IHSAA Releases 2026-27 and 2027-28 Enrollments, Reshaping Basketball Alignments

The Indiana High School Athletic Association released official enrollment totals on March 4, 2026, and the IHSAA’s enrollment and classification PDFs and brackets for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 cycles are available from the IHSAA for download. These totals, drawn from counts submitted to the Indiana Department of Education, will determine classifications in baseball, boys and girls basketball, football, boys and girls soccer, softball, and girls volleyball for the next two school years.

The IHSAA explained that "the enrollment figures, the total number of boys and girls in grades 9-12, were submitted by the schools to the Indiana Department of Education and are used to determine the classifications in the team sports of baseball, boys and girls basketball, football, boys and girls soccer, softball, and girls volleyball, the next two school years." For four-class sports the Association will use a "20-25-25-30 format – that being the largest 20% of schools in Class 4A, the next 25% in Class 3A, the next 25% in 2A and the smallest 30% in Class 1A." Football remains a six-class sport and soccer remains three classes, and "In the sports of boys soccer, girls soccer and football, Tournament Success Factor points have been totaled, and those results are reflected in the respective classifications."

Local reclassification moves in Hancock County and surrounding areas were detailed by the Greenfield Reporter, which listed six schools moving from Class 4A to Class 5A in football: Mt. Vernon, Greenfield-Central, Pendleton Heights, Huntington North, Fort Wayne South Side, and Fort Wayne Wayne. Greenfield Reporter cites Mt. Vernon enrollment at 1,539 and Greenfield-Central at 1,431. The same Greenfield Reporter piece noted that Class 5A is a 33-school class and that Pendleton Heights ranks 30th at 1,370, Greenfield-Central 26th at 1,431, and Mt. Vernon 21st at 1,539 in that class; the largest schools cited in 5A are Indianapolis Tech at 2,015 and Lafayette Jefferson at 2,008.

New Palestine provides a clear example of how the Tournament Success Factor alters classifications: "New Palestine, though it has a 4A-sized enrollment of 1,202, remains in 5A due to the IHSAA’s Tournament Success Factor," Greenfield Reporter wrote, noting that "The Dragons have won back-to-back state titles, claiming the crown in 5A in 2025 and in 4A in 2024." Indianapolis Cathedral also remains in 5A because of success on the field, with an enrollment cited at 1,109.

Regional enrollment shifts recorded by WZBD’s Dane Fuelling show movement across northeast Indiana: Huntington North rose from a most recent IHSAA enrollment of 1,382 (rank 70) to a new reported 1,440 (rank 58); Columbia City moved from 1,162 (rank 87) to 1,180 (rank 84); New Haven from 1,068 (rank 93) to 1,117 (rank 88); DeKalb dropped from 1,044 (rank 96) to 940 (rank 106); and Bluffton increased from 507 (rank 194) to 548 (rank 174). WZBD also notes Carmel High School as the largest IHSAA high school at 5,203 students.

Procedurally, committees made up of school administrators around the state will create sectional assignments and present final recommendations to the IHSAA Executive Committee for approval on May 5, 2026, a timeline reiterated by WBIW. WBIW also called out Bedford North Lawrence’s decade-long enrollment decline as a driver of upcoming changes and cited BNL’s 2018 enrollment at 1,542 as historical context.

The IHSAA listing includes provisional member schools GEO Next Generation, Mooresville Christian, and Seven Oaks Classical in the 4-class sports and boys soccer classifications pending full membership approval later this year. With the May 5 Executive Committee review looming, athletic directors, coaches, and schedulers across Indiana will be watching the finalized grids to see how these enrollment-driven shifts translate into sectionals and postseason matchups for 2026-27 and 2027-28.