Jonathan Alder’s Noah Hess (13) goes into the lane against defensive pressure. The Pioneers are just one of several local high school hoop squads that will switch divisions under the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s expansion. The move will begin with the 2024-25 season.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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There will be a shifting of divisions among Ohio high school boys and girls basketball programs next winter.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has announced the preliminary divisional breakdowns and regional tournament representation for the 2024-25 hoop tournaments.
Earlier this spring, the OHSAA received base enrollment data, comprised of students in grades 9, 10 and 11 as of October 2023, from the Ohio Department of Education to use for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.
During the winter season, girls and boys basketball utilizes competitive balance data from the previous season to create a new adjusted enrollment count.
The OHSAA Board of Directors approved the new divisions and tournament representation for all winter sports except wrestling at its April board meeting. That included the previously-announced fall sports divisions.
Wrestling will be announced June 10, pending board approval.
The divisional assignments and regional tournament representation should be considered preliminary, as OHSAA member schools may opt to move up to Division I if Referendum Issue 1B passes this spring.
Results of the referendum voting will be announced Thursday, May 16.
Any changes to divisional assignments or tournament representation as a result of schools opting up to Division I will be announced by the OHSAA at a later date.
As announced last February, girls and boys basketball will expand to seven divisions next season, with the largest 64 schools placed in Division I.
The next 64 largest schools will be placed in Division II.
The remaining schools will be divided as equally as possible into the other divisions.
Marysville will not change divisions in either boys or girls basketball. Monarch squads will remain in Division I.
Other schools in the Journal-Tribune coverage area will see changes in their divisional designations for both boys and girls hoops.
Those changes are as follows:
Boys
-Jonathan Alder will move from Division II to Division IV;
-North Union, which previously played in Division III, will move to Division V;
-Fairbanks will move from Division III to Division V;
-Triad is moving from Division IV to Division VI.
Girls
-Jonathan Alder will move from Division II to Division IV;
-North Union will switch from Division II to Division V;
-Fairbanks, which has been in Division III, will go to Division V;
-Triad will move from Division III to Division VI.
The Central District will have six boys regional qualifiers in Division I, two from Division IV and two from Division V.
The Southwest District, of which Triad is a member, will have three regional boys qualifiers.
As far as girls basketball, Division I will send six teams from the Central District to the regional.
Division IV will have one team qualify for the regional, while D-V will have two.
The Southwest District (Triad) will send two teams to the regional tournament.