Ali debated for four years at Brentwood High School in Nashville, Tennessee. In his three years on the national circuit, he accumulated 11 bids, qualifying thrice to the Tournament of Champions. He has reached deep out-rounds of tournaments such as Emory, Stanford, and UK as well as semis of the NSDA Nationals. He has also received numerous speaker awards at tournaments like Emory, Dowling, and UK. He serves as captain of his school's public forum team and has helped teams receive their first bids to the TOC and qualify to nationals.