The girls game kicks off festivities at 6 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 4, with the boys game to follow. Teams represent northern Michigan, this year all players coming entirely from the Upper Peninsula, and northern Wisconsin.

While the Northern Wisconsin team leads the boys series seven wins to four over Northern Michigan, the Michiganders are ahead in the girls series 6-5.

By necessity of preserving eligibility, all players must be soon-to-be graduating seniors who have exhausted their playing years in high school.

Each Northern Michigan coach is from Marquette County, Negaunee’s Mike O’Donnell for the girls and Westwood’s Luke Gray for the boys.

Negaunee's Clare O'Donnell, center, guards Gladstone’s Malia Quigley, left, during their high school girls game played at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Jan. 27. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Among the players, Mr. U.P. Basketball from Westwood, Ethan Marta, has to be the headliner for the boys team. The 6-foot-3 Marta was also voted MHSAA Division 3 all-state after averaging 28 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last winter.

Another 6-3 player, Marquette’s Connor Fierstine, joins Marta as an All-U.P. Second Team honoree after scoring 14 points and seven rebounds an outing.

Marta’s 6-2 teammate, Caden Balzarini, joins the Northern Michigan boys after also making All-U.P. Second Team with 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, while Ishpeming’s 6-5 John Wheeler makes it four Marquette County players for the Northern Michigan boys. Wheeler was another All-U.P. Second Teamer with 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds a contest.

Leading the Northern Michigan girls will be All-U.P. Division 4 Player of the Year Jenessa Eagle of Ishpeming. The 5-9 player was also the Michigan Sports Writers’ All-State Player of the Year in Division 4 after leading the Hematites to the D-4 state championship and averaging 24.4 points and 5.7 rebounds a game.

Joining her will be 5-11 Clare O’Donnell of Negaunee, who was All-U.P. Second Team with averages of 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, along with 5-4 Kara Roberts of Baraga, an All-U.P. First Team honoree and D-4 All-State honorable mention after averaging 18.7 points per game.

Ishpeming’s John Wheeler shoots a layup during a high school boys game played against Manistique at the Hematites gym in Ishpeming on Jan. 2. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

With the inclusion of Dollar Bay’s Liam Tourtillott, the Northern Michigan teams will include three of the four All-U.P. players of the year. The only one missing is D-1-3 POTY Lillie Johnson, who will be at Wisconsin-Green Bay, where she’ll be playing basketball next season.

In addition, Ishpeming’s Mya Hemmer, a U.P. Dream Team girls player, was also invited to the Border Bash event, but she’ll be at Baylor University in Texas, where she’s playing volleyball this fall.

From areas of the western U.P. closer to the game site, the Northern Michigan girls will include Ironwood’s Jaelyn Novascone and Ewen-Trout Creek’s Emma Besonen and Irelynd McGeshick, while the Michigan boys will have Nick Miskovich of Ironwood.

With each of those players bypassing 1,000 points in their high school careers, Besonen was All-U.P. First Team and McGeshick and Novascone All-U.P. Second Team for the girls, while Miskovich was All-U.P. Second Team for the boys.

Also on the Michigan team are Tanner Theuerkauf of Menominee, whose Maroons squad made it to Michigan State University in the state semifinals of the Division 3 tourney, and Division 4 girls All-State First Teamer Lauren Adams of Norway

Among notables for Northern Wisconsin is just one from the area near Ironwood on the Wisconsin side of the border, 6-2 Xander Beeksma of Mellen for the boys.

Three Wisconsin boys were conference players of the year — 6-1 Devon Feck of Rhinelander and 6-3 Mylo Albrecht of Eagle River Northland Pines in their state’s Great Northern Conference, along with 6-foot Dominic Kopacz of Flambeau in the Lakeland Conference East Division.

Two Northern Wisconsin girls earned Division 5 all-state honors, 5-8 Jordan Jaglinski of Wisconsin Rapids Assumption and 5-10 Ella Van Order of Stevens Point Pacelli. Jaglinski was Player of the Year in the Marawood South league, while Van Order scored 25 points in Pacelli’s 70-40 victory over Eleva-Strum in the D-5 state championship game.

And 5-10 Jasmin Heuer of Fall Creek will be playing basketball at Michigan Tech this fall.

The Northern Michigan boys roster is filled out by 5-11 Jason Clark of Rudyard, who was named All-U.P. First Team, and 5-10 Anthony Pineda of Norway, an All-U.P. honorable mention.

The Northern Michigan girls also include a pair of All-U.P. Second Team honorees — 5-6 Emery Chynoweth of Hancock and 5-10 Cassie Olson of Kingsford.

The Northern Wisconsin boys also include 6-6 Jed Henderson of Rib Lake, 6-foot J.T. Schlaefer of Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 6-1 Dayne Mumm of Prairie Farm-Clayton, 6-3 Sam Bezlyk of Spencer and 6-3 Evan Lord of Prentice. The team will be coached by Terry Klemett of Northland Pines, a former coach at Michigan Tech and Finlandia.

Northern Wisconsin’s girls also have 5-9 Urijah Reeves of Menominee Nation, 5-5 Emma Tlusty of Rib Lake, 5-5 Hayden Bergmann of Prairie Farm-Clayton, 5-8 Madi Mueller of Owen-Withee, 5-9 Autumn Davis of Spencer and 5-11 Melania Granquist of Wittenberg-Birnamwood.

That team will be coached by Kyle Davis of Spencer.