The SoCal Challenge is an eight-team
college basketball tournament held during Monday and Wednesday of
Thanksgiving week of the NCAA Division I men's basketball season, with the inaugural tournament taking place in 2021. Following games held at campus sites, teams are placed into either the Sand Division or the Surf Division and compete for the tournament title in their division. Semifinal and final games are held at
The Pavilion at JSerra in
San Juan Capistrano, California
San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census.
San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...
.
Each of the games played on campus in the days leading up to the main event involves one team from each division. The event is hosted by the
Big West Conference.
Brackets
2023
The
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
tournament featured one
Southern California team: Cal State Bakersfield from the host Big West Conference as well as California from the
Pac-12 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
. On-campus games were hosted by the team listed second below. Following the on-campus games, teams were placed into either the Sand Division or the Surf Division without regard to the outcome of those games. Division semifinal winners met in the finals. Following the tournament, the SoCal Showcase matched California and San Diego State.
On-campus games
''Game recaps:''
Sand Division
''Game recaps:''
KiAndre Gaddy of Tarleton State was named most valuable player for the Sand Division.
Surf Division
''Game recaps:''
Malevy Leons
Malevy Leons (born 23 September 1999) is a Dutch college basketball player for the Bradley Braves of the Missouri Valley Conference.
He was born and raised in IJmuiden by Iwan and Monique Leons, he played professionally for Apollo Amsterdam ...
of Bradley was named most valuable player for the Surf Division.
Showcase
''Game recap:''
* – Denotes overtime period
2022
The
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
tournament featured two Southern California teams: Cal State Northridge from the host Big West Conference and California Baptist, as well as Minnesota from the
Big Ten Conference.
On-campus games were hosted by the team listed second below. Following the on-campus games, teams were placed into either the Sand Division or the Surf Division without regard to the outcome of those games. Division semifinal winners met in the finals.
A four-game boys' high school basketball showcase event was held at the tournament site two days before the main tournament began.
On-campus games
''Game recaps:''
Sand Division
''Game recaps:''
Jaden House of High Point was named most valuable player for the Sand Division.
Surf Division
''Game recaps:''
* – Denotes overtime period
Keshon Gilbert of UNLV was named most valuable player for the Surf Division.
2021
The
inaugural tournament featured Cal Poly from the host Big West Conference, three other schools located in
California and TCU from the
Big 12 Conference. On-campus games were hosted by the team listed second below.
Following the on-campus games, teams were placed into either the Sand Division or the Surf Division without regard to the outcome of those games. Division semifinal winners met in the finals.
A women's
beach volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...
event was held two weekends before the men's basketball tournament began.
On-campus games
''Game recaps:''
* – Denotes overtime period
Sand Division
''Game recaps:''
* – Denotes overtime period
Fardaws Aimaq
Fardaws Aimaq (born January 6, 1999) is a Canadian basketball player for the California Golden Bears of the Pac-12 Conference. He previously played for the Mercer Bears, Utah Valley Wolverines, and Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Early life and high scho ...
of Utah Valley was named most valuable player for the Sand Division.
Surf Division
''Game recaps:''
Orlando Robinson
Orlando Lamon Robinson Jr. (born July 10, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He played colle ...
of Fresno State was named most valuable player for the Surf Division.
References
External links
SoCal Challenge
{{Thanksgiving
College basketball competitions
College men's basketball competitions in the United States
Recurring sporting events established in 2021
2021 establishments in California
Basketball in California