, Kell, Sandy Creek and Westside-Macon among the boys and Hebron Christian, Mount Paran Christian and St. Francis among the girls.

Best boys final: Grayson and McEachern are No. 12 and No.

13, respectively, in MaxPreps’ national rankings. McEachern’s Bailey and Grayson’s Gacurri Harris are the state’s top-rated prospects, both consensus top-100 players. Grayson beat McEachern 79-62 on Nov. 11. Neither has lost otherwise to an in-state opponent. They meet Saturday for the title.

Best girls final: Hebron Christian, ranked No. 11 nationally by MaxPreps, has won 54 straight games against Georgia opposition. Hebron’s coach, Jan Azar, has a state-record 15 state titles. She won 13 of those at Wesleyan, which is Hebron’s opponent Friday. Hebron beat Wesleyan 65-58 in the 2023 semifinals.

Best boys players: McEachern’s Bailey, a Rutgers signee, is the consensus No. 2 player in the country. Grayson’s Harris is pledged to Purdue. Others to watch are Riverwood’s Karris Bilal (Vanderbilt), Alexander’s Braeden Lue (Kennesaw State), Kell’s C.J. Brown (South Florida), McEachern’s Jaye Nash (uncommitted) and Sandy Creek’s Micah Smith (James Madison).

Best players (girls): Georgia Tech signees Danielle Carnegie of Grayson, Chit Chat Wright of Wesleyan and Tianna Thompson of Galloway led their teams to the finals. Others to watch are Grayson’s Erin Rodgers (Florida Atlantic), St. Francis’ Sa’Mya Wyatt (Austin Peay), Wesleyan’s Bryanna Preston (Texas) and Marist’s Kate Harpring (sophomore, who scored 45 in the semifinal victory over defending 6A champion River Ridge).

Rematches: The Kell-Eagle’s Landing Class 5A boys final and the St. Francis-Galloway Class A Division I girls final are rematches from last year’s title games that Kell and St. Francis won. St. Francis is 5-0 the past two seasons against Galloway, but their 2023 final went overtime. The boys A Division I final also has region rivals Mount Vernon and Paideia. They’ve split two games this season.

Unranked: Three boys teams reached the finals as unranked teams. Riverwood, a fourth-place finisher in its region, has won four games away from home to reach the Class 6A final against No. 1 Alexander. Johnson-Savannah in 3A and Manchester in A Division II also are unranked.

The girls brackets were far more predictable as 15 of 16 teams finished ranked in the top three, all but North Paulding.

Doubling up: Grayson and Greenforest Christian of Class A Division II can sweep state titles, something that has happened 22 previous times, most recently Kell in 2023.

To see it: Tickets are $15 and must be purchased on GoFan. The games are not on TV and can be streamed live through NFHS Network.

JASON ALLEN FOR THE AJC Taliah Cornish advances the ball for Maynard Jackson High, one of 15 teams in the GHSA basketball finals that has never won a state championship.

HYOSUB SHIN / HYOSUB.SHIN@AJC.COM Ace Bailey (shooting), the No. 2 high school player in the country, will lead McEachern in the state final against Grayson.