Overtime announces high school girls basketball league

The GIST: Overtime — the youth sports brand that’s taken over social media — is following up the success of its Overtime Elite (OTE) pro youth basketball league with another initiative. On Monday, the company announced Overtime Select, a high school girls basketball league hoping to establish the next generation of greats. Class is in session.

The details: The four-week league tips off next summer at Atlanta’s OTE Arena, Overtime’s 103K-square-foot facility. Eight teams composed of elite high school talent will compete in a regular season, playoffs, and finals, along with a Takeover Weekend that includes an All-Star game, a Queen of the Court competition and a three-point contest.

• Top 2025 and 2026 recruits, including Aaliyah Chavez, Jazzy Davidson, and twins Mia and Mya Pauldo, have already committed to Select. So have big-name advisors like Breanna Stewart, Zia Cooke, Kahleah Copper, and Flau'jae Johnson.

The company: Since 2016, Overtime has gone from mere sports spectator to a disruptor driving industry growth. Today, Overtime oversees merch and film divisions to promote its men’s basketball, football and boxing leagues. OTE, which just inked a major Adidas deal, has already sent 15 players to the NBA in two years.

• Overtime plans to mix business and ball for Select as well, including an on-site business summit during Takeover Weekend, plus media and public relations training and financial literacy mentorship for players during the season.

The context: This is an on-brand move for Overtime: its WBB account’s 2.7M Instagram and TikTok followers make it the most-followed women’s sports property, while 2023’s Takeover drew over 65M views. Getting girls under the bright lights has tangible effects, which the aforementioned Johnson said prepped her to win a championship with LSU.

• Further proof that Select is built for women, by women is the fact that it’s not directly copying OTE’s pro pipeline model: women want to benefit from college exposure and name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities, which Overtime can amplify with its collaborative, sponsor-driven brand.

The future: Overtime proves basketball is a young person’s game: from Gen Z fans to Gen Z players, the youth are starting to change the game. Even with NCAA NIL concessions and record viewership for the W and college, there’s still lots of money and youth development opportunities left on the table. The kids are going to be alright.