IHSAA Approves New Sectional Assignments for 2026-27 and 2027-28 School Years

The bracket map for Indiana high school basketball changed significantly this spring, and for some programs, the road to Gainbridge Fieldhouse just got a lot harder.

The IHSAA Executive Committee unanimously approved new sectional assignments for six team sports during its monthly March meeting, establishing postseason groupings for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years. A 32-administrator realignment committee, drawing from all three IHSAA districts and every classification, built the new framework. Baseball and softball assignments remain pending, with those committees set to meet later this summer before presenting recommendations to the Executive Committee.

The most consequential basketball shift involves Roncalli. The two-time defending Class 3A state champion has been moved up to 4A and placed in Sectional 12 alongside Center Grove, Decatur Central, Franklin Central, Greenwood, Perry Meridian and Southport. The Cardinals spent back-to-back seasons atop the 3A bracket; now they open postseason play against Indianapolis-corridor programs that have historically dominated at the state's largest classification. That is a steep recalibration for any program, regardless of recent pedigree.

New Palestine's enrollment growth pushed the Dragons into 4A as well, one of the smallest schools at that level at 1,202 students. Their assignment to Sectional 10, alongside Tech, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central and Warren Central, is among the most demanding first-round draws in the state. Programs in that bracket have combined for one of Indiana's deepest reservoirs of 4A postseason experience.

The most striking turnaround story belongs to Bedford North Lawrence. The Stars dropped to Class 3A and were placed in Sectional 28 with Edgewood, Indian Creek, Northview, Owen Valley and Parke Heritage, the reigning 2A state champion that moved up via the IHSAA's success factor. BNL last won a sectional title in 2001, and the shift out of 4A opens a realistic path to ending that 25-year drought. "We're excited," said BNL coach Jackson Ryan about the new alignment.

North Daviess returns to familiar ground, heading back to Class A Sectional 62 after spending time in Class 3A following a state championship run. The Cougars rejoin a bracket that includes Loogootee, Medora, Orleans, Shoals and Vincennes Rivet, restoring one of southern Indiana's most traditional sectional rivalries.

In north-central Indiana, Rochester lands in Class 2A Sectional 38 with Eastern (Greentown), Lewis Cass, Maconaquah, Oak Hill and Peru for both boys and girls basketball. That bracket carries immediate weight: Oak Hill was the girls basketball state runner-up and won a regional crown in boys basketball last season. Notably, none of the 10 starters who played in the Rochester-Oak Hill sectional final in February was a senior, making this particular six-team field one of the most youth-loaded in the state heading into 2026-27.

Host sites for each newly configured sectional will be finalized by athletic administrators within their brackets this spring. The full sectional assignments by sport and classification are available in the official IHSAA PDF published March 31.