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By TYLER RALEY | Special to the Reporter

The state’s final realignment for high school sports was announced on Thursday, May 23 when the Alabama High School Athletic Association made its decisions for spring sports.

The fall and winter sports have already been announced for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. Now, the spring sports are finally complete with the recent ending of the 2024 season.

The announcement saw changes for many of the area schools, who will now see new opponents on their schedules as they move around in the new classifications. Some changes are also reflective of the fall and winter sports moves, as well.

Below is a recap of changes in each of the spring sports.

Baseball and softball

One of the newest alterations in both baseball and softball, as has been the case in most sports, is Briarwood Christian’s jump back down to the 5A classification.

For a team that has been a recent contender in the 6A baseball playoffs, the Lions will now move down to join new opponents in Class 5A, Area 8.

Briarwood joins area foe Shelby County as well as Central-Clay County and Sylacauga. Shelby County and Central-Clay both made the state baseball playoffs last season, and Shelby County and Sylacauga made it out of the area in softball, which will create some competition for the Lions.

In Class 4A, Indian Springs makes the jump up from Class 3A after losing in the first round of the 4A baseball playoffs to Providence Christian and not making the softball state playoffs.

It joins Fairfield, Oak Grove and Pleasant Grove in Class 4A, Area 7, after being in Area 8 at the 3A level. With Oak Grove being the only team in the area coming off of a playoff season in baseball, Indian Springs has a great opportunity to be a contender in the jump up over the next two seasons.

In Class 6A, Chelsea and Spain Park join Area 7 with Helena and Pelham, both replacing Briarwood in the new alignment. This now makes four teams from Shelby County in this area, making for a competitive battle on the diamond.

The Jaguars are coming off of an appearance in both the state baseball and softball playoffs, where the baseball team took Thompson to the limit in the first round and softball made it all the way to the state tournament. The Hornets did not make either postseason. Both schools will have to compete hard on the softball diamond, as Helena is coming off another run to the state tournament.

Calera also has a new-look area as it will now face Benjamin Russell and Chilton County in Class 6A, Area 5, aligning with changes in other sports.

In Class 7A, Thompson and Oak Mountain’s areas reflected their new basketball areas that were announced in March.

Thompson will gain Prattville and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in Area 5 alongside the returning Tuscaloosa County, and Oak Mountain will battle new area foes Hoover and Vestavia Hills while still sharing Area 6 with Hewitt-Trussville.

Vincent and Westminster at Oak Mountain will split up areas in Class 2A baseball, with Vincent to face Central-Coosa, Horseshoe Bend and Ranburne in Area 8 and Westminster to battle Cornerstone Schools and Holy Family Catholic in Area 9. Vincent softball will face Ranburne and Southeastern in Area 8.

Soccer

The soccer classifications took a major turn in this year’s cycle, with Class 6A taking a bulk of the changes.

With Chelsea and Spain Park’s drop to 6A from 7A, areas have been shifted around for local area teams. The Hornets and Jaguars will both slide into Area 8 next season to replace Helena and Indian Springs while joining Briarwood and Pelham.

Briarwood remains in the area after a girls state championship appearance in 2024. The competition has now just gotten even more difficult for the Lions welcoming one of the nation’s top girls teams to its slate.

Helena shifts over to Area 7 to join Bessemer City, Hueytown and McAdory. Each of its new area opponents had at least one soccer team make the playoffs this past season.

Indian Springs is being relegated to Class 5A for the next two years based on competitive balance. It moves into Area 8 to join two fellow county squads in Montevallo and Shelby County, along with Northside.

Montevallo now moves up to Class 5A after playoff appearances for both its boys and girls teams, which now makes the area more competitive across the board after none of the other three area teams made it to the postseason.

Westminster at Oak Mountain moves up under competitive balance to Class 4A from the 1-3A level after the girls won the state championship in 2023 and the boys reached the Final Four in back-to-back seasons and the state title game in 2024.

The Knights join Fultondale, Holt and American Christian Academy in Area 4, making it three reigning playoff teams in the area and creating a highly competitive playing field for the next two years.

Thompson and Oak Mountain’s soccer areas are the same as their new baseball and softball areas, with the Warriors paired with Prattville, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa County in Area 5 and Oak Mountain to face Hewitt-Trussville, Hoover and Vestavia Hills in Area 6.

Calera’s area saw no changes as the Eagles will continue to face Benjamin Russell and Chilton County in Class 6A, Area 5.

Golf

Golf is set to keep the same format over the next two years with the boys having six classifications and the girls having four.

In Class 7A, Oak Mountain and Thompson will compete in Section 3 for both boys and girls for another cycle. Chelsea and Spain Park will move down to join Briarwood, Calera, Helena and Pelham in Section 2 of Class 6A.

In Class 5A, the Montevallo boys will compete in Section 2, while its girls will be in Section 2 of Class 4A-5A.

Indian Springs will also have its girls competing in Section 2 of Class 4A-5A, while its boys are in Section 2 of Class 4A.

Westminster at Oak Mountain and Vincent will both be in the 1A-3A classification with the girls and the 1A-2A classification with the boys squad. Both will be in Section 2.

Tennis

Tennis will stick to four classifications overall for the newest cycle with a 7A, 6A, 4A-5A and 1A-3A class.

In 7A, Oak Mountain and Thompson will remain in Section 3 for the next two years with the departure of Spain Park and Chelsea.

Both Spain Park and Chelsea make the drop to Class 6A, Section 5, as they will join Homewood, Huffman, Mountain Brook and Shades Valley. Pelham and Helena shift to Section 3 as a result.

In Class 4A-5A, Briarwood drops down to Section 5 to join Indian Springs, who moved up in the newest alignment. Shelby County will also shift from Section 4 to Section 3 next season.

In Class 1A-3A, Westminster at Oak Mountain makes a move this coming year, moving from Section 2 to Section 3.

Outdoor track and field

Track and field is sticking to the seven different classifications over the next two years.

In Class 7A, Oak Mountain and Thompson stays in Section 3, continuing to compete in one of the toughest sections in the state.

In Class 6A, Chelsea and Spain Park both go down to Section 2 after departing 7A, joining Briarwood in Section 2. Calera, Helena and Pelham will all remain in Section 3, as well.

In Class 5A, Montevallo and Indian Springs both join Shelby County in Section 2 for the next two seasons. Montevallo moves up after competing at 4A, while Indian Springs makes the leap up from the 3A classification.

In Class 3A, Westminster at Oak Mountain sticks in Section 2 once again while Vincent stays at Section 2 in Class 2A.