2 min read
The Special Olympics of Illinois and the IHSA co-sponsored the 7th annual Unified Basketball State Tournament on Friday and Saturday, March 14 & 15. Over 40 teams entered regional competition and the remaining 8 competed in two divisions at the Activities & Recreational Center on the campus of the University of Illinois.
The 2025 Unified Division I Champs are the Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School Boilers (top photo) coached by Samantha Soosh; and for the third consecutive year, the Division II winners are the De La Salle/Southside HUB Meteors (bottom photo) coached by former De La Salle boys varsity coach and IBCA Hall of Famer, Tom White.
Other Division I teams competing were runners-up the Vernon Hills Storm coached by Chris Curry; the Bartonville Limestone Rockets coached by Stacey Seals; and the Triad Knights coached by Lexie Cuppett.
Teams in Division II were the 2nd place finishers St. Ignatius/ Ray Graham Training Center coached by Jerome Johnson and Sean O’Connor; St. Patrick/Vaughn Occupational Academy coached by Louis Rachmaciej & Kim Noschesa; and St. Rita/Southside Occupational Academy coached by Ray Harris.Congratulations to all the teams competing in the State Tournament as well as all of the teams in district play. A special thank you to Special Olympics Director Deb Kelly and IHSA Assistant Director Dan Le.
What is Unified Basketball?
A Unified Basketball team is made up of 3 Special Olympics athletes and 2 Unified Partners on the court at one time. The maximum roster for a team is 15 which includes Special Olympics athletes and Unified Partners. Regular High School basketball rules are observed.
