(1-16-18) The 41st McDonald’s All-American game announced today the players that have been selected to play in the 2018 all-star event that will take place March 28th at Atlanta’s Philips Arena.
Boys Selections
OAK BROOK, Ill. (Jan. 16, 2018) – The McDonald’s All American Games today unveiled the official rosters for the 41st annual Boys Game and 17th annual Girls Game. The nation’s premier high school basketball all-star event will take place March 28 at Atlanta’s Philips Arena.
The 2018 McDonald’s All American Boys teams feature the country’s top talent hailing from 17 different states. The East Team includes Duke-bound R.J. Barrett (Montverde Academy – Montverde, Fla.) and a pair of undecided highly ranked players, Zion Williamson (Spartanburg Day School – Spartanburg, S.C.), and Romeo Langford (New Albany High School – New Albany, Ind.).
The West Team will be led by Bol Bol (Findlay Prep – Henderson, Nev.), who will attend Oregon in the fall. He will be joined by highly ranked Duke commit, Cameron Reddish (Westtown School – West Chester, Pa.) and Simisola Shittu (Vermont Academy – Saxtons River, Vt.) who plans to suit up for Vanderbilt next season.
Of the 24 boys selected to be McDonald’s All Americans, two sets of current high school teammates will be featured and five have yet to make their college decisions. Of those who have decided, Duke and Kansas have the most commitments with three each, followed by Oregon, North Carolina and Vanderbilt with two each. The Boys Game begins at 7 p.m. EST March 28 and will air live on ESPN.
Girls Selections
The 2018 Girls team includes seven players from Texas, the most represented state. The East Team includes Georgia native and Connecticut-bound Olivia Nelson-Ododa (Winder-Barrow High School – Winder, Ga.), highly ranked Shakira Austin (Riverdale Baptist School – Upper Marlboro, Md.), who has committed to Maryland and Izabela Nicoletti (Neuse Christian Academy – Raleigh, N.C.) who will play at Florida State next season.
The West Team will be led by another Connecticut recruit, top-ranked Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian Schools – North Little Rock, Ark.). She will be joined by Texas-bound Charli Collier (Barbers Hill High School – Mont Belvieu, Texas) and Aquira DeCosta (Saint Mary’s High School – Stockton, Calif.) who has committed to play at Baylor.
Of the 24 girls selected to be McDonald’s All Americans, Baylor has the most McDonald’s All American players suiting up next fall with four commits followed by Tennessee with three commits. Like the Boys roster, this year’s Girls roster features two sets of high school teammates that will play against each other. The Girls Game begins at 5 p.m. EST March 28 and will air live on ESPN2.
“The 48 players selected for the 2018 McDonald’s All American Games represent the future of basketball,” said Morgan Wootten, Hall-of-Fame basketball coach and McDonald’s All American Games Selection Committee Chairman. “As we leave a great legacy in Chicago, we look forward to hosting the Games in Atlanta and providing the players with the opportunity to show the entire country their tremendous talent.”
In addition to the 48 players selected, four prep coaches from Alaska, Connecticut and South Dakota were named coaches for the 2018 Games. Dawn Seiler of (Aberdeen Central High School – Aberdeen, S.D.), will lead the Girls East Team, while Jeannie Hebert-Truax of (Wasilla High School – Wasilla, Alaska) will coach the Girls West Team. John Mirabello of (Northwest Catholic High School – West Hartford, Conn.) will lead the Boys East Team and Brad Lauwers of (A.J. Diamond High School – Anchorage, Alaska) will serve as head coach of the Boys West Team.
Tickets for the 2018 McDonald’s All American Games go on sale Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. EST via Ticketmaster or the Philips Arena box office. Ticket prices start as low as $10.
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