LHSAA Softball Playoffs 101: How The Brackets Are Determined
GEAUXPREPS.COM SOFTBALL POWER RATINGS (UPDATED EVERY FOUR HOURS)
OVERVIEW
With 48 hours remaining until the 2022 LHSAA softball playoff brackets are released, GeauxPreps.com wanted to give an insight as to how the postseason fields are determined.
Below are a few bullet points, referenced in the LHSAA handbook, to remember when looking at the power ratings before the bracket release.
LHSAA To Release Unofficial Power Rating Report Before Bracket Release
The LHSAA will post a power rating report Friday morning for each class and division. The list includes playoff-eligible teams, ranked accordingly, as well as squads who did not meet the 15-game limit or chose to opt out. District champions will be noted. Schools will have a few hours in the morning to file appeals related to the seeding of teams or forfeitures in each class/division.
Seeding The Brackets
Classes 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, and 1A and B shall be seeded 1-32, Class B shall be seeded 1-24 and Class C shall be seeded 1-16 according to their power ranking. In Select Divisions I, II, III, IV and V all teams shall be seeded 1-16 according to their power rankings.
15-Regular Season Game Minimum For Seeding Purposes
In completing the playoff bracket, all other teams qualifying for the state playoffs shall be selected on the basis of the established power rating system. Schools that fail to play 15 contests during the regular season, including district play and tournament games, shall be ranked separately using the same ranking system that is used to rank schools that played at least 15 contests or more during the regular season. These schools shall be ranked at the bottom of the bracket and seeded accordingly until all remaining positions on the bracket are filled.
District Champions Earn Automatic Bid Into Playoffs
According to the LHSAA handbook, district champions draw an automatic berth into the state playoffs. In the case that a team qualifies as a district champion but does not meet the 15-game minimum, they will also be seeded accordingly due to not meeting the 15-game minimum requirement, unless they choose to opt out.
Power Rating Tie-Breaking Procedures
The LHSAA has a tie breaking procedure to be used when determining seed placement for two or more schools that have the same power rating:
- If two schools are tied and played each other during the season, the school that won the most games against the other school shall be the higher seeded team.
- If after applying the first criterion and the tie is not broken or if the two schools did not play each other during the season, or if there are more than two schools involved in a tie, the tie shall be broken by applying class play percentage (schools that were played in the individual school’s classification). The school with the higher percentage shall be the higher seeded team.
- If after applying the second criterion and the tie is not broken, the school with the highest won-loss percentage in district play shall be the higher seeded team.
- If after applying the third criterion and the tie is not broken, the school with the highest won-loss percentage in overall regular season play shall be the higher seeded team.
- If a tie still remains, the higher seeded team shall be determined by having a “draw” conducted by the LHSAA office.