LHSAA Annual Convention: Girl’s Wrestling Approved, Non-Select/Select United In B & C, Division I-III Baseball Moving to Best-of-3 Championship Series in ’24-’25

by Hunter Bower // GeauxPreps.com Owner

We will update this story with full results as we receive them. The following are notable highlights from Thursday’s vote.

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana High School Association held its annual convention on Thursday, setting the stage for a transformative shift in the high school sports landscape across the state.

The day commenced with individual class meetings, and the spotlight fell on Class B and C as they made a groundbreaking decision to unite select and non-select schools in the sports of basketball, baseball, and softball. This move, a departure from the norm since 2012, signifies a significant step toward inclusivity, bringing together traditional public schools and non-traditional institutions in a single playoff bracket. The newly approved format is set to take effect in the 2024-2025 school year, introducing B and C brackets alongside the existing four playoff divisions (I-IV).

Member schools voted to ratify the LHSAA executive committee’s postseason restructure for the sports of football, basketball, baseball and softball. The move to fully approve the measure comes after an overwhelming vote by the member body to establish the particulars into classifying a Select school.

The item was tabled at last year’s convention to avoid organized chaos that would have thrown schools back into the former split format and thus would have delayed the basketball postseason by a few weeks.

One of the most debated topics of the day revolved around a proposal that could have allowed incoming students a one-time transfer option to a school of their choice. However, this proposal was withdrawn from the agenda, with organizers expressing the need for further discussion to bring clarity and consensus to potential decisions down the road.

Among the proposals that successfully gained approval was a significant change to the baseball playoffs in select/non-select Divisions I-III. Proposed by Catholic of Baton Rouge principal Dr. Tom Eldringhoff, the new system will implement a best-of-three series throughout the playoffs. The 2025 baseball season will also kick off a week earlier, with each championship in Division I, II, and III concluding with a best-of-3 championship series. However, Divisions IV and V will maintain their traditional playoff format.

In a historic move that echoes the national trend, the LHSAA membership voted to establish a division for girls’ wrestling starting in the 2024-25 season. This groundbreaking decision aligns Louisiana with 40 other states that already offer a dedicated division for girls’ wrestling. The move comes as girls’ wrestling has experienced a remarkable 400% increase in participation numbers over the last decade, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).

CLICK TO FIND AGENDA NUMBERED ITEMS HERE

Section I results: all 5 items passed

Section II results: all 6 items passed

Section III results: passed 1,2,5, 6,7,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19; Failed 3,8,9,10; Pulled 4.

Section IV results: Failed 1,6,8; Passed 2,3,5,7,9,10,11,12,13,14,16, 20,22,24; Approved in class 15,19,21,23; Moot 17,18; Withdrawn by author 4