KHSAA sets football realignment plan for 2025-26 seasons; 24 schools to switch classes
LEXINGTON — A total of 24 high school football teams — including three from Louisville — will move classes for the 2025-26 seasons as part of a draft realignment proposed by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s Board of Control on Tuesday.
The draft still must be approved during the board’s meeting in May.
Of the 24 schools moving, 15 will drop in class and nine will move up. The board previously voted to not allow teams to move up in class.
The board voted Tuesday that the initial draft would not include a district with fewer than four teams, which forced one change in Class 6A. Originally, Central Hardin, Daviess County, Meade County, North Hardin and South Warren were placed in District Two. Manual, Pleasure Ridge Park and St. Xavier were placed in District Three. The board voted to move North Hardin from District Two to District Three.
In Louisville, Jeffersontown will jump from Class 4A to 5A and DeSales and Western will drop from Class 4A to 3A.
As a result, Class 3A, District Three will include Bardstown, Central, Christian Academy, DeSales, Thomas Nelson and Western. Central, CAL and DeSales have all won state championships since 2014.
Here are the other schools moving up in class: Hopkinsville (4A to 6A), South Warren (5A to 6A), Franklin-Simpson (3A to 4A), Elizabethtown (3A to 4A), Marion County (3A to 4A), Murray (2A to 3A), Edmonson County (2A to 3A) and Carroll County (2A to 3A).
Here are the other schools dropping in class: Barren County (6A to 5A), Warren Central (6A to 5A), Highlands (5A to 4A), Harlan County (5A to 4A), Bardstown (4A to 3A), Thomas Nelson (4A to 3A), Henry County (4A to 3A), Letcher County Central (4A to 3A), Trigg County (3A to 2A), Hancock County (3A to 2A), McLean County (3A to 2A), West Carter (3A to 2A) and Belfry (3A to 2A).
Here’s the complete draft:
Class A
District One — Ballard Memorial, Caverna, Fulton County, Russellville
District Two — Bethlehem, Campbellsville, Kentucky Country Day, Louisville Holy Cross
District Three — Bellevue, Dayton, Newport, Newport Central Catholic
District Four — Bishop Brossart, Covington Holy Cross, Ludlow, Trimble County
District Five — Berea, Eminence, Frankfort, Sayre
District Six — Fairview, Nicholas County, Paris, Raceland
District Seven — Harlan, Lynn Camp, Middlesboro, Pineville, Williamsburg
District Eight — Hazard, Jenkins, Paintsville, Phelps, Pikeville
Class 2A
District One — Caldwell County, Crittenden County, Fort Campbell, Mayfield, Todd County Central, Trigg County
District Two — Fort Knox, Hancock County, McLean County, Owensboro Catholic
District Three — Clinton County, Green County, Metcalfe County, Monroe County, Somerset
District Four — Danville, DuBois, Lexington Christian, Shawnee, Washington County
District Five — Beechwood, Bracken County, Gallatin County, Owen County, St. Henry, Walton-Verona
District Six — Breathitt County, Jackson County, Morgan County, West Carter
District Seven — Floyd Central, Knott County Central, Leslie County, Martin County, Prestonsburg
District Eight — Belfry, Betsy Layne, East Ridge, Pike County Central, Shelby Valley
Class 3A
District One — Hopkins County Central, Murray, Union County, Webster County
District Two — Adair County, Butler County, Edmonson County, Glasgow, Hart County
District Three — Bardstown, Central, Christian Academy, DeSales, Thomas Nelson, Western
District Four — Casey County, Garrard County, LaRue County, Lexington Catholic, Mercer County
District Five — Bourbon County, Carroll County, Henry County, Lloyd Memorial, Pendleton County
District Six — Bath County, East Carter, Fleming County, Lewis County, Russell
District Seven — Bell County, Clay County, Knox Central, McCreary Central, Rockcastle County
District Eight — Estill County, Lawrence County, Letcher County Central, Magoffin County, Powell County
Class 4A
District One — Allen County-Scottsville, Calloway County, Franklin-Simpson, Logan County, Paducah Tilghman, Warren East
District Two — Breckinridge County, Elizabethtown, John Hardin, Marion County, Nelson County
District Three — Doss, North Oldham, Valley, Waggener
District Four — Franklin County, Shelby County, Spencer County, Western Hills
District Five — Covington Catholic, Grant County, Harrison County, Highlands, Holmes, Mason County
District Six — Ashland Blazer, Boyd County, Greenup County, Johnson Central, Rowan County
District Seven — Boyle County, Lincoln County, Russell County, Taylor County, Wayne County
District Eight — Corbin, Harlan County, Perry County Central, Whitley County
Class 5A
District One — Apollo, Graves County, Madisonville-North Hopkins, Marshall County, Muhlenberg County, Owensboro
District Two — Barren County, Bowling Green, Grayson County, Greenwood, Ohio County, Warren Central
District Three — Atherton, Butler, Iroquois, Seneca
District Four — Bullitt Central, Fairdale, Jeffersontown, Moore, North Bullitt
District Five — Boone County, Conner, Cooper, Dixie Heights, Scott
District Six — Anderson County, Collins, Scott County, South Oldham, Woodford County
District Seven — East Jessamine, Madison Southern, Montgomery County, West Jessamine
District Eight — North Laurel, Pulaski County, South Laurel, Southwestern
Class 6A
District One — Christian County, Henderson County, Hopkinsville, McCracken County
District Two — Central Hardin, Daviess County, Meade County, South Warren
District Three — Manual, North Hardin, Pleasure Ridge Park, St. Xavier
District Four — Bullitt East, Fern Creek, Male, Southern
District Five — Ballard, Eastern, Oldham County, Trinity
District Six — Campbell County, Great Crossing, Ryle, Simon Kenton
District Seven — Henry Clay, Lafayette, Paul Dunbar, Tates Creek
District Eight — Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass, George Rogers Clark, Madison Central
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Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA football: Realignment plan set for 2025-26; 24 schools to move