MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In July, the West Virginia Board of Education approved a proposal by the WVSSAC for a two-year trial period on a four-classification system in high school basketball.
On Tuesday, the classes were announced and the new system will begin during the 2020-21 school year. Morgantown, University and Preston — along with most of the current Class AAA — will move up to a new 4A (29 total teams) classification.
Most of the current AA teams will move up to AAA (29 total teams), but several will remain in AA and be joined by many private schools, including Trinity. Trinity, along with five other private schools, will make the jump from A to AA (29 total teams).
Clay-Battelle will remain in Class A (38 total teams).
“I think for the most part it’s a good system,” Trinity girls’ coach Mike Baldy said. “I like the old system better and I like three classes better than four, but we’re competitors and we want to beat out whoever we play to advance. My biggest concern is that they stay fair when separating the sections and regions. I don’t want them to try and lump as many privates as they can into one region in order to cut down on privates in the state tournament.”
Regional and sectional alignments will be released in January.
Class AAAA
Morgantown
Musselman
Cabell Midland
Parkersburg
Jefferson
Huntington
Martinsburg
Wheeling Park
Parkersburg South
Spring Mills
Washington
Hedgesville
University
Hurricane
Woodrow Wilson
George Washington
Capital
Riverside
Preston
St. Albans
John Marshall
Oak Hill
South Charleston
Buckhannon-Upshur
Spring Valley
Greenbrier East
Bridgeport
Princeton
BrookeClass AAA
Winfield
Fairmont Senior
Ripley
Nitro
Hampshire
Lincoln County
Shady Spring
Herbert Hoover
Robert C. Byrd
East Fairmont
North Marion
Grafton
Elkins
Berkeley Springs
Weir
Point Pleasant
Keyser
Lewis County
Sissonville
Scott
PikeView
Wayne
Lincoln
Logan
Nicholas County
Oak Glen
Independence
Philip Barbour
Liberty (Harrison)Class AA
Wheeling Central Catholic
Charleston Catholic
Chapmanville
Frankfort
Roane County
Liberty (Raleigh)
Williamstown
Poca
Bluefield
Westside
Mingo Central
Moorefield
Braxton County
Notre Dame
Magnolia
Wyoming East
Buffalo
South Harrison
Ravenswood
Petersburg
Clay County
St. Marys
Ritchie County
Midland Trail
Wirt County
Summers County
Trinity
Huntington St. Joseph’s
Parkersburg CatholicClass A
Sherman
Greater Beckley Christian
Doddridge County
James Monroe
Madonna
Tyler Consolidated
Pendleton County
Tolsia
Clay-Battelle
Greenbrier West
Man
Wood County Christian
WV School for the Deaf
Mount View
WV School for the Blind
Richwood
Tucker County
Wahama
River View
Cameron
Gilmer County
East Hardy
Tug Valley
Calhoun County
Montcalm
Tygarts Valley
Hannan
Webster County
Paden City
Meadow Bridge
Valley Wetzel
Van
Pocahontas County
Hundred
Paw Paw
Union
Harman
Pickens
