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A new chapter in high school basketball is set to unfold with the introduction of ATLAS, an international league designed for top-tier high school and academy programs. The league was unveiled by WorldStage Sports on October 8, marking a significant step toward global competition at the prep level.
DME Academy will be one of 11 boys teams participating in the inaugural season, joining fellow Florida institutions IMG Academy and Prolific Prep. These three represent part of the five United States-based clubs, while the remaining six teams come from Canada, Italy, Germany, Serbia, and Lithuania.
ATLAS Commissioner Mike Morreale expressed enthusiasm about the league's potential. "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," Morreale said in a statement. "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."
The regular season will consist of five tournament weekends, tipping off from November 11-13 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The playoffs are scheduled for March 2027 in Toronto.
Spire coach Kevin Boyle highlighted the developmental benefits of the league. "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," Boyle said.
Participating Teams
- IMG Academy (Florida, USA)
- SPIRE (Ohio, USA)
- Prolific Prep (Florida, USA)
- Sunrise Christian (Kansas, USA)
- DME Academy (Florida, USA)
- Orangeville Prep (Ontario, Canada)
- Orange1 Bassano (Italy)
- OrangeAcademy Ulm (Germany)
- Mega Basket (Serbia)
- Žalgiris (Lithuania)
- Pallacanestro Varese (Italy)
ATLAS 2026-27 Schedule
- Nov. 11-13, 2026: Bradenton, Florida (12 games) — All teams competing
- Nov. 19, 2026: Daytona Beach, Florida (1 game) — DME Academy and IMG Academy
- Dec. 2, 2026: TBD Location, Florida (1 game) — IMG Academy and Prolific Prep
- Dec. 6, 2026: Miami, Florida (2 games) — Sunrise Christian, DME Academy, Spire, and Prolific Prep
- Dec. 14-16, 2026: Varese, Italy (6 games) — Zalgiris, Ulm, Mega Superbet, Varese, Orange1 Bassano
- Jan. 4-7, 2027: Kaunas, Lithuania (16 games)
- Feb. 5-7, 2027: Geneva, Ohio (4 games) — Spire, DME Academy, TBD: Geneva, Sunrise Christian, IMG Academy, Orangeville Prep
- Feb. 18-20, 2027: Phoenix, Arizona (13 games)
- March 4-7, 2027: Toronto, Canada (15 games)
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: New ATLAS league brings DME, other elite basketball teams together for world title.
Originally reported by yahoo.