MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Just days after the conclusion of the 2024-2025 high school basketball season, the field is set for one of the marquee annual events on the regular season calendar.
36 games are scheduled in the four-day 2026 Snyder of Berlin/UTZ Snacks Shootout presented by GameChanger. West Virginia State University will once again host the event on their Institute campus.
Four recently-crowned state champions (Tug Valley boys, Gilmer County girls, Charleston Catholic girls, Spring Valley girls) return to compete at WVSU. Three more state runners-up (Nitro boys, George Washington boys and Williamstown boys), five more state semifinalists and nine more state qualifiers are also scheduled to play.
Previously founded as the Shootout in the Big House at the Charleston Civic Center, the event has expanded from three days to four days with nine games set to take the court each day at WVSU. Ravenswood head coach Mick Price, George Washington head coach Rick Greene and Logan head coach Mark Hatcher have led the organization of the shootout since it was founded.
“[WVSU men’s basketball coach] Bryan Poore and the administration at State have done a wonderful job of allowing us to be there. It is a great facility for this venue for our shootout. We’ve been real lucky over the years that we have made a partnership with them. That’s what makes it great. I think a lot of people like to come to that atmosphere,” Price said.
“A lot of teams are playing teams they might not get to play normally. Some teams are playing conference games there.”
New matchups are featured throughout the four-day slate of games, many pitting teams from different corners of the state against each other. Other teams will play conference rivals on a neutral floor.
“We want to get a matchup that is competitive. We want there to be good games. Where else could you go and pay ten dollars for all day and see the great games on our schedule?”
Several new teams have been added to the field. Teams from the northern panhandle (Cameron boys and John Marshall girls), eastern panhandle (Hedgesville and Martinsburg boys) will be making lengthy trips to play one or multiple games.
“Next year we have some new teams that are going to be in this — John Marshall’s girls, Hedgesville’s boys, Martinsburg’s boys, Boyd County, Kentucky with Ripley native Randy Anderson, he has done a great job there, Summit Christian out of Princeton and Ashland, Kentucky is going to be in it. They are in the finals and they are playing at Rupp Arena this weekend, and University High.”
On the final day of the event, the father-and-son combo of Magnolia head coach Dave Tallman and Morgantown head coach Dave Tallman will take the court in back-to-back games. Many schools (Scott, Charleston Catholic, Parkersburg, Spring Valley, Huntington St. Joseph’s, Mingo Central and Parkersburg South) will have their girls and boys teams play back-to-back.
On the third day of the shootout, Union and Calhoun County will take the court in a new game featuring Class A schools.
“They are two of the smaller schools in the state. We are not always looking to get the big dogs in both girls and boys. To allow some kids to come there that may never get a chance to come there and play, I just think it is a neat situation.
“We’ve had teams that come down and stay, and then they will go over and visit the Capitol or go through Charleston. Many of the teams that come down, their kids will tell us especially if they are from the Eastern Panhandle, they have never seen the Capitol.”
The event utilizes a ten-minute pregame warmup period, as opposed to the usual 20-minute span. Teams are welcome to warmup at halftime of the previous game and utilize an auxiliary court as well. Despite the compressed slate of games, the tournament often operates on schedule.
“We try to be as efficient as we can. We try to make sure that we keep right on track and keep the clock running when it needs to be running so that we stay on time.”
2026 Snyder of Berlin/UTZ Snacks Shootout at West Virginia State University presented by GameChanger
Monday, February 9:
8:30 – (Boys) – Braxton County vs. Lincoln
10:00 – (Girls) – Scott vs. Riverside
11:30 – (Boys) – Scott vs. Wayne
1:00 – (Boys) – Robert C. Byrd vs. Ritchie County
2:30 – (Boys) – Hedgesville vs. Summit Christian Academy
4:00 – (Boys) – Sissonville vs. Philip Barbour
5:30 – (Girls) – George Washington vs. John Marshall
7:00 – (Boys) – Charleston Catholic vs. Nitro
8:30 – (Girls) – Charleston Catholic vs. Cabell Midland
Tuesday, February 10:
8:30 – (Boys) – Tyler Consolidated vs. Poca
10:00 – (Boys) – Cameron vs. Petersburg
11:30 – (Boys) – Union vs. Calhoun County
1:00 – (Boys) – Hedgesville vs. Calvary Baptist
2:30 – (Girls) – Parkersburg vs. Spring Valley
4:00 – (Boys) – Parkersburg vs. Spring Valley
5:30 – (Boys) – South Charleston vs. University
7:00 – (Boys) – Huntington vs. George Washington
8:30 – (Boys) – Ravenswood vs. Clay County
Wednesday, February 11:
8:30 – (Boys) – Parkersburg Catholic vs. Huntington St. Joseph’s
10:00 – (Girls) – Gilmer County vs. Huntington St. Joseph’s
11:30 – (Boys) – Ripley vs. Shady Spring
1:00 – (Girls) – Roane County vs. Doddridge County
2:30 – (Boys) – Williamstown vs. Westside
4:00 – (Boys) – Martinsburg vs. Boyd County, Ky.
5:30 – (Boys) – Morgantown vs. Ashland, Ky.
7:00 – (Boys) – Logan vs. Doddridge County
8:30 – (Boys) – St. Albans vs. Herbert Hoover
Thursday, February 12:
8:30 – (Girls) – St. Marys vs. Mingo Central
10:00 – (Boys) – Grafton vs. Mingo Central
11:30 – (Boys) – Magnolia vs. Tug Valley
1:00 – (Boys) – Hurricane vs. Morgantown
2:30 – (Boys) – Greenbrier West vs. Wahama
4:00 – (Boys) – Parkersburg South vs. Martinsburg
5:30 – (Girls) – Parkersburg South vs. Huntington
7:00 – (Boys) – Cabell Midland vs. Elkins
8:30 – (Boys) – Bluefield vs. Buckhannon-Upshur