OHSAA announces girls and boys basketball division assignments for 2024-2025 season

The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the preliminary divisional breakdowns and regional tournament representation for the 2024-2025 winter sports postseason tournaments Monday.

The OHSAA Board of Directors approved the new divisions and tournament representation for all winter sports except wrestling at its April board meeting, which included the previously announced fall sports divisions. Wrestling will be announced June 10 pending board approval.

OHSAA Director of Communications Tim Stried said in a news release 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 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 placed in Division II and the remaining schools divided as equally as possible into the other divisions.

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. 

Here is a breakdown of where girls basketball teams in the Akron, Canton, Kent and Medina area are placed:

Division I: Canton McKinley, Brunswick, Medina, Jackson, GlenOak and Stow

Division II: North Canton Hoover, Hudson, Perry, North Royalton, Nordonia, Wadsworth, Green, Twinsburg, Cuyahoga Falls, Firestone, Massillon Washington and Brecksville-Broadview Heights

Division III: Walsh Jesuit, Garfield, Wooster, Lake, Highland, North, Archbishop Hoban, Barberton, Kent Roosevelt, Ellet, Revere, Louisville, Aurora, CVCA, Copley, Alliance, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Tallmadge

Division IV: Buchtel, Norton, Streetsboro, Cloverleaf, Buckeye, East, Field, Minerva, Marlington, Ravenna, Woodridge, Springfield, West Branch, Coventry and Crestwood

Division V: Northwest, Canton South, Southeast, Fairless, Tuslaw, Sandy Valley, Manchester and Garrettsville Garfield

Division VI: Rootstown, Canton Central Catholic, Medina Christian Academy, St. Thomas Aquinas, Our Lady of the Elms and East Canton

Division VII: Mogadore, Malvern and Windham

Here is a breakdown of where boys basketball teams in the Akron, Canton, Kent and Medina area are placed:

Division I: Canton McKinley, Medina, GlenOak, Brunswick, Jackson

Division II: Stow, Wadsworth, North Royalton, Perry, North Canton Hoover, Green, Hudson, Massillon Washington; Brecksville-Broadview Heights

Division III: Firestone, Barberton, Highland, Twinsburg, Nordonia, Walsh Jesuit, North, Lake, Cuyahoga Falls, Wooster, Garfield, Archbishop Hoban, Louisville, St. Vincent-St. Mary, Aurora, Kent Roosevelt, Revere, Ellet, Alliance, Buckeye, Copley, CVCA, Tallmadge and Northwest

Division IV: East, Streetsboro, Norton, Buchtel, Buchtel, West Branch, Cloverleaf, Marlington, Ravenna, Springfield, Field, Minerva, Coventry, Canton South and Woodridge

Division V: Canton Central Catholic, Manchester, Sandy Valley, Garrettsville Garfield, Southeast, Crestwood, Fairless, St. Thomas Aquinas and Tuslaw

Division VI: Rootstown, Lake Center Christian, Mogadore, East Canton and Malvern

Division VII: Waterloo, Medina Christian Academy and Windham

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.