Off to a 10-2 start behind first-year head coach Greg Willis, the Ballard High School boys basketball team will be the No. 1 seed for next week’s Louisville Invitational Tournament.

The LIT committee released the bracket for the 24-team field Tuesday night. The teams were selected via the SETH Ratings, a system administered by the Jefferson County Public Schools athletics department.

First- and second-round games will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday at campus sites. The tournament will move to Valley High School for Wednesday’s quarterfinals, Friday’s semifinals and Saturday’s 5 p.m. championship game.

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Three of the city’s top teams will not participate – Evangel Christian, DeSales and Christian Academy.

Evangel Christian (13-2) was not allowed in this year’s tournament after skipping last year’s LIT to participate in the All “A” Classic. DeSales (9-5) and CAL (7-7) opted out of the LIT in order to compete in the Kentucky 2A Championships.

As the No. 1 seed, Ballard earned a first-round bye and will host the Moore-Beth Haven winner in a second-round game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Bruins went 3-1 and finished in fifth place in last week’s White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic. Ballard fell to Lyon County in the quarterfinals before bouncing back with victories over North Laurel and Bowling Green in the consolation bracket.

“I’ve been pleased with the start to the season,” Willis said. “Our schedule has been pretty challenging, and we’ve seen a lot of the top teams in the state of Kentucky. It’s been fun playing against a lot of the top players in the state.”

Ballard has one itself in senior guard Gabe Sisk, who leads the team in scoring (24.3 ppg) and rebounding (10.9 rpg). He’s shooting 47.1% from 3-point range (33 for 70).

Senior guard Miles Franklin (16.5 ppg) is another top scorer, and 6-foot guard Sam Frazier (10.4 ppg) is enjoying a breakout season as a sophomore.

“He has a bright future,” Willis said of Frazier. “He shoots it well and is one of those guys who’s always in the mix. He gets stuff done. He’s been a real nice complement to Miles and Gabe in the backcourt.”

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Pleasure Ridge Park (10-2) earned the No. 2 seed for the LIT and is followed by No. 3 Trinity (10-4) and No. 4 Eastern (10-3).

“There are multiple teams from the Sixth Region and Seventh Region that all have a chance of making it to Rupp Arena this year,” Willis said. “I think it’s a compliment to the great coaching we have around the city. It keeps more teams competitive. (In the Seventh Region), Trinity is really deep and talented. And the Sixth Region is a bloodbath right now.”

The field includes 14 teams from the Sixth Region and 10 from the Seventh Region. North Bullitt (8-6) was the final team to make the field as the No. 24 seed. According to the SETH Ratings, Waggener (3-8) and Valley (0-9) were the first two teams left out.

Male, which is the No. 10 seed, is the defending LIT champion after beating Butler 96-84 in last year’s final.

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Monday, Jan. 9 (all games at 7:30 p.m., hosted by higher seed)

Kentucky Country Day (20) at Holy Cross (13)

Tuesday, Jan. 10 (all games at 7:30 p.m., hosted by higher seed)

Moore-Beth Haven winner at Ballard (1)

North Bullitt-Seneca winner at St. Xavier (8)

Kentucky Country Day-Holy Cross winner at Eastern (4)

Bullitt East-Jeffersontown winner at Manual (5)

Central-Fern Creek winner at Pleasure Ridge Park (2)

Wednesday, Jan. 11 (at Valley High School)

Quarterfinals at 4, 5:30, 7 and 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 13 (at Valley High School)

Semifinals at 6 and 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 14 (at Valley High School)

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.