The 54th Baltimore Catholic League Tournament, presented by Brooks Financial Group, will tip off Feb. 27, featuring some of the best high school basketball talent in the nation. The Baltimore Catholic League Tournament is the longest-running boys postseason tournament in the state.
The seven full members of the league – Archbishop Spalding High School in Seven, Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, The John Carroll School in Bel Air, Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Essex, Mount St. Joseph High School in Irvington and St. Frances Academy in Baltimore – will join with associate member and invited tournament participant St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis in the eight-team field.
Over the years, the Baltimore Catholic League has produced 13 McDonald’s All-Americans, 12 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year Winners and eight NBA first-round draft choices.
Here are a few highlights of what’s in store:
What is the schedule and where will the games be played?
The games will be played over four days, beginning Thursday, Feb. 27 at Loyola University Maryland’s Reitz Arena. Loyola’s Baltimore campus will host the entire tournament, beginning with two first-round matchups Feb. 27 (6 and 8 p.m.) and Feb. 28 (6 and 8 p.m.), followed by the semifinals March 2 (1 and 3 p.m.) and the championship March 3 (8 p.m.)
The junior varsity championship also will be featured March 3 at 6 p.m.
Reitz Arena will host for the first time since the 2022 semifinals and championship, and the entire tournament is being played on Loyola’s campus for the first time since 2010. The facility welcomes the tournament for a record 21st time in BCLT history (1986-94, 2005-11, 2013, 2019-20, 2022 and 2025). BCL-record totals of 83 BCLT games and 20 championship games have been played in Reitz Arena to date.
What are Thursday and Friday’s first-round matchups?
Feb. 27
No. 8 St. Mary’s vs. No. 1 Mount Carmel, 6 p.m.
No. 5 Loyola vs. No. 4 John Carroll, 8 p.m.
Feb. 28
No. 7 Calvert Hall vs. No. 2 St. Frances, 6 p.m.
No. 6 Mount St. Joseph vs. No. 3 Archbishop Spalding, 8 p.m.
Who are the teams to beat?
Mount Carmel, ranked No. 1 in The Baltimore Sun’s Top 15 Poll, is the top seed after compiling a 31-4 overall record and a 10-2 mark in the BCL. The Cougars finished the regular season by winning 15 of their last 16 games. Coach Tony Martin, who led the Cougars to the school’s first BCL regular-season crown, earned the league’s O. Ray Mullis Coach of the Year award.
Mount Carmel continued its historic run Feb. 23, capturing its first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship by turning back BCL rival St. Frances, 55-50.
St. Frances, ranked No. 2 by The Baltimore Sun, is the second seed after putting together a 28-7 record (9-3 BCL). The Panthers, who won seven of their last eight regular-season games, defeated top-seeded Mount Carmel in December in overtime, but lost to the Cougars, 63-58, on Feb. 5 and then again in the MIAA final.
Archbishop Spalding, ranked No. 4 by The Baltimore Sun, holds the No. 3 seed after also finishing 9-3 in league play and 23-8 overall. The Cavaliers defeated top-seeded Mount Carmel, 59-50, Dec. 4, but lost to the Cougars, 55-46, in the rematch Jan. 15.
Fourth-seeded John Carroll (17-13, 5-7 BCL), fifth-seeded Loyola (18-16, 5-7 BCL) and sixth-seeded Mount St. Joseph (20-16, 4-8 BCL) all are ranked in The Sun’s top 15.
Who are the top players to watch?
Loyola senior Mason Ellison, who averaged 20.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor in the regular season, earned the Baltimore Catholic League’s Jerry Savage Player of the Year Award. He became the Dons’ all-time career scoring leader this season.
Ellison, a first-team All-BCL choice last season and All-BCL honorable mention honoree in 2022-23, is the first Savage Player of the Year winner from Loyola since the award began for the 1988-89 season.
Mount St. Joseph senior Joseph Green is the BCL’s Mark Amatucci Defensive Player of the Year, and Archbishop Spalding junior Colt Busse is the Cokey Robertson Most Improved Player of the Year.
Green averages 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game for Mount St. Joseph. He is the Gaels’ fifth Amatucci Defensive Player of the Year winner, and the first since Jalen Smith in 2016-17.
Busse averages 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 40 percent from the floor and 38 percent from 3-point range for Archbishop Spalding.
The 2024-25 All-BCL first team includes Ellison, Archbishop Spalding freshman Braxton Bogard, St. Frances junior Jasiah Cannady, Mount Carmel senior Rodney Scott, John Carroll junior Aidan Able and St Frances junior Trent Egbiremolen.
The All-BCL second team consists of Green, Mount St. Joseph junior BJ Ranson, Archbishop Spalding junior Kam Carter, Archbishop Spalding junior TJ Moultrie and Mount Carmel senior Mario Tatum.
Honorable mention recognition was given to Elijah Barrett (Archbishop Spalding), Terry Brooks III (Loyola), Caden Chinnia-Falline (John Carroll), Andrew Clark (John Carroll), Gage Howard (Mount Carmel), Terence Jones III (St. Frances), Kamauri Lawson (St. Frances), Jesse Legree (Loyola), Jonathan Nalty (Calvert Hall) and Tristen Wilson (Mount Carmel).
Junior forward Ralph Rudusan was the MIAA tournament most valuable player, leading Mount Carmel with 17 points in the title-game win over St. Frances. Sophomore center Junior Mancho added 11 points in the MIAAA final for the Cougars.
How can tickets be purchased?
Tickets are on sale online with daily ticket prices ($20 for adults/$15 for children/high school students). A limited supply of four-day tournament passes are also available for $60 for adults. This is a digital-ticket-only event, and there will be no cash sales at the door. The ticket sales link is available on the front of the league’s website, BCLBasketball.com.
For more details on Baltimore Catholic League Basketball, visit BCLBasketball.com, where Chris Pika maintains a terrific site.
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@catholicreview.org
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