With Christmas in the rearview mirror and the New Year quickly approaching, tournament season for the area’s prep basketball teams is wrapping up — but not before a pair of long-running competitions for local boys teams return this week.

The Sonoma County Classic — hosted by Piner High School in Santa Rosa — and the Windsor Holiday Shootout both take place Monday through Wednesday, concluding just hours before the ball drops to ring in 2026.

The SoCo Classic is the longest-running tournament in the county and always features a field loaded with talent. This year is no exception, with five local squads among the eight participating schools in one of the area’s final tuneups before league play commences in January.

Cardinal Newman, which won the tournament four straight years before last year’s runner-up finish to Christopher-Gilroy, leads the field. Newman (10-2), The Press Democrat’s top-ranked boys team, is coming off a championship victory at the Brett Callan Memorial Tournament a week ago, beating host Casa Grande in overtime to take the title.

The Cardinals will open the Sonoma County Classic by taking on Terra Linda (6-3), which had a four-game winning streak snapped by Albany last week.

On the other side of their bracket sits Ukiah (7-5), which has won three out of its last four games, including a 64-59 victory over Eureka on Friday night. The Wildcats’ opener Monday, however, won’t be easy against a red-hot Redwood Christian squad (9-2) that just won the Gary von Raesfeld Memorial Tournament at St. Vincent.

Elsewhere in the bracket, Santa Rosa (4-8) is looking to get back into the win column after a four-game skid. The Panthers’ first opponent in the tournament will be Palo Alto (6-2), a team that has won two out of its last three contests and averages 60 points per game.

The last matchup of the first day is an all-local one and also a rematch from earlier in this still-young season. Host Piner (3-7) and Maria Carrillo (7-5) will go at it for the second time this month after the Pumas beat the Prospectors 71-47 back on Dec. 9.

Tuesday’s semifinal winners will advance to Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. championship game. The third-place game, the consolation championship and the seventh-place game all tip off earlier that day.

Meanwhile, in Windsor, the annual Holiday Shootout tournament features a pair of Sonoma County squads, including the host Jaguars, among its field.

Analy High School is also participating, along with Clear Lake, Tamalpais, Miramonte, Emerald, Menlo-Atherton and Valley Christian.

Windsor (7-4) went 3-1 at the Callan tourney and is playing good basketball lately. The Jags face Clear Lake (7-3) to open the tournament Monday; the Cardinals have lost their last two games by a combined 55 points.

Analy (6-4) has lost its last two games, and the Tigers’ opening-round contest will present a tough challenge. Menlo-Atherton (4-2) is currently riding a four-game winning streak, averaging just over 61 points a game during that span.

Records for the rest of the field are as follows: Tamalpais (6-7), Emerald (2-8), Miramonte (5-4) and Valley Christian (5-1).

As with the Sonoma County Classic, Tuesday’s semifinals at the Holiday Shootout will lead into Wednesday’s 1:30 p.m. championship game, with the three other final contests happening earlier in the day.