ELIGIBILITY 

NTBA has adopted the following eligibility rules regarding age and grade based divisions. These rules will be evaluated periodically and any changes/updates will be posted immediately to our website. Make sure you continue to check the website to make sure you are up to date with the latest eligibility rules and ALL your players are currently playing with the correct age/grade divisions. Boys and Girls eligibility is slightly different.

If you are not sure what division a player falls under, contact us BEFORE the tournament deadline and we will be glad to help you.

2025 GIRLS BASKETBALL

3rd Grade – a girl must be in the 3rd grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 10 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a girl in the 4th grade that is 9 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

4th Grade – a girl must be in the 4th grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 11 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a girl in the 5th grade that is 10 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

5th Grade – a girl must be in the 5th grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 12 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a girl in the 6th grade that is 11 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

6th Grade – a girl must be in the 6th grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 13 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a girl in the 7th grade that is 12 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

7th Grade – a girl must be in the 7th grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 14 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a girl in the 8th grade that is 13 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

8th Grade – a girl must be in the 8th grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 15 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a girl in the 9th grade that is 14 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

9th Grade – a girl must be in the 9th grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 16 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a girl in the 10th grade that is 15 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

10th Grade – a girl must be in the 10th grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 17 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a girl in the 11th grade that is 16 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

11th/12th Grade – a girl must be in the 11th or 12th grade as of October 1, 2024 & she must be 19 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

Note: Girls may play up in older grade divisions, but can not play down. They must fit the grade/age requirements to play in a division or be younger and playing up. Meaning a 7th grader can play up in the 8th grade division or higher, but that same 7th grader can not play down in the 6th grade division.

Players must show proof of age (copy of birth certificate or another state issued form such as a drivers license or photo ID from the DMV) and proof of current grade (copy of school issued report card or progress report from the current school year) OR players must be verified through National Sports ID (NSID). CLICK HERE for info on NSID.

Transgender Policy - CLICK HERE.

Homeschool players must have all proper proof with updated/current STATE DOCUMENTS showing they are allowed by the state to be homeschooled. Homeschool players' eligibility is based upon age ONLY and proof of age must be shown. 

2025 BOYS BASKETBALL

Girls may play on boy's teams if they meet the 9U-12U age (or 3rd-6th grade) division requirements without prior authorization as long they meet the eligibility requirements for the division. All others must have approval from NTBA.

NTBA is using a GRADE based system currently for most tournaments. Some tournaments, including Boys Nationals, will offer a separate AGE based system. Please check each tournament details to determine which eligibility system will be used. 

GRADE Based Eligibility Requirements

3rd Grade – a player must be in the 3rd grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 10 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a player in the 4th grade that is 9 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

4th Grade – a player must be in the 4th grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 11 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a player in the 5th grade that is 10 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

5th Grade – a player must be in the 5th grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 12 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a player in the 6th grade that is 11 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

6th Grade – a player must be in the 6th grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 13 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a player in the 7th grade that is 12 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

7th Grade – a boy must be in the 7th grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 14 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a boy in the 8th grade that is 13 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

8th Grade – a boy must be in the 8th grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 15 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a boy in the 9th grade that is 14 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

High School Eligibility

9th Grade – a boy must be in the 9th grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 16 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a boy in the 10th grade that is 15 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

10th Grade – a boy must be in the 10th grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 17 years old or younger on August 31, 2025
     or a boy in the 11th grade that is 16 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

11th/12th Grade – All boys must be in the 11th or 12th grade as of October 1, 2024 & must be 19 years old or younger on August 31, 2025

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AGE Based Eligibility Requirements

9 & Under: All players must be 9 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

10 & Under: All players must be 10 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

11 & Under: All players must be 11 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

12 & Under: All players must be 12 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

13 & Under: All boys must be 13 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

14 & Under: All boys must be 14 years old or younger on June 30, 2025

Note: players may play up in older divisions, but can not play down. They must fit the age and/or grade requirements to play in a division or be younger and playing up.  Meaning a 13 year old can play up in the 14u age division, but that same 13 year old can not play down in the 12u age division or a 10th grader can play up in the 11th/12th grade division, but that same 10th grader can not play down in the 9th grade division.

Players must show proof of age (copy of birth certificate or another state issued form such as a driver’s license or identification card from the DMV) and proof of current grade (copy of school issued report card or progress report from the current school year). Players in 9u-14u age divisions are still required to provide proof of grade even though those divisions are based solely on age if they are using a birth certificate for proof of age. If players in 9u-14u age divisions show a state issued photo ID then that is the only documentation they will need. Players in 9th-11th/12th grade divisions will have to show proof of age and grade no matter what. NTBA will also accept paperwork/verification through NSID for any players that get verified through National Sports ID. CLICK HERE for more info on NSID.

NTBA HIGHLY recommends that ALL players get a state issued photo ID from the DMV or get verified through NSID. 

Homeschool players must have all proper proof with updated/current STATE DOCUMENTS showing they are allowed by the state to be homeschooled. Homeschool players' eligibility is based upon age ONLY and proof of age must be shown.

ROSTER RULES
-A player may participate in a maximum of two separate age/grade divisions. They must meet the age/grade eligibility for both divisions they are playing in. Each player must be on the roster for both teams and the player must play within the same organization for both teams. Players can NOT play on two teams within the same age/grade division.
-In order to be eligible to play in all games, including pool play games and bracket play games, players must be on the hard copy roster turned in to the tournament director during team check-in.
-Hard copy rosters must be turned in at each individual tournament.
-Post Grad (Prep School) players are not allowed to play.
-Teams may change their roster throughout the entire season, but must have a current roster with them (along with all paperwork for each player) for each tournament. Teams must have this paperwork (report cards/birth certificates for each player) with them at all times during the tournament. NTBA reserves the right to check these at any time.