SPIRE, Prolific Prep, IMG Academy Launch First International High School Basketball League

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 19: Head coach Kevin Boyle of Montverde Academy reacts against Sanford School during the City of Palms Classic Day 2 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on December 19, 2019 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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SPIRE Academy (OH), Prolific Prep (FL) and IMG Academy (FL) are among the national basketball powerhouses to launch the first international high school basketball league.

Known at ATLAS, it will be led by Commissioner Mike Morreale, a Canadian sports executive and former professional football player who co-founded and served as the commissioner and CEO of the Canadian Elite Basketball League before stepping down last year.

“ATLAS is building what I believe is the first truly elite international youth basketball league, bringing together top programs from North America and Europe,” said Kevin Boyle, the Spire coach who has won eight national championships and coached 20 first-round NBA draft picks, including No. 1 picks Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Cade Cunningham and Cooper Flagg, during his coaching tenure. “Through world-class competition, coaching, and exposure to different styles of play and cultures, we are preparing the next generation for high-level college basketball, the NBA, and Europe’s premier professional leagues.”

The league is presented by World Stage Sports, which bills itself as “a global sports platform creating premium competition, media and commercial opportunities around the next generation of athletes.”

The league is financially backed by individuals, venture capital and private equity. Additional details on funding, sponsorships and media rights will be forthcoming.

The regular season will be hosted in both North America and Europe from November until February, with playoffs starting in March. The league’s inaugural season will begin at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, November 11-13. Through a series of five high-intensity regular season tournament weekends, teams will battle it out to make the ATLAS playoffs, hosted in Toronto, Canada, in March 2027.

American teams in the ATLAS league will still be eligible to compete in the prestigious Chipotle Nationals, which last year ran April 1–4 in Fishers, IN.

“ATLAS has been a long time coming, and we are proud to finally give people a truly global stage to see the future stars of the sport in one place,” said Morreale. “This league will have the top teams and players from around the world competing for the ultimate title, to be crowned world champions – something that we haven’t been able to do at this level before.”

Teams competing in the inaugural season of ATLAS are:

• ● DME Academy, Florida, USA
• ● IMG Academy, Florida
• ● Mega Basket, Serbia
• ● Orange1 Bassano, Italy
• ● OrangeAcademy Ulm, Germany
• ● Orangeville Prep, Ontario, Canada
• ● Pallacanestro Varese, Italy
• ● Prolific Prep, Florida, USA
• ● SPIRE, Ohio, USA
• ● Sunrise Christian, Kansas, USA
• ● Žalgiris, Lithuania

Full ATLAS 2026-27 Season Schedule:
– Bradenton, FL, Nov 11-13, 2026 (12 Games)

– Teams competing: All Teams

– Daytona Beach, FL, Nov 19, 2026 (1 Game)

– Teams competing: DME Academy and IMG Academy

– TBD Location, FL, Dec 2, 2026 (1 Game)

– Teams competing: IMG Academy and Prolific Prep

– Miami, FL, Dec 6, 2026 (2 Games)

– Teams competing: Sunrise Christian, DME Academy, Spire and Prolific Prep

– Varese, Italy, Dec 14-16, 2026 (6 Games)

– Teams competing: Zalgiris, Ulm, Mega Superbet, Varese, Orange1Bassano

– Kaunas, Lithuania, Jan 4-7, 2027 (16 Games)

– Teams competing: All Teams

– Geneva, OH, Feb 5-7, 2027 (4 Games)

– Teams competing:Spire, DME Academy TBD Geneva, Sunrise Christian, IMG Academy, Orangeville Prep

– Phoenix, AZ, Feb 18-20, 2027 (13 Games)

– Teams competing: All Teams

– Toronto, CA, March 4-7, 2027 (15 Games)

– Teams competing: All Teams