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Changes coming to volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball baseball in high school sports

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Changes are on the way for Texas high school sports championships in volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball and baseball beginning with the 2024-25 season

The University Interscholastic League Legislative Council met Tuesday to make decisions on proposed rule changes and passed an amendment for split divisions in the postseason for volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball and baseball. This change to the current playoff structure in some sports would allow for split divisions in the postseason for 2A-6A volleyball, softball and baseball, 4A-6A soccer, and 1A-6A basketball.

This change will create two state championship brackets for teams to advance through the postseason for these conferences in the above sports. This amendment would follow the format used for the current 6A football championship structure. All schools in the conference would remain in their assigned district per the 2024-26 alignment.

How will the playoff format work

The districts will still send the top four teams to the playoffs. However, from those four teams, the two programs with the largest enrollment will be placed in Division I and the other two teams placed in Division II.

Could El Paso find more success in postseason?

The move to split divisions could help El Paso schools compete for state titles on a wider level. In recent years, San Elizario and Bel air have won boys state titles and others such as Riverside, Burges and Eastlake boys have advanced deep into the playoffs. In the past two years, the Chapin boys basketball team reached the Elite Eight and in softball, Americas reached the Final Four in Class 6A softball.

But with teams now in split divisions, El Paso teams should be able to matchup better with schools with similar enrollments.

What people are saying

“There is a sense of excitement regarding the change,” said James Nunn, the Director of Athletics for the Socorro Independent School District. “The biggest thing will be getting used to the format.”

“There are things to like and dislike about it, but we’ll have to roll with it and see what happens,” Eastwood boys basketball coach Peter Morales said. “We still have to put five players out there and compete, but I think El Paso teams can have chance to achieve more in the postseason matching up better with schools on their level enrollment wise.”

“In softball, if you have a dominant pitcher, you can compete with bigger teams,” said Chapin softball coach Kevin Mills, whose 2017 team went to the Elite Eight. “But I can see where the split divisions can help teams and impact their chances in the postseason.”

“I think the change for our soccer kids will allow them to flourish,” said Del Valle girls soccer coach Stephanie Sazo, whose team competes in Class 5A. “Our pathway in our region has been tougher through the years. It’ll be interesting for our teams here in 6A as well and if they can find more success.

More: Chapin coach steps down Rodney Lewis steps down as boys basketball coach at Chapin High School

Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X

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