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Midwest Player's Classic in La Crosse on January 17 & 18 once again features incredible team and individual talent

01/14/2025, 10:30am CST
By Travis Wilson

The Midwest Player's Classic held this year at the La Crosse Center on Saturday, January 17th and 18th has grown into one of the top in-season basketball events in the state and has expanded into two days, and once again features an incredible mix of team and individual talent. 

WisSports.net will once again have coverage leading up to and throughout the event.

Featuring 15 games and 21 teams in a two-day format, it is a great opportunity to see outstanding teams and players in a single setting. Teams from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa are represented at the event.

The Midwest Players Classic has seen 18 teams go on to win state championships in their year of participation, as well as more than 60 players go on to play NCAA Division I basketball, and 14 players reach the highest level and compete in the NBA.

General admission tickets will be available at the door. Tickets for Friday night (6 games) are $10 each. Tickets for Saturday (9 games) are $15 each. Student tickets (12 & under) and Seniors (65+) are $7 per day. Pre-sale tickets are available here. Children ages 5 and under will be admitted free. Cash is also accepted at the game.

In good news for those fans unable to attend, all games will be streamed live by our friends at JustAGame Live.

WSN staff will be on hand Saturday to provide updates throughout the day as well.

2025 MIDWEST PLAYERS CLASSIC SCHEDULE

January 17 & 18, 2025
La Crosse Center, La Crosse, WI

(Records & rankings as of 1/13/2025)

Friday, January 17

1:00 pm  North Crawford (10-0; D5 #5) vs. St. Ambrose (0-10)
2:30 pm  G-E-T (5-7) vs. Regis (7-3)
4:00 pm  Aquinas (9-3; D4 #6) vs. West Salem (10-2; D2 #10) (GIRLS)
5:30 pm  Aquinas (11-0; D4 #2) vs. Fall Creek (5-4)
7:00 pm  Rice Lake (9-1; D2 #10) vs. Stewartville, MN (10-2; 3A #9)
8:30 pm  Mankato East, MN (11-1; 3A #3) vs. Stevens Point (7-5)

Saturday, January 18

9:15 am  Luther (7-3) vs. Winona Cotter, MN (4-8)
10:45 am  Holmen (8-2) vs. Rochester Lourdes, MN (2-9)
12:15 pm  Caledonia, MN (11-2; 2A #2) vs. Mount Horeb (11-0; D2 #2)
1:45 pm  Onalaska (9-2; D2 #7) vs. Lake Mills (8-2; D3 #4)
3:15 pm  River Falls (8-2) vs. Kaukauna (7-3; D1 #8)
4:45 pm  Marshfield (6-4) vs. Waunakee (10-2)
6:15 pm  Eau Claire Memorial (9-2; D1 #10) vs. Linn-Mar, IA (7-2; 4A #6)
7:45 pm  Breck, MN (5-6; 2A #4) vs. Wisconsin Lutheran (10-0; D1 #1)
9:15 pm  LaCrescent, MN (6-7) vs. Altoona (4-6)

Wisconsin rankings based on WisSports.net Coaches Polls; Minnesota rankings based on Minnesota Basketball News; Iowa rankings based on IHSAA Coaches Poll

The Match-Ups

Friday

The Midwest Player's Classic expands further in 2025, with six games on Friday. Action begins at 1:00 pm as unbeaten North Crawford will take on St. Ambrose, who is winless this year but led by Hall of Fame coach Chris Zwettler. G-E-T versus Regis follows at 2:30. 

The third game on Friday is the only girls game of the weekend, pitting ranked teams Aquinas (D4 #6) and West Salem (D2 #10).

The Aquinas boys team serves as the host for the event, and the Blugolds are undefeated so far this year, taking on Fall Creek at 5:30. It will be a border battle between Rice Lake and Stewartville, MN in the 7:00 pm contest, with both ranked in their respective top ten.

Friday night closes with Stevens Point taking on the third-ranked team in Minnesota's 3A, Mankato East.

Saturday

Saturday starts with a matchup between Luther and Winona Cotter, MN at 9:15 am. Holmen will face off with Rochester Lourdes in the second game.

The 12:15 pm game is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated of the event, as undefeated Mount Horeb will meet up with perennial power Caledonia out of Minnesota. Mount Horeb features junior D1 prospect Josh Manchester, while Caledonia has a trio of standouts in Mason King, Reid Klug, and Garrett Konz.

Onalaska faces off with Lake Mills at 1:45 pm, as both teams are ranked in their respective divisions in the latest WisSports.net Boys Basketball Coaches Poll.

River Falls meets up with Kaukauna at 3:15, with Marshfield taking on Waunakee at 4:45.

Eau Claire Memorial is in the top ten in Division 1, and the Old Abes will face off with Linn-Mar, IA at 6:15 pm. The Lions of Linn-Mar feature South Dakota State commit Davis Kern.

Breck, MN is ranked in Minnesota's second-smallest division despite a 5-6 record, and they'll take on Wisconsin's top-ranked team in Division 1, Wisconsin Lutheran.

The final game of the 2025 Midwest Players Classic features Altoona taking on La Crescent, MN at 9:15 pm.


About the Author

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

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