Outside of the Ann Kang Invitational taking place in Honolulu, most of the stronger high school tournament action in the first few weeks of the season is concentrated in Texas. One of them is the Battle of the Rock set for Aug. 15-17 at both Rockwall and Rockwall-Heath high schools. It’s one of three big tournaments taking place in the state, with the Pearland John Turner Classic and KISD/CFISD events also going on this coming weekend. Below, we take a look at the Battle of the Rock with a brief outlook and our predictions.

POOL 1

Cornerstone Christian
Prosper
Ursuline
Heath

POOL 2

Prestonwood Christian
Frisco Wakeland
Southlake Carroll
Allen

POOL 3

Lovejoy
Flower Mound
Rockwall
Plano West

POOL 4

McKinney Boyd
The Woodlands
Arlington Martin
Wylie

Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (4):

3. Prestonwood Christian
16. Cornerstone Christian
22. Lovejoy
27. Southlake Carroll

5-Star Athletes to Know:

Megan Fitch SR OH Cornerstone Christian (Texas AM)
Cari Spears SR OH Prestonwood Christian (Texas)
Gillian Pitts SR L/DS Prestonwood Christian (Houston)
Kinsley Young JR MB Southlake Carroll (TCU)
Naomi Livings SO OH Prestonwood Christian
Nyla Livings SO MB Prestonwood Christian
Maya Ogbogu FR OH Allen

4-Star Athletes to Know:

Taylor Clarke SR RS Prestonwood Christian (Princeton)
Taylor Cook SR S Prestonwood Christian (Kansas)
Shelby Burriss SR MB Lovejoy (Princeton)
Sarah Pfiffner SR S Wakeland (West Virginia)
Hannah Beauford SR S Prosper (Cal)
Sophia Thornburg SR OH Ursuline Academy (Notre Dame)
Chichi Nnaji JR SR MB/RS Ursuline Academy (Notre Dame)
Layla Austin JR OH Southlake Carroll (San Diego State)
Gentry Barker SO OH Lovejoy
Gracie White FR MB Plano West
Olivia Kitur FR OH Allen

3-Star Athletes to Know:

Kaia Thiele SR S Cornerstone Christian (UNLV)
Aniya Hall SR OH Cornerstone Christian (Louisiana-Monroe)
Macey Hughes SR RS Cornerstone Christian (Grandy Canyon)
Ella Lewis SR OH The Woodlands (Arizona State)
Blue Anderson SR L/DS Southlake Carroll (Dallas Baptist)
Halle Jameson SR OH Rockwall (Colorado State)
Anna Barr SR RS Lovejoy (West Virginia)
Coco Natarajan JR S/RS Lovejoy (Ole Miss)
Skylar Jackson JR OH Lovejoy (Yale)
Emerson Boyd JR S/RS Lovejoy
Hannah Lee JR MB Wakeland (LSU)
Angelique St. Laurent JR RS Flower Mound
Olivia Permenter SO OH McKinney Boyd
Vanessa Glenn SO OH Southlake Carroll

Outlook: The 16-team field is much smaller than the other tournaments taking place in other areas of the state, but that doesn’t mean it’s a lesser event. The smaller field features a few powerhouse programs. Among them is Cornerstone Christian, Prestonwood Christian and Lovejoy. Prestonwood captured the TAPPS 6A state championship a season ago. Meanwhile, Lovejoy finished on top of the UIL 5A state playoffs. Joining those three in our initial Top 50 Rankings is Southlake Carroll. The opening day of play on Thursday features four, four-team brackets playing for seeding into the 16-team bracket which begins Friday. The semifinals and final are set for Saturday at Rockwall HS.

Prediction: On the top half of the bracket, Cornerstone and The Woodlands will meet in the semifinals, with Cornerstone advancing. On the bottom half, Lovejoy and Prestonwood face off in the semis, with Prestonwood moving on. In the final, Prestonwood outlasts Cornerstone for the title.