High school basketball shot clock: Which states have it, which states don't? Why?

While the shot clock has officially arrived in most U. S. states for high school basketball, a few remain holdouts.

According to the NFHS, 32 states used a shot clock in some fashion for the 2025-26 season. That number will continue to rise for 2026-27, as Alabama and New Jersey will add the shot clock to their high school games in the coming seasons, while Indiana voted against it on Monday, May 4. The NFHS Basketball Rules Committee approved the use of a shot clock in high school basketball in 2021, with implementation beginning in the 2022-23 season.

While the shot clock will eventually arrive in every state, there are many proponents of it, citing that it helps the game grow for both boys' and girls' basketball across the country. USA TODAY Sports talked to seven coaches and athletic directors across the nation about the shot clock. Some of these states have had the shot clock for several years, others for a couple of seasons, and some either do not have it or are in the process of adding it.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association approved a measure to pass the shot clock for the 2027-28 season on Monday, May 4, by a slim 170-166 margin. "I come from the line of, we're preparing our girls to go play at the next level, and when they go and play at the next level, that's part of the game, right? " Saint John Vianney High (New Jersey) girls basketball coach Dawn Karpell told USA TODAY Sports before the new rule was passed.