Follow on Twitter- @PrepBaseballOH
Follow on Twitter- @PrepBaseOHScout
Follow on Instagram- @prepbaseballohio

To view all things Spring High School Baseball Related, click here.

Interested in attending a Prep Baseball Ohio event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

First Year With Seven Divisions Brings A Lot Of Opinions

More teams make it to state. More teams win championships.

What is not to like about the new seven-division format used by the OHSAA for baseball?

While there is a lot to like, there are some issues taken by some coaches that just might need to be addressed.

With that, let’s take a look at some of those items that have been brought up by coaches that made it to regionals in the first year of the format. Additionally, views from the OHSAA, that will include some tweaks next season, are also included. 

SEASON REVIEW

A quick review of the changes saw the OHSAA expand the tournament from four to seven divisions, with two different fields being used, Canal Park and Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium, both located in Akron.

It meant one more day of games being played, with two state semifinals on Thursday, seven on Friday (eight were scheduled but one was moved to Saturday due to weather) and four on Saturday. Of the semifinal games, seven were at Canal Park and seven at Thurman Munson.

All finals were held at Canal Park, three on Saturday and four on Sunday.

“With seven divisions, like with other sports, there are certainly a number of fans, former coaches and interested folks who don’t like expansion,” explained Tim Stried, Director of Media Relations for the OHSAA. “But we knew we needed to expand and we decided on seven.

“With expansion, schools have a better shot to get to regionals and state. The schools are thrilled. I’ve not heard any school say they don’t like a better opportunity of getting to state.”

This season in the first year of the format, Minster took home the Division VII crown, its fourth in school history, Hiland won D-VI, the third straight state championship for the Hawks and fourth overall, and Waynedale made it three titles in four years by winning Division V.

The top four divisions saw schools win titles for the first time ever, Mentor Lake Catholic claiming the top honor in D-IV, Licking Valley taking the Division III crown, Anthony Wayne the D-II championship and Olentangy winning it all in Division I.

THE BENEFITS

There were so many programs that benefitted from the change when it comes to making it farther in the tournament. Six schools were believed to be at the regionals for the first time and six more made their initial appearance in the Final Four.

“The first year of the seven-division format has definitely benefited our program and programs like ours,” explained Mike Becker, head coach at Strasburg-Franklin, which advanced to the regional semis this year before suffering a 2-1 loss to South Webster. “We had always been one of the smaller D-IV schools in our district (and state). We had always held our own in district play, but now we no longer have to compete against schools in the tournament with twice our enrollment.”

Jason Bogenrife of West Jefferson, which was knocked out of the tournament in the regional semifinals by eventual D-VI state champ Hiland, is also a fan of the change.

“The shift from four to seven divisions in high school baseball has definitely changed the landscape - and overall, I see it as a move in the right direction, especially when it comes to opportunity,” Bogenrife said. “More teams now have a legitimate shot at making a postseason run, and programs that might have been overshadowed in a larger division finally get the chance to compete on a level playing field.

“For smaller schools in particular, this opens doors. It allows teams with fewer resources or smaller rosters to make their mark, build tradition, and create lasting memories for their communities. That’s a huge positive. It brings excitement to more schools and adds depth to the state tournament.”

Nobody was more positive than Ryan Lucas of Olentagy, which this year brought home the first state title in school history, beating Lakota West 3-1 in the D-I state semis and Springboro 2-1 in the finals.

“I think the changes made from the state and OHSBCA have been a positive thing for the growth of the game,” Lucas said. “They have done it right for the kids in the state. We have great people and the right leaders in place at the upper levels. We support all the decisions they make.”

Another happy with the change is Aaron DeBord of Stow-Munroe Falls, which won a district title before falling to Walsh Jesuit 2-1 in the Division II regional semifinals this season.

“I have personally enjoyed the new format this year,” DeBord said. “I think moving from four to seven divisions really has helped to put teams into more accessible opportunities for success.”

One school that benefitted was Sherwood Fairview, which reached state for the first time in school history.

“I like the opportunity to give more teams a chance to expand their tournament run,” pointed out head coach Andy Singer, whose Apaches were beaten 4-2 by eventual state champion Hiland in the Division VI state semifinals. “When there were four divisions, we had to compete with schools who are now two divisions ahead of us because we were a smaller school playing in Division III.”

Another that made it to state was Coldwater under the direction of Cory Klenke.

“There are always going to be pros and cons to any change that is made, and this is no exception,” explained Klenke, whose Cavaliers were edged 2-1 in the Division V state semifinals by eventual state champion Waynedale. “Being in the small divisions, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of changes for many schools so the effect on us wasn’t as drastic. The nice thing about the seven divisions is that there are more schools getting to experience deeper runs in the playoffs that otherwise wouldn’t if it was still four divisions.”  

Another pleased was Toby Hutchison of Montpelier, whose team was defeated by Division VII state champion Minster 3-0 in the regional finals.

“I think that the split to seven divisions is a perfect spot for teams like us in D-VII,” explained Hutchison, whose Locos had eight underclassmen in the starting lineup this year. “No longer do we have to try to compete with schools that have almost 11/2 times the amount of kids we have like last year. I think this split gives the little guys a fighting chance to compete against schools that are comparative to them.

“Our district was comprised of most of the schools in our conference along with two other schools from a conference nearby and it was very competitive. I felt like in years past, a school that was right at the top of the enrollment limit oftentimes had a huge advantage of getting their teams out of districts and onto the next stage. I’m happy about where we are right now and hope that we continue to stay in D-VII.”

Others were also on board.

Brian Bigam, Circleville (Division III regional finalist): “I like the seven divisions. It is all about the players and this gives them more opportunities to advance in the tournament, more district titles, regional titles, state titles, etc.” 

Luke Smrdel, Kirtland (Division VI regional finalist): “I think the new division setup is great. The OHSAA has taken many steps over the last decade to balance the playing field and to give more teams the opportunity to compete for state titles. 

Michael Sandman, New Albany (Division II state semifinalist): “I love the bigger divisions. More opportunities for teams to make a run and to experience the joys of postseason baseball.” 

NO OPINION

While many saw a plus in the change, there were others that felt it made little impact on them.

“In terms of expansion to the seven divisions, not much has changed for us, other than going to the Southwest Region,” explained Zachary Hawkins of Mohawk, which lost to Hiland in the Division VII regional semifinals. “Our district was very similar to last year. Some of the top teams in the state that were Division IV are in Division VII now. The small school baseball in Ohio is great and we are excited about the opportunities ahead.”

Nolan Crabtree of Lucasville Valley has similar feelings.

“In my opinion it didn't change things very much,” expressed Crabtree, whose Indians made it to the Division V regional semifinals this season. “We are still competing against the same schools that we competed against in D-III. Being a Division V team, most of the changes seem to be in the split of the upper divisions. You may have a few schools that benefit or don’t benefit from the split, but for the most part you are seeing the same matchups that occurred in the four-division format.”

Tim McCoy of Roger Bacon has no strong opinion on the subject.

“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about the seven divisions,” noted McCoy, whose squad was knocked out in the D-IV regional semis by Jonathan Alder this year. “I mean, the teams in our division are relevant to the four divisions. While I don’t know that I like the shortened run for the top two divisions, I know that going into the season we had a list of teams we knew we would have to go through to be back in Akron for the third time in six years and that list is who we were looking at in regionals. So not much changed for us in preparation for the seven divisions.” 

Mike Wiss of Division VII state champion Minster saw the new format as good for some, but little change for others.

“I think it has helped the Division II and Division III teams closer to the big cities a bit more than it has anyone in our area of Northwest Ohio,” Wiss said. “Many of those teams have gotten out of the D-I brackets now.” 

Others also saw little change.

Mitchell Hays, Marion Local (Division VI regional semifinalist): “I’m not really seeing a big difference on our part with being in Division VI.”

Edward Reese, Cardinal Mooney (Division V regional semifinalist): “I don’t think it affected us in a good or bad way. I know because of it, everything got pushed out a week, but I can’t say if that’s a good or bad thing.” 

ISSUES SEEN

One mentor not in favor of the way the current format is set up is long-time head coach Dave Hall of Perrysburg, whose squad lost in the Division I state semifinals for the second year in a row.

“I personally do not like it,” Hall said. “We were told that the Northwest would still have their own district last fall and then they told us before the season we had to play in the Northeast. We had to travel to Akron to play. The Regionals this year should have been at BGSU.

“I am sure the other divisions like it, but there sure is a lot of travel. The D-II teams in our area are in two different regionals and would face each other in the state finals.”

While it did not happen, that could have been the case with Northern Lakes League rivals Clay and Anthony Wayne potentially meeting for a state title. Anthony Wayne, the champion of the NLL Buckeye Division this year, defeated Amherst Steele to win the Division II championship while Clay, the NLL Cardinal Division champs in 2025, lost to Amherst Steele in the regional finals. 

Perhaps overlooked in the change came with scheduling games in May.

“I don’t have many thoughts, positive or negative, on the change to seven divisions, in general,” explained Chris Stewart, who took Reedsville Eastern to the D-VI regional semifinals this season. “The biggest challenge for us this year was the end of season schedule, specifically, the down time between our last regularly scheduled game and our first district game. 

“Having been used to the district tournament being played earlier in May, we scheduled games up to the second week of May. As typical, that schedule is created in the summer months, as soon as the baseball season ends. Then the OHSAA and District informed us that the dates for the first round of district games would be May 20, and the second round would not be played until May 29. Being a No. 1 seed in our district, May 29 ended up being our first tournament game.

“At the time, our last regular-season scheduled game was May 12. This meant a nearly three-week layoff between our last regular-season game and first tourney game. Needless to say, and thankful for some un-madeup rainouts, we scrambled to try to add a few games in those dates between May 12 and May 29. 

“I like playing high school baseball later in the spring,” Stewart added. “Here in Ohio, it gives us a chance to have more games in better weather. I will just have to make an adjustment by spreading out our schedule and extending it to later May for next season. But in the future, I would like to see us not have such a long off period between tournament games.”

ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED

While the change was beneficial in the eyes of some coaches, there are some adjustments that need to be made according to many.

“Having only three days between districts and regionals but having 10 days between regionals and state could be an issue to correct,” pointed out Singer, whose Apaches defeated Fort Recovery 7-1 in the regional finals on June 4, then did not play a tournament game again until falling to Hiland in the D-VI state semifinals on June 14.

Long trips for games proved to be another issue.

“The only downside is the travel involved in the new format,” Smrdel explained. “Teams are sometimes traveling up to two hours to play sectional and district games, but at the same point teams are traveling to play competitive games against similar-sized schools.”

Joey Gilmore, who led Norwayne to the D-V regionals this year, agrees.

“While I think that the expanded opportunity for teams gives many players an opportunity to play on a bigger stage, one hiccup I have seen is the amount of district games, and that the district sites have been more and more spread out,” pointed out Gilmore, whose Bobcats had to travel 11/2 hours to play in the district finals at Struthers this season while Poland Seminary had a 10-minute drive.

The timeframe is another concern according to Mike Cottis of Indian Creek.

“I really like the seven-division format, but the only change I would like to see is to bump the playoffs back a week like they used to be,” noted Cottis, whose Redskins were beaten in the Division IV regional finals this season after advancing to the D-II state title game a year ago. “We seemed to be a little too spread out this year.”

Others see tweaks that need to be made.

“One con that comes to mind is that the state still has a lot of logistical things they need to work out and resolve that it doesn’t seem they took into much consideration prior to making the change,” Klenke noted.

That is something that the head coach at West Jefferson agrees on.

“The system still isn’t perfect,” pointed out Bogenrife. “While the new format spreads out the talent more evenly on paper, there are still clear disparities in how schools are classified - especially when the Central District sends six district champions for 22 schools and one for a division with 13 schools. Some divisions feel more balanced than others, and that’s something that needs to be reviewed.”

Additionally, distance of chosen sites is not the only issue. Some, while great facilities, did not have announcers or music making for a less than desirable atmosphere at regionals. There are certainly other sites out there available to fit the bill, such as my hometown of Defiance to name one.

Stried admits there are some issues that are concerning.

“For Northwest and Northeast Ohio it means more travel,” Stried explained. “For some, it would mean no sectionals. But for us, the overall positives outweighed those two negatives.”  

WATERED DOWN?

While opportunity is great, is it too much?

Would more than four but fewer than seven divisions be better?

Rob McNerney, who led University School to the D-III state title game before falling to Licking Valley 1-0, has a strong opinion on the subject.

“Initially, I was very excited about the move from four divisions to seven,” McNerney said. “As one of the smallest schools at the Division I level in the previous format, I recognized the challenges that presented. I felt the expansion was beneficial to the smaller schools. However, after one year, I wonder if seven divisions are too many. It seems too spread out.

“It’s been interesting to see how teams in the higher divisions may only have to win one or two games to win districts, but teams in the lower divisions have to win three. I know the number of teams makes that tough for the state to map out, but I think every state champion should have to win the same number of games.”

There is more that McNerney would like considered.

“I also believe not every team should make the playoffs,” the University School head coach said. “If the state insists on that, perhaps creating a consolation-type playoff bracket would be more worthwhile for all parties. In the old format, I think teams were more battle-tested as the playoffs progressed. For example, in 2023 during our run to the regional final, we had to beat Mentor, Green, Hudson and Hoban just to face Walsh Jesuit. That is quite the gauntlet.  

“Now, first and second round matchups may not be as imposing. Some teams may think that is good, but I think playing those better teams as often as possible prepares you better.”

There is also the idea of “earning” a title.

“With more divisions, the value or prestige of a district title can feel slightly diluted to some people that get an automatic bid to the district championship game,” Bogenrife said. “Winning a district championship is always a big deal, but when there are six champions and 12 of 22 teams make the championship, it can raise questions about how titles are perceived outside each community. That’s not a reason to go back, but it’s something to keep in mind when promoting the sport and maintaining high standards.”

Bobby Edgell, head coach of Toledo St. Francis, agrees with the watered down idea but still likes that the change was made. 

“I like the seven divisions because it gives more parity to the whole state, but I also see how it’s watered down at the same time,” explained Edgell, whose squad lost to Wapakoneta 6-5 in the D-III regional finals this year. “Overall, I’m in favor because it highlights more high school athletes and gives more of them a chance to compete for championships.”

Veteran head coach Dusty Pester, who took Miller City to the Division VII regionals this year before losing 3-2 to Montpelier, is of strong belief that seven divisions is not watering it down.

“I supported expanding the divisions in high school baseball,” Pester noted. “Giving more student-athletes the opportunity to experience tournament runs and competing for state championships is a good thing in my mind. I have heard some say that it waters it down or makes a title not mean as much, but I say bologna.

“In 1971 when there were three baseball state champs instead of two, the players from Findlay, Columbus Wehrle and Russia didn’t feel like less of a champion. In 1991 when it expanded to four state champions instead of three, the players from Fairfield, Bishop Watterson, Badin and Parkway didn’t feel like less of a state champion. The same thing will happen from here on out.” 

OTHER STATES

Tournaments in other states are done differently.

Michigan has four divisions and does things like Ohio’s previous format.

Indiana also has four divisions but the tournament is run differently. The Regionals is just one game, with Semi States (equivalent to regional finals and state semifinals in Ohio) the following weekend with teams needing to win two games on the same day to advance. The State finals are then held a week later. The positive is that the format allows teams to use their ace in the championship game. The negative, there is a more likely chance a “better team” doesn’t advance but rather a “standout pitcher” is the difference in moving on.

This year Caden Crowell, the seventh-rated senior southpaw in the nation, threw a five-hit shutout, a no-hitter and a two-hit shutout in three of the final four games for 4A (big school) champion Valparaiso. The only time Crowell didn’t pitch was in the second game of Semi States when Valpo knocked off a 13-14 team.

One person with a strong view on the subject of tournament format is Olentangy Orange head coach Tom Marker, whose squad was beaten 7-6 in the D-I regional semis this year by Grove City

“The split between the largest and smallest school in Division I, prior to the split, was ridiculous,” Marker said in comparing the previous format in Ohio with the current. “However, you cannot suggest that winning or making it to a district final is the same. It is similar to football. Everyone makes the playoffs so the idea of ‘Playoff Bound’ T-shirts is gone. I would like to see divisions changing based on success and not just size of school … similar to the Arkansas model.”

In that state there are six classes and not all teams are in the tournament. Private schools don’t change classes on enrollment, but rather on success. If they win one class, the next year they would move up a class.

Other states differ.

“Tennessee does it the best,” Marker said. “Private schools do a best two-of-three series for two rounds of 10 teams, then the Final Four has double elimination at the state tournament. 

“Public schools are different. They run a district tournament and then region tournament before sectionals. They do a best two-of-three in sectionals and the final eight make it to state where it’s double elimination.”

Marker explained his dismay with Ohio.

“Last year there were 49 D-I Central District teams vying for four district champions,” Marker said. “This year, between D-I and D-II, there were 42 teams vying for 11 district champions. How does that make the sport better? In hoops, people were winning district championships by 40-plus points.”

Marker’s idea for Ohio would be a combination of Tennessee (with the best two-of-three series) and Arkansas (with division movement based on success), while keeping public and private schools together in the same tournament as is used now. It would include a point system to determine who gets in the tourney, best two-of-three for districts and double elimination in regionals. A four-team single elimination at state would determine the champion. 

MORE IDEAS

While Pester likes the current divisional setup, he is of the belief the seven divisions should be determined differently.

“The only issue I have is how they kept two divisions at the top with 65 and 64 teams in it, respectively, and the bottom five divisions have around 125,” Pester explained. “The claim is the disparity in the number of boys at the D-I level and that somehow creates this massive disadvantage.    

“According to the numbers released on the OHSAA website, Elder is the smallest D-I school with 610 boys and Mason is the largest with 1,335 boys. That is a multiplier of just about 2.2 from smallest to largest. In D-II, Clay is the smallest with 428 and Westerville North is the largest with 622. The multiplier is about 1.5. In D-VII, Ironton St. Joseph Central has 22 boys (19 schools have less than 47) and Mohawk has 100, a multiplier of about 4.5 from bottom to top.

“Do we really think that it is tougher to find 10-12 guys to play baseball out of over 600 boys than it is for the D-VII schools? This isn’t even taking into consideration that many of the bigger schools are not walking the hallways looking for kids to play. I would guess in some cases the baseball players are going to these schools to play baseball.  

“If you want to keep D-I as the biggest 64 teams, then I would buy that. I would then support the remaining six divisions should be split equally by the number of teams.”

There are other ideas as well.

“The only suggestion that I would make for change in the future is to eventually change the setup of the divisions to be four or five public school divisions and two or three private school divisions,” Smrdel said. “Still keeping seven divisions, though, I think is the best for the future of baseball in Ohio.”

Another idea presented by a coach was to seed for the tournament like is done in basketball. If that became the case, from this point of view the best place to look when considering strength of schedule, team records, head-to-head etc would be Prep Baseball with the amount of time and knowledge the organization has when it comes to Ohio high school baseball.

Now one year into the new format, tweaks are inevitable.

“Looking ahead to next year, the state tournament dates are June 11-14 and we are looking at a couple options to play more games on Thursday so that we have more flexibility later in the weekend in case of rain,” noted Stried, who sees the sites remaining the same. “We plan to ask the staff at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium to continue serving as a state semifinal host in addition to our longtime host of Canal Park with the Akron RubberDucks.”

Stried also points to the Coaches Clinic in January as a time for conversation to see what additional tweaks might be considered.

“We talk about all of our state tournaments all the time,” Stried explained. “We will discuss any potential changes to format and at the coaches clinic is when things start to finalize. Then the board will make a decision.”

But one thing is known according to Stried.

“We will not be going away from seven divisions,” Stried emphasized. “We will stay at seven for the foreseeable future. The discussions we will have will be on any changes to the seven-division format.”

A Look Back At The 2025 Season:

To view the 2025 Ohio Spring HS Report, click here.

To view the OHSAA Baseball Tournament Roundup, click below.

• State Final Four Roundup
• 12th Annual OHSAA Final Four All-Tournament Team
• State Final Four Heat Sheet

Recent Articles