2025 Wild West Shootout Preview
- J. Ray Dockter
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
By: J. Ray Dockter
2025 Wild West Shootout Preview
The Wild West Shootout, Northern Nevada's most prestigious high school basketball tournament, takes place at Bishop Manogue HS this week (Thursday Dec. 4th thru Saturday Dec. 6th) with four games daily from Thursday through Saturday. This is the 21st year that the Wild West Shootout has taken place.
The Wild West Shootout was created to fundraise for The Sierra Kids Foundation, which provides educational scholarships to children and youth with developmental disabilities in Northern Nevada. The Sierra Kids Foundation is a local non-profit organization that raises funds to help families in Northern Nevada with young children who have autism. Many of these families come from underserved communities who may be unable to afford autism treatment programs if not for The Sierra Kids Foundation. Treatment for autism is often costly and sometimes not covered by one's primary insurance. The Wild West Shootout serves as the sole fundraiser of The Sierra Kids Foundation.
Among local teams competing in this year's event are Bishop Manogue (the tournament host), and Spanish Springs. These two programs have combined to win five of the last seven regional championships. They are also the most successful football programs over that same period with many of their athletes playing both sports.
The tournament also includes four teams from California, including Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), Christian Brothers (Sacramento, Calif.), Jesuit (Carmichael, Calif.) and Vacaville (Calif.); these four representatives from The Golden State bring a plethora of talent into our area.
Bishop O'Dowd HS, makes their first appearance at The Wild West Shootout, and brings back one of Reno's native sons into the area as Junior GJ Hill-Thomas is in his third year playing for The Dragons Varsity Squad and is the son of Nevada Basketball Hall of Famer Garry Hill-Thomas. Coming into this season the Dragons have won 34 of their last 57 games including a 17-5 record in league. Two seasons ago they were ranked as a Top-50 team in The Golden State and they have a long history of winning.
Christian Brothers of Sacramento, Calif. returns to Reno for the second time in three years. Their first appearance at The Wild West Shootout came in 2023 where they went 1-2 with a win against Spanish Springs and two single digit losses to Bishop Gorman and Clark of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Falcons are led by Junior Braeden Hennelly, Senior Joaquin Lucero-Mattis and Freshman Jaden DeJesus-Eves this season.
Jesuit Catholic of Carmichael, Calif. returns to Reno for their eighth appearance in The Wild West Shootout in the past nine seasons. They have proven to be a tough competitor for their opponents and have brought some major talent to Northern Nevada during their time at The Wild West Shootout. They have brought Top-75 Recruit Isa Silva (Class of 2021 Stanford Signee) and McDonald's All-American and Top-25 Recruit Andrej Stojakovic (Class of 2023 Stanford Signee) to Reno to compete over the years. Who will be their next superstar that they bring into Reno?!?
The Vacaville (Calif.) Bulldogs have competed in each of the last five editions of The Wild West Shootout. They are a gritty, resilient and tough team that has sprung a handful of "upsets" on teams over the years, including going 3-0 over Spanish Springs, Douglas and Bishop Manogue two years ago. This was after they went 3-0 against Northern Nevada teams in 2022, defeating Damonte Ranch, Bishop Manogue and Douglas in consecutive nights. The Bulldogs have gone 8-6 over their last 14 games at The Wild West Shootout.
The tournament welcomes their first school from 'The Aloha State' this year as Kahuku comes to Reno for the Wild West Shootout for the first time in the tournament's history. Kahuku HS went 23-6 overall including a 10-1 mark in league in 2023 before going 20-10 overall and 9-1 in league last season. They have a proud Hoops tradition, are regularly considered a Top-10 team in the state and have had consistency at the Head Coach position under Brandyn Akana, who has been their head coach for nine seasons dating back to his first season that saw 'The Red Raiders' win their first State Championship in 2017 and a second place (runner-up) finish in 2009. They will be led by Junior Ronin Naihe (who averaged 17.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 1.6 APG), Senior Mystique Akina-Watson (who averaged 9.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 2.6 APG), and The Daley Brothers (who averaged 16.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 4.1 APG) - it'll be exciting to see their Island Brand of Basketball this week.
Bishop Gorman (Southern Nevada) returns for the fifth time in the last seven seasons. The Gaels returned to the throne once again last season as they won another State Championship. The Gaels are led by Braylen Williams (17 points against Reno on Wednesday Night), Noah Grossman (8 pts vs. Reno), Kameron Cooper (12 pts vs. Reno), and Hudson Daniels (12 pts vs. Reno) this season. They will be a tough opponent for anyone who takes the floor against them this weekend.
Bishop Manogue has hosted The Wild West Shootout in each of the last eight years. The Miners will most certainly be a tough out at The Wild West Shootout once again this season. Check out my preview I did on them yesterday, it's posted here...
Spanish Springs is back for the eighth time in the last nine seasons as they look to challenge themselves in the early portion of their season against great out-of-state competition. For more info on Spanish Springs, check out my preview I did on them earlier this week. It's posted here...
Wild West Shootout Tournament Daily Schedule
Thursday December 4th, 2025
Game 1, 2:15 PM: Spanish Springs vs. Jesuit (Calif.)
Game 2, 4 PM: Kahuku (Hawaii) vs. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Game 3, 5:45 PM: Christian Brothers (Calif.) vs. Bishop Manogue
Game 4, 7:30 PM: Vacaville (Calif.) vs. Bishop O'Dowd (Calif.)
Friday December 5th, 2025
Game 5, 2:15 PM: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 6, 4 PM: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4
Game 7, 5:45 PM (Semi-Finals): Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 8, 7:30 PM (Semi-Finals): Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Saturday December 6th, 2025
Game 9, 10 AM (Seventh Place Game): Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6
Game 10, 11:45 AM (Championship Game): Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8
Game 11, 1:30 PM (Third Place Game): Loser of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8
Game 12, 3:15 PM (Consolation Champion): Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
Alumni that have played in this game in the recent past are Jaylen Wells, Andrej Stojakovic, Darrion Williams, John Mobley Jr., Chris Nwuli, Jase Richardson, and Jett Washington. Spanish Springs Conner Sheets was The 2022 Wild West Shootout MVP and is currently playing at The College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho.
Tickets for The Wild West Shootout are as follows: $15 for adults per day, or $25 for a Three-day pass; $10 per day for Military and Seniors; Children 12 and under are Free.
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