The move of Fairfield out of Sectional 21’s volleyball lineup will impact this likes of Kennedy Hochstetler and NorthWood going forward the next two seasons. (File photo by Mike Deak)

INDIANAPOLIS – It’s sort of like Bracketology for college basketball, trying to figure out who goes where and how the pieces will fit. The IHSAA has issued its school classifications for the next two athletic seasons – 2019-20 and 2020-21 – and how the success factors and school size adjustments will move around teams and alter sectionals. With the new numbers coming out this afternoon for football, boys and girls soccer and volleyball, some interesting facets will come for each of the four sports.

The IHSAA stated its boys and girls basketball classifications will be released in late March after the boys tournament ends, and baseball and softball will follow suit in the summer with the conclusion of their tournaments.

Where much of the discussion will come from around the state is football. Some local teams will be affected by the new lists, and some moving parts could make future tournaments a little more interesting.

The 5-A brackets got a lot stronger in the north as Mishawaka jumped up as did 4-A state champion Fort Wayne Dwenger. Fort Wayne Snider also dropped down to 5-A from 6-A. Dwenger leaving the 4-A tourney directly affects the regional for 4-A hopefuls like NorthWood and Angola, which the Hornets ran into the Saints in the regional the last two years. Huntington North also drops to 4-A, but so did perennial contenders Indianapolis Cathedral and Evansville Reitz, making the south a much tougher road.

Class 3-A was mostly untouched in the area, with just South Bend Washington dropping down. One interesting note is Tippecanoe Valley, which is just two positions north of the cutline for Class 2-A with its 544 students. Woodlan (525) is the biggest 2-A school in football. Speaking of Class 2-A, the division saw a lot of movement as Fairfield and Bishop Luers both dropped down from 3-A and LaVille and Pioneer both moved up. Pioneer’s move was based on success factor after back-to-back state championships, which is very good news for Triton, which has lost to both LaVille and Pioneer in the past two state tournaments.

In volleyball, Fairfield dropping to Class 2-A is about the only major local change, which will shake up Class 3-A Sectional 21 with the likes of Tippecanoe Valley, Wawasee and NorthWood. South Bend Clay and Fort Wayne Concordia both drop down to 3-A, but likely wouldn’t join that group. Jimtown or Culver Academy could be the replacement, or possibly Mishawaka Marian. Columbia City would have been an easy fit, but the Eagles are moving up to 4-A. The move down for Fairfield will likely affect the two basketball as well as softball and baseball sectionals as well. Tippecanoe Valley is also near the cutline for 3-A and 2-A. Stay tuned.

Triton’s path in the tournament will see some movement, as South Central jumps up to 2-A after being the perennial favorite in Sectional 51 for the last half decade. Both Fort Wayne Blackhawk and North Miami are returning to 1-A after short stints in 2-A.

In girls soccer, NorthWood should have perked up a bit after seeing both South Bend St. Joe and DeKalb both moved up to 3-A. The Panthers and Barons met in the sectional championship the past two seasons, NorthWood coming out on top in both, then NorthWood lost in the morning session of both regional semis at Plymouth. St. Joe has won the Plymouth Regional in each of the past two seasons in the existence of the three-class tourney, the Indians reaching the 2-A state championship this past season.

Another interesting note for Tippecanoe Valley is their inclusion as the biggest school on the Class 1-A girls soccer list, to which there is no girls soccer program at Valley. Athletic director Gina Hierlmeier confirmed Valley will not have a girls program for either of the next two seasons.

In boys soccer, not much from the area changes except Columbia City moves up to 3-A, South Bend Clay drops down to 2-A and both Manchester and Bremen move up to 2-A.