The field of teams for the Boys HS National Championships has finally been settled after a few shifts because of pullouts.

Most of the changes have been in the Single-School team bracket, as COVID restrictions, injuries, and the shifting landscape have all had their influence.

The teams that have been brought in as replacements have all logged strong results against highly-ranked teams. Those results haven’t always been victories—witness Vienna’s close loss to Fort Hunt, or SLUH’s close loss to Aquinas—but they have shown the invited replacements as being able to compete.

Here’s how it looks now:

Single-School Bracket (in alphabetical order)

Gonzaga HS, DC
Greenwich HS, Conn. (Greenwich has originally pulled out because their school district nixed the trip, but as COVID restrictions have eased the District changed its mind.)
Herriman HS, Utah
St. Ignatius, Ohio (Penn pulled out largely because they would have a tough time competing. Given that Penn isn’t one of the top three or four teams in Indiana is an indication. Penn will be back.)
St. Louis University High, Mo. (Jesuit of Sacramento pulled out due to injuries.)
St. Thomas Aquinas, Kan.
Staples HS, Conn. (Wando pulled out because games have been scarce and, basically, they wouldn’t be ready.) 
Xavier HS, NY

HS Clubs (in alphabetical order)
Aspetuck Valley, Conn.
Charlotte Tigers, NC
Eastside Lions, Wash.
Fort Hunt, Va.
Genesis, Utah
Kansas City Jr. Blues, Mo.
Phoenix Alpharetta, Ga.
Raleigh Redhawks, NC
Royal Irish, Ind.
San Diego Mustangs, Calif.
SFGG, Calif.
SOC Raptors, Calif.
Tempe, Ariz.
Thunder Rugby, Calif. (Germantown pulled out for depth reasons)
Vienna, Va. (Danville pulled out because of injuries severely hurting their depth)
Woodlands, TX

The Boys HS National Championships will be held at Swope Soccer Village June 17-18-19. Teams will be in an eight-team bracket, playing one 60-minute game (with time left over for overtime) each day. The Single-School Bracket will stand alone with all eight teams. The HS Club Bracket will be decided by the tournament’s seeding panel, with the eight teams that don’t get seeded there being seeded in Tier 2.

Tier 2 is not for the faint of heart, and has seen some memorable championships in recent years, with Rocky Mountain out of Idaho winning in 2019, and St. Thomas Aquinas winning on penalty kicks in 2018.

Boys HS Championship History