IHSAA Sectional Draw Reveals Loaded Class 4A Fields Across Indiana

It is sectional draw time." IndyStar's shorthand proved literal after the IHSAA held its annual blind draw on Sunday, unveiling brackets that place 404 teams, "82 in 4A, 100 in 3A, 100 in 2A and 122 in Class A", into postseason play as those programs vie for the eight state-final berths at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at the end of March, IndyStar reported.

The storylines center on Class 4A, which IndyStar called "heavily loaded." WFIE reported bracket-by-bracket results in hotspots across the state and confirmed schedule markers: most sectionals will start Tuesday, March 4, while Class 4A, Sectional 16 is an outlier that "has just four teams in that one, so they’ll wait to start, next Friday, March 7," with WFIE adding, "The host Warriors will take on North, and then Castle will take on Reitz."

IHSAA's official Class 4A assignments, as released in the excerpted list, show the statewide scope of high-level matchups and include the following sectional entries verbatim: 1. (5): Crown Point, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Lake Central, Munster 2. (5): Chesterton, Hobart, Merrillville, Portage, Valparaiso 3. (6): LaPorte, Michigan City, Mishawaka, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Riley 4. (5): Concord, Elkhart, Goshen, Northridge, Warsaw Community 5. (4): Carroll (Fort Wayne), Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne Snider 6. (4): Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Homestead, Huntington North 7. (4): Harrison (West Lafayette), Kokomo, Lafayette Jefferson, McCutcheon 8. (6): Carmel, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville, Westfield, Zionsville 9. (6): Anderson, Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Muncie Central, Pendleton Heights, Richmond 10. (5): [...] Muncie Central, Pendleton Heights, Richmond 10. (5): Indianapolis Arsenal Technical, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central (Indianapolis), Warren Central 11. (5): Avon, Ben Davis, Brownsburg, Pike, Plainfield 12. (6): Center Grove, Decatur Central, Franklin Central, Mooresville, Perry Meridian, Southport 13. (5): Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Martinsville, Terre Haute North Vigo, Terre Haute South Vigo 14. (5): Columbus East, Columbus North, East Central, Franklin Community, Whiteland Community 15. (6): Bedford North Lawrence, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, New Albany, Scottsburg, Seymour 16. (4): Castle, Evansville F.J. Reitz, Evansville Harrison, Evansville North

Local matchups threaded through WFIE's reporting underline immediate competitive angles: Class 4A Sectional 16 names Castle, Evansville F.J. Reitz, Evansville Harrison and Evansville North, and WFIE framed the opening games as Harrison (the "host Warriors") versus Evansville North, and Castle versus Reitz, with that sectional waiting until March 7 to tip.

WFIE also spotlighted Class 3A draws with bracket details and locker-room implications. In Class 3A, Sectional 32 at Boonville "there are 6 teams," and the first round pairs Central vs Bosse and Mount Vernon vs Heritage Hills, with Boonville and Memorial awaiting those winners next Friday. At Huntingburg Memorial Gym, Sectional 31's first-round games are Washington vs Vincennes Lincoln and Gibson Southern vs Jasper, and WFIE noted, "Then, next Friday’s semifinals have Southridge and Princeton taking on Tuesday’s winners. That sectional is absolutely loaded, as every team has a winning record, except Jasper, and they’ve been streaking the last couple weeks, themselves."

Beyond on-court stakes, the scale of the draw has business and cultural implications: 404 programs funneling toward eight spots at Gainbridge Fieldhouse concentrates ticket demand, host-site revenue and community attention into a two-week postseason window that starts March 4 for most sectionals and stretches to March 7 for select four-team draws. IndyStar's package, which included a "Portrait of Kyle Neddenriep," underscores media appetite for personality-driven features even as bracket clarity drives clicks.

The IHSAA assignments excerpt is labeled for 2024-25, 2025-26 and contains a formatting anomaly in the No. 10 line; the IHSAA list should be consulted for final bracket PDFs, verified game times and full sectional rosters before planning travel or ticket purchases.