New classification, postseason structure approved by FHSAA

Starting next fall, the classification and playoff structure will change for several sports. The Florida High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors approved a new classification plan in a 12-3 vote on Monday morning, shrinking the number of classes and turning to MaxPreps for playoff seeding.

The changes will affect baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, softball and girls volleyball. The changes will go into effect next fall.

“I love it,” Oxbridge girls basketball coach Tracy Wolfe said when the proposal passed the Athletic Directors Advisory Committee. “I think more of the state games and the regional-level games will be a lot more competitive, and I think the value of the state championship will be a higher value because there’s less classifications.”

The proposal approved by the Board of Directors on Monday had one change from the one approved by the Athletic Directors Advisory Committee on Oct. 17. Following district tournaments, the teams who make the regional playoffs will be seeded based on MaxPreps rankings.

The FHSAA will go from nine classes to seven, determined by student enrollment. Class 1A, Florida’s rural classification (which includes Pahokee), will not see any changes.

Classes 2A-7A will be broken down into four regions, with each region being divided into four districts. Each district will have an equal number of teams that will not be required to play each other during the regular season.

Each district will play a district tournament to determine the champion, with the seeding determined by MaxPreps rankings. The district champion from the four districts in each region will automatically qualify for the regional tournament. Four more teams from each region will qualify with at-large bids, determined by MaxPreps rankings.

“I think it’s going to give an opportunity for more teams to be able to compete in the state tournament after being knocked out by their district if they’re better than another team from another district,” Boca Raton girls basketball coach Nhu Nguyen told the Sentinel. “But my concern is going to be how will MaxPreps measure the at-large bid if a team has a stronger schedule compared to a team that has a weaker schedule but a better record.”