March Madness Alaska Is Here | 3A/4A State Tournament Preview
The three-time defending 4A boys champion is out. Bettye Davis East didn't qualify at regions, and for the first time in four years, that title is up for grabs. That's just one of the stories walking into the Alaska Airlines Center this week.
At the 3A level, Barrow's girls have already beaten Grace Christian this season and haven't dropped a game to a 3A opponent all year. The Whalers arrive as the top seed looking to end a three-peat. On the boys side, two-time defending champion Nome-Beltz is back as the second seed with another title in their sights.
The 4A girls bracket has its own closing chapter — Wasilla coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax is retiring after this tournament. Thirty-two years, seven titles, 635 wins. The Warriors are the third seed and playing with something to prove.
Eight 3A boys teams. Eight 3A girls teams. Eight 4A boys teams. Eight 4A girls teams. First tip Wednesday at 8 a.m.
All games at the Alaska Airlines Center. Stay on our event page all week for live scores, brackets, and full highlights as they drop.
4A BOYS
#1 West Valley (20-3) — MAC champions, top seed. Jayden Miranda, Deontae Cromer, and Halen Nield — all three all-conference — are the engine. Opens against No. 8 Juneau-Douglas at 6:15 PM Wednesday.
#8 Juneau-Douglas — Not a team to overlook. Joren Gasga was named MVP of the Capital City Classic after a 27-point performance against Bartlett and is the senior leader of this group. Elias Dybdahl put up 21 in Ketchikan earlier this season and is averaging a double-double in points and rebounds. Logan Carriker and Kurt Kuppert round out a senior-heavy core that plays with confidence on any floor.
#2 Grace Christian (22-4) — NLC champions. Their second year at 4A and they won the conference outright. Bristol Tobin is the anchor — a 6-4 forward who controls the paint, draws contact, and took over the NLC title game with 26 points. Ashton and Brayden Clarkson each hit four 3-pointers behind him in that same game. When all three are going, Grace has answers inside and out. Opens against No. 7 Wasilla at 12:30 PM Wednesday.
#7 Wasilla — Tristan Horton and Barak Wagle give the Warriors a backcourt that can get hot from deep. Horton dropped 22 and Wagle 12 in a win over Grace earlier this season. Aiden Pharr scores alongside them — he put up 25 in that same game and has the ability to take over a quarter by himself.
#3 Lathrop (16-5) — First time the program has been over .500 since 2020. All-conference selections Armani Smith and Deshon Hall average double figures, and Alfred Parker has been a force alongside them. Opens against No. 6 Dimond at 6:15 PM Wednesday.
#6 Dimond — CIC Player of the Year Amelio Ambrosio and Jace Christophersen are the dynamic duo the Lynx run everything through. Ambrosio closes games with dunks; Christophersen provides secondary scoring that makes him impossible to ignore. On a 10-game winning streak entering state. Opens against Lathrop.
#4 Service (22-5) — The Cougars ran a 13-game winning streak at one point this season and have been one of the hottest teams in the CIC. Alex Unks and Jace Griffith anchor the backcourt. This is a team that knows how to win in bunches. Opens against No. 5 South Anchorage at 7:45 PM Wednesday.
#5 South Anchorage — Lucian Mikes leads the offense. In 2022, this program hit a buzzer-beating fadeaway to end East Anchorage's 52-game winning streak in the state title game. They know how to win the one that counts most.
4A GIRLS
#1 Mountain City Christian (MCCA) — Keelie Kronberger is the Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year, averaging 30 points per game, signed to Division I Oral Roberts. Jasmine Schaeffer alongside her has signed with Northwest Nazarene — a 6-footer averaging nearly 14 points per game who shoots from the perimeter and blocks shots at the rim. Brooklynn Ridgeway is the third piece — a player who has proven she can make the shot when the game is on the line. She hit the corner three with 0.7 seconds left to force overtime against Bartlett in February and poured in 16 in the NLC title game. Opponents who sleep on her tend to find out. Opens against No. 8 North Pole at 4:45 PM Wednesday.
#8 North Pole — Three-time MAC champions. Don't let the eight seed fool you. Jade Skipps is averaging 16.8 points per game and put up 43 in the opening round of the Joe Floyd Christmas Tournament at Kodiak — 53% from the field, six rebounds, five steals, five assists, and a stepback three with 30 seconds left to win it by one. Dawson Smothers, Anneliese Holsing, and Alyssa Pearson are all all-conference alongside her. They get MCCA Wednesday at 4:45 PM.
#2 Bartlett — Kennedi Gaines (nearly 24 ppg) is the name everyone knows, but Harmony Jenkins-Foster has made herself impossible to overlook. The sophomore dropped a team-high 23 in a regular season win over Service, hit four 3-pointers in their semifinal, and buried a dagger three in the fourth quarter to put that game away. Farrah Gamechuck is the third piece — averaging 14 points per game and capable of taking over from deep. CIC champions. Opens against No. 7 Juneau-Douglas at 7:45 PM Wednesday.
#7 Juneau-Douglas — The Crimson Bears finished 16-6 and won the Region V championship, beating Ketchikan 55-36 and 47-39 to punch their ticket. Along the way they beat Grace Christian 56-50 in January and split a two-game series with Mt. Edgecumbe in February. Senior Gwen Nizich reached 1,000 career points on February 27 and leads a roster that also includes seniors Cambry Lockhart and Raynona Fraker. Coach Tanya Nizich's group opens against Bartlett Wednesday.
#3 Wasilla — UAA commit Savannah Kroon leads the charge. And walking the sideline for the last time is Jeannie Hebert-Truax — 32 years at Wasilla, seven state championships, 600-plus wins, and a member of four Halls of Fame as both a player and a coach. She has seen every situation, used every timeout well, and beaten teams that had no business losing to her. Don't assume this bracket tells the whole story of what Wasilla brings Wednesday at 3:15 PM against No. 6 Service.
#6 Service — Aryanna Watson averages nearly 27 points per game. But the story at Service goes deeper than one player. In 2024 Harvey Watson won CIC Coach of the Year — an honor he shared with Bartlett's Darian Lawson — the same season Service won the CIC title game for the first time since 2006. That is what building something looks like. They draw Wasilla Wednesday at 3:15 PM.
#4 Colony — Taylor Passard and Morgan Ainsworth lead the scoring. Annelise Larsen is a versatile piece on both ends — she pressures defensively, initiates on offense, and scored in both wins over MCCA this season, including the floater that put Colony back in front in the closing minutes of the second meeting. Bella Shelley hit the game-winner against MCCA at the buzzer in late February. Opens against No. 5 West Anchorage at 11:00 AM Wednesday.
#5 West Anchorage — This is not a team showing up to fill a bracket spot. Wednesday Bithow, Re'zhanai Wyche, Nyat Majiok, Ariel Misa, and Sinai Harris all scored in double figures when West beat Bartlett 71-65 in late February. Opens against Colony at 11:00 AM Wednesday.
3A BOYS
#1 Mt. Edgecumbe — Kaden Herrmann is the player every 3A coach has circled. He closed in on 1,000 career points this season and dropped 34 against Ketchikan in February. Xavier Gundersen, Guy Goldsberry, and Royce Alstrom give them depth throughout the lineup. New head coach Marshall Vest has this team playing with something to prove after last year's semifinal exit. Opens against No. 8 Houston at 9:30 AM Wednesday.
#8 Houston — The Hawks finished 7-13 but earned their state berth the hard way, beating Homer 66-62 on March 7 to close the Southcentral Conference tournament. Coach Ryen Milliron sends seven seniors to Anchorage, led by Blake Baskett, Nate Davies, Elias Johnson, and Billy Rusher. Sitka beat them by 43 and 45 points earlier this season. Wednesday is a different stage.
#2 Nome-Beltz (21-4) — Finn Gregg is at UAF. Orson Hoogendorn graduated. What remains is eight returners and a program that has been to four consecutive title games. Cohen Booth — who scored 21 points in last year's championship — is back as the central piece of the offense. Lane Schuerch returns in the backcourt. Coach Patrick Callahan does not rebuild. He reloads. Opens against No. 7 Valdez at 12:30 PM Wednesday.
#7 Valdez — Jarrett Gage and Tino Tucker were both second-team all-state last year and both are back for the Buccaneers. Gage runs the offense and attacks the rim. Tucker makes the plays teams remember in the fourth quarter. Valdez has been to this stage consecutively and knows what it takes.
#3 Barrow — Alex Fruean is a junior averaging 25.2 points per game. At last year's state tournament as a sophomore, he had 31 points and 13 rebounds in the semifinal against Nome. He arrives this week with a full offseason of knowing what's at stake. Jaziah Tivao is a key piece alongside him. Opens against No. 6 Kenai Central at 3:15 PM Wednesday.
#6 Kenai Central — The Kardinals finished 16-10 and went undefeated in Peninsula Conference play to win the conference title. Coach Nolan Rose has a deep junior core led by Miles Metteer, Reid Titus, Mason Tunseth, and Eli Smith. Metteer made the 2025 all-tournament team and returns with another full season behind him. Barrow opens against them Wednesday — the #3 seed and a program that held Kotzebue to 23 points in the Western Conference title game.
#4 Sitka — Trey Johnson returns as the anchor — a forward who put up a double-double in the 2025 semifinal over Mt. Edgecumbe and was named to the all-tournament team. Shane Tincher is back as well. Opens against No. 5 Delta at 11:00 AM Wednesday.
#5 Delta — The Huskies finished 21-4 and ran the Aurora Conference table at 6-0. Seven straight wins closed the season, including a 74-43 win over Valdez and a 78-50 semifinal over Galena at regions. Senior Brady Bevard and Noriel Lugo combined for 52 points across two games against Galena in February, with Lugo hitting seven threes. Seven seniors suit up Wednesday when Delta opens against Sitka at 11:00 AM under coach Sam Adams.
3A GIRLS
#1 Barrow — Five state championships in program history. Aiga Unutoa hit 1,000 career points this season — a milestone for one of the most physically imposing players in 3A girls basketball. Kylen Burnell leads at 17 ppg. Faagi Unutoa rounds out the frontcourt alongside her. Opens against No. 8 Kotzebue at 4:45 PM Wednesday.
#8 Kotzebue — The Huskies finished 15-7 and punched their state ticket by beating Nome-Beltz twice at the Western Conference tournament. Coach Jade Hill's senior core of Ashlyn Nelson, McKenzie Swanson, Liz Brown, and Melina Garcia leads the roster. The challenge Wednesday is Barrow — Kotzebue dropped both regular season meetings by wide margins, and the #1 seed opens against them in the first round.
#2 Monroe Catholic — Leila Church is the player to know. She was an all-tournament honoree at 2025 state and enters this week as the key interior piece for a Rams team that went 22-4 with a nonconference schedule that included wins over Lathrop, West Valley, South Anchorage, Service, East Anchorage, and North Pole. That résumé speaks for itself. Opens against No. 7 Delta Junction at 8:00 AM Wednesday.
#7 Delta — Shannon Morley's Huskies won 17 games and swept Valdez three times this season. They beat Kenai Central on New Year's Day and handled Homer by 30. Freshman Leah Arroyo scored 45 points across two games against Galena in February, including 13 of Delta's first 17 points in one quarter. Senior point guard Iris Haas and the Huskies open against Monroe Catholic Wednesday — a tough draw as the #2 seed.
#3 Mt. Edgecumbe — Tahira Akaran is one of the most consistent scorers in 3A girls basketball, averaging nearly 14 points per game. Opens against No. 6 Kenai Central at 8:00 AM Wednesday.
#6 Kenai Central — The Kardinals finished 18-9 and went 6-2 in Peninsula Conference play to earn their state berth. Four seniors suit up this week, led by Evelyn Cooper, Bryleigh Williams, Ellsi Miller, and Willow Graham. Coach Jake Songer has built a program that grinds — Kenai has gone to state in back-to-back seasons and the senior class wants to make this one count.
#4 Grace Christian — Three-time defending 3A champions. MJ van der Horst has been a standout in this division for multiple seasons, and Poppy Wiggers-Pidduck has been part of every championship run. The bracket sets up a potential Grace-Barrow semifinal Thursday — a program that has beaten Barrow in each of the last three title games, now entering as the four seed. Opens against No. 5 Galena at 9:30 AM Wednesday.
#5 Galena — The Hawks finished 14-6 in Coach Derrick Esmailka's program and earned the Aurora Conference runner-up spot after falling to Monroe Catholic 55-32 in the title game. Galena beat West Valley 47-35 in January and went 4-1 against Delta on the season. Seniors Gabriella McCarty, Madison Andrew, and Marylene Burgett lead the roster into Wednesday's first-round matchup with Grace Christian.
First game tips Wednesday, March 18. All games at the Alaska Airlines Center.
Catch clips on Instagram, full highlights on YouTube, and stay on this event page all week for live scores, brackets, and full highlights as they drop.