Rocky Top Invitational 2026 (Gatlinburg)

Every May, youth basketball teams from across the Southeast load up their vans and point them toward the Great Smoky Mountains. They come for the competition, but they stay for everything else. The Rocky Top Invitational runs May 1st through 3rd, 2026, at Rocky Top Sports World on Sports World Boulevard in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, an 80-acre sports campus that sits roughly five miles from downtown Gatlinburg and about ten minutes from the main entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The event is organized by On the Radar Hoops (OTR Hoops), one of the more respected grassroots basketball organizations in the South, and draws boys’ travel teams in age divisions from 10U through 17U from multiple states across the region.

Rocky Top Sports World, known locally as “The Rock,” is consistently ranked among the top youth sports facilities in the country. The 86,000-square-foot indoor venue houses up to ten basketball courts on any given tournament weekend, with both ground-level and upper-deck spectator viewing areas. On the Radar Hoops runs the Rocky Top Invitational as an Exposure Certified event, which means certified scouts and recruiting analysts are on hand throughout the weekend, tracking players in the older divisions.

Past tournaments have produced notable standouts, including DeShawn Coulter of the Charlotte Aces, a left-handed guard who averaged 10 points per game across the event’s three-game format, and Amari Owens of Kentucky Hoop Dreams, who used the Rocky Top platform to build a recruitment profile that earned mid-major college interest. For families with players in the 14U-17U range, this is not just a tournament weekend. It is a legitimate early-look opportunity in a low-pressure mountain setting.

Team entry fees range from $325 for younger divisions to $450 for 15U-17U, with registration handled through OTR Hoops. Contact event director Tai Young directly at [email protected] or 615-818-2986 with questions about scheduling, registration deadlines, and division placement. Schedules for the weekend are typically finalized and posted on Thursday before the event opens. The on-site Champs Grill and Courtside Cafe handle food service throughout tournament days, so families can eat without leaving the campus between games. A LeConte Medical Center training room is staffed on-site for any first-aid needs during the event.

Good to know:
The Rocky Top Invitational runs concurrently with other events at the complex on any given weekend, so the facility operates at high capacity across all three days. Parking is ample on-site, but the Gatlinburg Trolley system also connects downtown Gatlinburg directly to Rocky Top Sports World if your lodging is closer to the main strip. Early May in Gatlinburg runs in the mid-60s during the day with cool evenings that can drop into the 40s, so parents watching outdoor warm-ups will want a layer in their bag even on the warmest afternoons.

If you’re bringing kids who aren’t playing:
The complex includes a children’s play area near the outdoor fields, and the Gatlinburg Community Center adjacent to the campus offers a public swimming pool and bowling. Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, one of the most visited aquariums in the Southeast, is about four miles west on Highway 441 and runs full daily hours throughout the spring season, making it a natural option for siblings between game blocks.

Quick Tips

• Register through On the Radar Hoops well in advance; divisions fill quickly for the 15U-17U brackets
• Finalized game schedules post the Thursday before the event, so plan travel with Thursday evening check-in in mind
• Bleacher seating inside The Rock fills fast during elimination rounds; arrive early for your player’s featured games
• Bring snacks and an extra water bottle even with on-site dining available; lines run long during changeover hours
• The Gatlinburg Trolley runs from downtown to the complex and saves the parking search on peak Saturday mornings

The natural add-on for a Rocky Top tournament weekend is Douglas Lake, about 25 miles north of Gatlinburg via Highway 321 through the Pittman Center community. Douglas Lake is a Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir that stretches across Sevier, Jefferson, and Cocke counties, covering more than 28,000 acres of East Tennessee water. The lake is known locally for its striper and smallmouth bass fishing in early May, when the spring spawn pulls fish into shallower water along coves and rocky points.

After three days of gymnasium air and whistles, a morning on the water at Douglas Lake resets the whole trip. Shoreline cabin rentals around the lake’s quieter coves give tournament families a proper home base with mountain views and dock access, completely separate from the Gatlinburg hotel corridor. Browse available properties around Douglas Lake and the Smoky Mountain region on Lake.com and pair your tournament weekend with a slower Sunday on the water before the drive home.