It's beginning to look a lot like...Post Holiday Tournament Time!

The Holiday break is here, which means that San Diego again transforms into basketball Mecca for post-holiday hoops.

Hundreds of teams from across the country descend on San Diego County the final week of the year for several major tournaments being held at sites across the country.

The crown jewel of the tournament scene is the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, which boasts a five-division field with nearly 90 teams, making it the second largest holiday tournament on the West Coast. But there is basketball for teams and fans at every level. Let's dive into the events and their respective fields.

The Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines

Dates: Dec. 26-28, 30, 2024

Website: theholidayclassic.org

Divisions: National, American, Senators, Governors, Mayors

The Skinny: Four schools will host the five-division field this season, with Torrey Pines, St. Augustine and Rancho Buena Vista hosting the National, American and Senator's divisions, respectively. Carlsbad High will host the two lower divisions, the Governor's and Mayor's brackets, at their old and new gym, respectively.

This year's National Division field is one of the best in recent memory, as NorCal's top team, Archbishop Riordan, headlines a field that includes three local squads - Carlsbad, St. Augustine and Montgomery - three strong in-state squads - Windward, JSerra Catholic and Riverside Poly - and nine out-of-state teams: Georgetown Prep (MD), St. Xavier and Louisville from Ohio, De La Salle (IL), Eastside Catholic and O'Dea from Washington, Arizona power St. Mary's, Father Judge (PA), and St. Francis Episcopal (TX).

Most of San Diego's top 25 teams will appear in the lower brackets, including Mission Bay, the host school Torrey Pines, La Jolla Country Day, Cathedral Catholic and San Marcos in the American Division; La Costa Canyon, Victory Christian, Santa Fe Christian and RBV in the Senator's Division; Del Norte, Vista, Olympian, Francis Parker and El Camino in the Governor's Bracket and Bishop's, Madison, San Diego, Scripps Ranch, Steele Canyon, Maranatha Christian, Canyon Crest, St. Joseph Academy and Tri-City Christian in the Mayor's Division.

But before the brackets start, the Holiday Classic will host its annual Tip-Off Night Dec. 23. The prelude event has been expanded from three to four games this year, starting with a 4 pm tilt between Torrey Pines and San Marcos and concluding at 8 pm with top-ranked Montgomery facing Temecula Valley.

Mt Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic

Dates: Dec. 26-28, 30, 2024

Website: instagram.com/mcholidayhoops

Location: Mt. Carmel HS

The Skinny: Mt Carmel's 16-team field is again a solid one, as it features a nice mix of local and out-of-section talent. Mira Mesa, which sits just outside of the top 10 is joined by Eastlake, Rancho Bernardo, Ramona, Mission Hills, Coronado, Oceanside, Westview, Escondido Charter and the hosts as the SD Section representatives. The bracket also features a very good Adelanto team from the high desert, Faith Lutheran, a top-20 team out of Nevada and Southern Section squads Cerritos, El Dorado, Sonora and Trabuco Hills.

2024 Boca Rio Spartans Classic

Dates: Dec. 26-28, 30, 2024

Location: Chula Vista High School

Website: instagram.com/cvhsboysbasketball

The Skinny: The Chula Vista Spartans Classic is in Year 2 of its rebrand, and the field skews heavily City/South Bay. San Diego Southwest, Crawford, kearny, Morse, Mar Vista, O’Farrell, Preuss, Chula Vista, San Ysidro, El Cajon Valley Castle Park, The Rock Academy and Cristo Rey comprise the local teams in the 16-team bracket, while Holtville and a pair of Canadian programs - Richmond Secondary School and North Surrey - are the out of area teams competing.

Surf 'N Slam

Dates: Dec. 26-28, 30, 2024

Website: https://globalsande.com/surf-n-slam/

Locations: Helix High School, Monte Vista High School

The Skinny: The 33rd running of the unique tournament has typically been more of an out-of-state destination tournament, and this year is no different, as Christian and Helix are the only local representatives.

Santana Winter Classic

Dates: Dec. 26-28, 30

Website: none

Locations: Santana and Granite Hills

The Skinny: Historically one of the region’s only New Years tournaments, Santana’s 10-team event has a solid field of exclusively SD section teams: Point Loma, High Tech High Chula Vista, Granite Hills, Monte Vista, Sweetwater, Grossmont, West Hills, Calipatria, Central and the host Sultans.

Winter Classic at Olympian

Locations: Olympian High School

Website: N/A

The Skinny: Olympian will host former Grossmont Coach Frank Foggiano's tournament, which features a 7-team varsity field composed of mostly San Diego teams: El Centro Southwest, Hilltop, Liberty Charter, Logan Memorial and Escondido, as well as Southern Section teams Wildwood and Buckley.

Several section teams will participate in out-of-area tournaments

Desert Holiday Classic, Palm Springs CA

Website: www.desertholidayclassic.com

Locations: Rancho Mirage HS and surrounding high schools

The Skinny: Hoover, Mater Dei, Lincoln, Imperial, Calexico, Brawley, Otay Ranch, Patrick Henry, Valley Center, Palo Verde Valley and Orange Glen participate in the multi-bracket event.