Championship bracket set for this weekend at Nike Peach Jam

NORTH AUGUSTA -- The race to the Peach Jam championship begins now.

Pool play ended Friday night in North Augusta, with eight teams advancing to play for the crown jewel of Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League.

Leading the way is Pool A champion Nightrydas Elite, which went 5-0 in pool play while leading the tournament in scoring (78.6 points per game), rebounding (36.4 per game) and assists (19.4) in their pursuit of a Peach Jam trifecta - the E15, E16 and EYBL titles in successive years. Cameron Boozer, the second-ranked player in the Class of 2025, is averaging 22 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, fifth-ranked Caleb Wilson is averaging 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks, and 17th-ranked Cayden Boozer is averaging 9.4 points and 6.4 assists.

Nightrydas will be in action in Saturday's first quarterfinal, with a 9 a.m. tipoff against Pool D runner-up Drive Nation. Drive Nation went 4-1 in pool play, led by center Jaden Toombs, the 32nd-ranked player in the Class of 2025. He's averaging 15.8 points per game this week, and JaCobe Coleman is adding 10.8 points per game. Drive Nation secured its spot in the quarterfinals with an 80-79 win over Florida Rebels on Friday night after starting the day in a four-way tie for first.

Defending champion Team Takeover won Pool B with a record of 5-0, riding its smothering defense and all-hands-on-deck approach in its drive for back-to-back titles - which has never been done at Peach Jam. Four players are averaging at least 8.4 points per game, led by Derek Dixon (13.6) and 2026 No. 5 Jordan Smith, Jr. (13). Team Takeover also rebounds by committee, with Christian Gurdak's 6.4 per game leading the team. The defense is typical TTO - they're allowing only 48.2 points per game this week.

Their opponent at 10:30 a.m. will be Canada's UPlay, which posted a 4-1 record to finish second in Pool C despite being without EYBL Offensive MVP Will Riley, who averaged 22.1 points per game in previous sessions. Instead, Spencer Ahrens is leading the way with 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and four more players are averaging at least 6.2 points per game. Tristan Beckford leads on the board with 6 rebounds per game, and UPlay ranks third defensively with just 54.3 points allowed per game.

Oakland Soldiers, like Nightrydas Elite and Team Takeover, came into this week as one of the favorites with a 14-1 record in previous sessions. And, like those two, the Soldiers went undefeated in pool play. They won Pool C and are this week's No. 2 scoring team at 77.6 points per game. A.J. Dybantsa, the top-ranked player in the Class of 2025, leads the way with 22.2 points per game, and 2026 No. 1 Tyran Stokes is right behind at 21.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Christopher Nwuli is their third double-digit scorer, averaging 14.2 points per game.

Their opponent at noon will be New Heights Lightning, the Pool B runner-up at 4-1. Point guard Meleek Thomas, the No. 7 player in the Class of 2025, is averaging 16.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Christian Jeffrey is adding 16.2 points per game, and Mabil Mawut Kon Mabil is the team's leading rebounder at 6 per game.

JL3 emerged from that four-way tie as the Pool D champion after beating Expressions Elite on Friday afternoon and having a head-to-head win and better point differential in hand over Drive Nation. Hudson Greer and Sebastian Williams-Adams, 2025's 21st- and 43rd-ranked players, respectively, are each scoring 14.2 points per game to lead the offense, and Shelton Henderson (13.4 for 2025's No. 47) and Christian Jones (12.6) make it a four-headed offensive attack. Greer leads the way on the board with 5.6 rebounds per game.

Also emerging from a tiebreaker scenario was Arizona Unity, JL3's opponent in the final quarterfinal at 1:30 p.m. Arizona Unity was part of a three-way tie for second in Pool A at 3-2 but advanced based on point differential against common opponents. Brandon McCoy, Jr., the second-ranked player in the Class of 2026, leads the way with 18.4 points per game, and 2026 No. 14 Kaden House isn't far behind at 17 points per game.

The four semifinalists will return to Courts 3/4 for games at 6 p.m. and 7:30, with the winners advancing to Sunday's championship game at 11:30 a.m.