A long-standing post-Christmas tradition in the Baton Rouge prep basketball scene returns today as the East Baton Rouge Parish Schools Bob Pettit Boys Basketball Tournament tips off at a new location: Baton Rouge Community College.
The tournament, a staple of the local high school basketball calendar, has previously been hosted at Family Christian School, Tara High School, McKinley High School, Scotlandville High School, Southern University’s F.G. Clark Activity Center, and most recently Woodlawn High School. This year marks the first time the event will be played at BRCC.
The 2025 field features 13 teams, including all 11 East Baton Rouge Parish public high schools, along with Madison Prep and Southern Lab.
The top three seeds earned first-round byes, determined by a formula used by tournament officials. Those teams are No. 1 seed Madison Prep, No. 2 Woodlawn–Baton Rouge, and No. 3 McKinley.
Tournament organizer and East Baton Rouge Parish athletics supervisor Lester Ricard said the move to BRCC is part of a broader effort to expose student-athletes to college environments.
“We are working to expand opportunities for our students by getting them to play on a college campus,” Ricard said. “We started this initiative this year by playing our football jamboree at Mumford Stadium at Southern.”
Ricard added that the setting itself can be a powerful motivator.
“With us having the EBR Bob Pettit Boys Basketball Tournament at a 2,500-seat gym, the students will look around and hope it will give them the inspiration to play and be at the next level,” he said.
The tournament opens today, Friday, Dec. 26, with the first game scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Play continues through Monday, Dec. 29, with the championship game set for 7:00 p.m.
