The reigning 2025 Grind Session World Champions, Prolific Prep, are set to compete in their sixth consecutive Chipotle National Championship. This year’s event takes place in Fishers, Indiana, from April 2 through April 5 at Hamilton Southeastern High School, featuring the top ten high school teams in the nation. Prolific Prep enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 seed Long Island Lutheran (NY) in Game 3 of the event on April 3 at 2 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN2.
Columbus High School (FL), the tournament’s No. 1 seed, is among the favorites, but Prolific Prep holds a notable victory over them, having secured a 66-54 win in November at Florida Atlantic University. Head Coach Ryan Bernardi, fresh off a historic Grind Session three-peat, is leading Prolific Prep into his third consecutive Chipotle Nationals. His squad has been on the verge of a breakthrough, suffering heartbreaking losses in the past two years. In 2023, they fell to IMG Academy on a miraculous 45-foot buzzer-beater by Blue Cain. The 2024 campaign ended in a double-overtime thriller against Link Academy, 80-76, despite a stellar 21-point, 8-rebound performance from BYU commit AJ Dybantsa. When asked what it will take to win coach Bernardi said “the little things and the small details and the elite level of execution, these games are low possession games and they come down to the wire, free throws, rebounding and special teams points plus transition defense, the little details in the game are vital.”
The 2025 Chipotle Nationals marks the latest chapter in Prolific Prep’s impressive history. Their first invitation came in 2020 under Coach Joey Fuca, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to the event’s cancellation, depriving Jalen Green (now with the Houston Rockets) and his squad of their chance to compete. In 2021, under Coach Mark Phelps, Prolific Prep, featuring future NBA player Mouhamed Gueye and top talents like Nate Bittle (Oregon) and Stefan Todorovic (Pepperdine), lost in the first round to Sunrise Christian. The 2022 squad, led by Coach Billy McKnight, exacted revenge on Sunrise Christian with a dramatic 59-56 win thanks to Zion Sensley’s buzzer-beating three-pointer, only to fall to Link Academy in the next round.
The 2025 tournament promises an electrifying display of elite high school basketball, with all ten participating teams ranked in the SC Next Top 25. ESPN National Recruiting Director Paul Biancardi hails the event as the premier postseason high school basketball tournament, showcasing future Division I and NBA talent. Prolific Prep’s opening opponent, Long Island Lutheran, boasts a star-studded lineup, including five ESPN-ranked players: No. 32 Kiyan Anthony (Syracuse), No. 40 Kayden Mingo (Penn State), No. 54 Nigel James (Marquette), No. 11 junior Dylan Mingo, and No. 15 sophomore Moussa Kamissoko.
With their talent, experience, and a determination forged from past heartbreaks, could this finally be the year Prolific Prep claims the elusive National Championship crown? The team departs for Indianapolis on April 1, ready to battle for the ultimate prize. As the first Grind Session squad with a legitimate shot at winning the Chipotle Nationals, Prolific Prep is poised to make history in Fishers, Indiana.
