SPRING ALIGNMENT: Schools bumped up to higher classes after success

Trinity baseball was one of three spring sports bumped up due to competitive balance factors. (File photo)

By TIM GAYLE

The Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Central Board, a day after voting to postpone region play in spring sports, voted in new classification alignments on Tuesday morning.

The new alignments, which classify programs for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, affect seven different spring sports. (Some, such as boys’ and girls’ tennis, are classified together.)

Three of the five Capital City Conference schools will have their spring sports programs affected in some way by the Competitive Balance Factor, a success-based formula that elevates schools in classification based on their previous success in the sport.

Montgomery Academy, a 2A program based on initial enrollment (187), will be a 3A program based on the 1.35 multiplier added to all private schools in 1999 but will only compete in that classification in seven of the 12 sports that rank the school’s programs by the Competitive Balance Factor.

The Eagles will be 4A in football, 5A in volleyball, 6A in boys’ and girls’ soccer and 7A in boys’ and girls’ tennis. The outdoor track program will remain elevated to 4A under the Competitive Balance guidelines.

Catholic voluntarily raised its enrollment to change its classification to 4A, where it will compete in every sport except cross country, where it remains elevated to 5A. Had the Knights remained a 3A program, they would have been elevated to 4A in football, indoor track and outdoor track.

Trinity, a 2A program based on initial enrollment (193) before the private school multiplier raised it to a 3A program, had three spring sports bumped to 4A by Competitive Balance -- baseball, boys’ and girls’ soccer and girls’ golf -- while tennis will continue to remain elevated to 6A. 

In all, Competitive Balance Factor bumped 46 private school programs in seven spring sports (baseball, softball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ tennis, boy’s golf, girl’s golf and outdoor track) to a higher classification while 15 remain elevated under the CBF guidelines. Only one program (UMS-Wright tennis) fell in classification for failing to meet the threshold to remain elevated.        

AHSAA officials reclassified schools based on fall (football, volleyball and cross country), winter (basketball and indoor track) and spring seasons, so fans already knew what classification the public schools would compete in based on changing enrollment. The moving of private schools based on Competitive Balance, however, caused some changes in area alignments.  

The Central Board met on Monday and voted to postpone region play in baseball, softball and soccer until more research and data can be studied. The organization had initially indicated it planned to switch from smaller areas to larger regions beginning in 2022-23, but reconsidered. 

That might have been a wise move after watching the different area alignments used for the same teams in baseball and softball. In 6A baseball, for example, Carver, Lanier, Stanhope Elmore and Wetumpka are in Area 3 while Benjamin Russell, Park Crossing, Pike Road and Russell County are in Area 4.

In softball, however, the same teams are scattered among three different areas stretching from the Georgia state line to just south of Birmingham.

Park Crossing, Pike Road and Russell County are in Area 3, Benjamin Russell, Lanier and Wetumpka are in Area 4 and Calera, Carver, Chilton County and Stanhope Elmore are in Area 5, a hard-to-figure separation of teams that is replicated in Class 5A. 

Brew Tech, Elmore County and Tallassee will play baseball in Area 4, while the Area 4 softball alignment includes Brew Tech, Charles Henderson, Greenville and Holtville. 

Holtville, Jemison and Marbury will play baseball in Area 7, while Marbury will be aligned with Demopolis and Selma in Area 6 and Tallassee and Elmore County will be joined by Beauregard and Valley in Area 5.

In 7A, the area alignments are similar for every sport, with Robert E. Lee joining Area 3 that already included Prattville, Dothan, Enterprise and Jeff Davis. 

In 7A tennis, Section 2 now includes Montgomery Academy, which will join Auburn, Central-Phenix City, Dothan, Enterprise, Opelika, Prattville and Smiths Station.

In 6A soccer, Montgomery Academy will now join Area 4 that includes Pike Road and Russell County in girls’ soccer and those three teams along with Park Crossing in boys’ soccer.

In 4A, Area 4 softball includes Booker T. Washington, Bullock County, LAMP and Catholic, while Area 4 baseball includes those four teams along with Trinity.

In 4A soccer, LAMP, Catholic, BTW Magnet and Trinity soccer will be joined in Area 2 by Dale County in girls’ soccer and Dale County and Andalusia in boys’ soccer.

In 3A, the areas vary based on the elevation of Trinity in baseball and Prattville Christian in softball. In baseball, Alabama Christian is joined by PCA, St. James and Montgomery Academy in Area 6 baseball, while ACA, St. James and Montgomery Academy is joined by Trinity in Area 6 softball.

In 1A-3A girls’ soccer, ACA, Pike Liberal Arts and St. James are in Area 3, while Autaugaville, Holy Spirit, Prattville Christian and Tuscaloosa Academy are in Area 4. Goshen and Pike Road join the Area 3 group for boys’ soccer, while Southside-Selma joins the Area 4 teams in boys.