Southington has hosted a successful high school basketball tournament the past two summers. Now, a new type of showcase will be held for a select group of boys and girls.
The Southington Youth Basketball Association (SYBA) and the CIAC are collaborating to hold a Class of ’27 Elite Showcase for boys on Thursday and a Class of ’27, ’28, ’29 Women’s Elite Showcase on Friday. Both events will run from 6 to 9 p.m. at Southington High.
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Players will compete as individuals with skills sessions and gameplay, rather than as teams, as they did in the August event. That format is now permitted under the CIAC’s out-of-season coaching rules. College coaches will be in attendance Thursday and Friday.
“We wanted to have this one to be (small numbers) so we could provide the best opportunity possible not only for the participants but for the college coaches coming out to those events as well,” CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini said.
Southington boys basketball coach Ed Quick said there will be just 16 players on the boys side and fewer than 20 on the girls side across the three classes.
Quick noted that many of the players competing are strong academically and already drawing interest from Division III schools. In fact, two guest speakers Thursday are D-III head coaches: James Cosgrove of Trinity, which won the 2025 NCAA Division III national championship, and Colin Tabb of Western New England.
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“These kids are getting (interest) mostly from Division III schools,” Quick said. “They’re already on the radar. This gets you in the gym against other kids on the radar.”
Neither Quick nor Southington girls basketball coach Howie Hewitt was able to be an event organizer, per CIAC rules. That’s where the SYBA came in.
“This is a great group of kids. Academically, they are all terrific. This will provide some exposure for them to some of the higher academic schools in New England,” said Jay Salerno, who is on the SYBA Executive Board and is also the new commissioner for the Board 6 basketball officials.
The CIAC chose not to run the boys and girls basketball scholastic showcases this past June due to a decline in numbers, partly because of the out-of-season coaching that is now in place, Lungarini told CT Insider in the spring. He said field hockey and baseball showcases were held this summer and one for football was held in April.
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Quick said he reached out to the CIAC for guidance before helping to put this particular showcase together.
“I feel strongly that CIAC coaches are some of the most highly qualified coaches we have in the state to work with kids,” Lungarini said. “It’s important for those kids who want to play at the next level to provide them opportunities, to provide an environment with trusted coaches and their state association is valuable to our member schools.”
Admission to the showcases is $5.
This article originally published at CIAC, Southington youth basketball group partner for boys, girls elite showcases.
