The Latest Wharton High School Data Science Competition Is Nothing but Net
The Wharton High School Data Science Competition, hosted by the Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative (WSABI), in conjunction with Wharton Global Youth, is back for a second year – with the energy of a full-court press.
In the latest competition, teams of three to five students are invited to make basketball tournament predictions. Using team-level box score data from an entire regular season of women’s college basketball, teams of high school students worldwide will determine rankings and predict winning percentages for postseason play. Registration for the competition tips off on January 6, 2025.
Last year, more than 215 teams of high school students from around the globe competed to make predictions about the playoff outcomes of the North American Soccer League, a fictitious professional league with 30 teams and an extensive dataset, including win-loss records and more.
The winning team from Harvard-Westlake School in California, U.S., a group of five high school juniors, considered a wide range of options for their analysis and spent late nights creating their models and predictions.
“I was incredibly impressed with the creativity and talents of the participating teams last year,” says Adi Wyner, a Wharton professor of statistics and data science and co-director of WSABI. “Students tackled a complex dataset with enthusiasm and ingenuity, demonstrating the power of data science to reveal new insights and solve real-world sports challenges.”
This year promises to be even bigger.
“The 2025 competition focuses on NCAA women’s basketball statistics, offering an exciting opportunity for students to explore the game through the lens of sports analytics,” adds Wyner. “Basketball is a fantastic platform to learn data science because it’s dynamic, data-rich, and connects strategy with measurable outcomes. This year’s theme is designed not only to deepen students’ analytical skills but also inspire them to uncover insights and connections to the captivating stories they see in the news — like standout performances from stars such as Caitlin Clark and the strategies behind great teams. It’s a chance to bring the excitement of sports into the classroom while building valuable skills for the future.”
Interested students and educators can sign up now to express interest in the competition, leading up to official registration beginning on January 6.