Tennessee approves phased rollout of basketball shot clock

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) has approved a phased implementation of a basketball shot clock and will also move toward RPI-based seeding for the Division I state tournament.

The shot clock will be rolled out over the next few years and will first be permitted for use in Hall of Champions games, holiday tournaments and summer games. Full implementation for the regular season and postseason is slated for the 2029-30 school year.

Tennessee is the latest state to approve a 35-second shot clock for varsity basketball after New Jersey approved a similar measure in May, bringing the total to 34 states using a shot clock in some capacity.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee approved the use of a shot clock in 2021, and the implementation of the 35-second shot clock was approved by state adoption ahead of the 2022-23 school year.

The states that have approved the use shot clocks for high school basketball are:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawai’i
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Utah
• Washington
• Washington, D.C.
• Wyoming

Additionally, beginning with the 2027-28 season, the TSSAA will move away from random draws for bracket placement in favor of an RPI seeding model currently used in soccer.