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2023 Spring High School Season Divisional Realignment Breakdown

March 1, 2023
Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Editor in Chief/NW Scout

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2023 Spring High School Season Divisional Realignment Breakdown

Overall Thoughts

With the first divisional realignment upon us since 2019, we see a good amount of interesting developments heading into the 2023 spring high school season. Each division has grown stronger in its own way, which will add to the drama and excitement of the 2023 season.

So what do I think are the biggest changes within each division? Well, let's take a look...

Division I

Division I has gotten even more difficult to predict with the teams that have moved up.
  • Northeast powers Archbishop Hoban (2021 D-II State Champion) and Chardon (2022 D-II State Champion) have moved up, along with an up-and-coming talented team in University School and an always pesky Louisville squad.
  • Central Ohio powers Bishop Watterson and St. Francis DeSales will make the D-I Central District more unpredictable.
  • In Northwest Ohio, Tiffin Columbian goes from the doorstep of reaching state in D-II, to moving up to Division I. The Tornadoes have a talented team, so it will make their D-I District more interesting. Norwalk also has been solid over the years, so they could make a name for themselves in D-I.
  • Hamilton Ross and Monroe make a jump up to Division I after being solid D-II teams in the past.

Teams Moving Up To Division I

Teams
Archbishop Hoban
 John Adams St. Francis DeSales
Bishop Watterson Louisville Tiffin Columbian
Chardon Monroe Trotwood-Madison
Garrett Madison Norwalk University School
Hamilton Ross Pact @ John F Kennedy

Division II

Division II lost a handful of outstanding teams, but the teams that moved up to D-II from D-III are extremely talented and the teams that moved down to D-I have parts to their teams that could make things very interesting come tournament time.
  • The names that stick out when it comes to teams that have moved down to D-II are Bowling Green, Kenston, Copley, Tecumseh, Alliance, Franklin, Madison and Madison Comprehensive. Each of these teams have pieces that could change things up in the tourney.
  • When it comes to the teams that have moved up to Division II in 2023, it is a talented group of teams, led by Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. The Eagles have been a Top 5 team in Division III for many years and make the move up to D-II this season.
  • Some of the other Southwest teams that are up a division include Archbishop McNicholas, Roger Bacon, Benjamin Logan, Reading, Summit Country Day and Springfield Shawnee. Each of these squads bring something different to D-II and it will be interesting to see how things turn out in SW Ohio this coming tournament.
  • In the Northeast, Elyria Catholic moves back up to D-II and looks to again make a name for themselves. Gilmour Academy, Hawken, Orrville, Jefferson Area and Ursuline have had some good seasons over the past few years and it will be interesting to see how they adjust to Division II come tournament time.
  • Central Ohio has Bishop Ready moving up while in Northwest Ohio, Lima Bath is now up a division from D-III to D-II. Both Bishop Ready and Lima Bath have Division I commits who pitch along with more talented players on their rosters, which could cause some opponents problems in the postseason.

Teams Moving Down To Division II

Teams
Alliance Harvey Mt. Healthy
Bedford Kenston Tecumseh
Bowling Green Madison Whitehall-Yearling
Copley Madison Comprehensive Wilmington
Franklin

Teams Moving Up To Division II

Teams
Archbishop McNicholas Elyria Catholic Lutheran West Roger Bacon
Benjamin Logan Gilmour Academy Meadowdale Springfield Shawnee
Bethel Greenon Norwayne Summit Country Day
Bishop Ready Hawken Orrville Ursuline
Buckeye Local Jefferson Area Reading Villa Angela-St. Joseph
CHCA Kenton River Valley Willard
Dayton Northridge Lima Bath

Division III

Division III has a lot of talented teams that are moving up to Division II and a few that are moving down to Division IV, which benefits some of the top Division III programs that remain, but that doesn't mean there aren't new teams within the division looking to make their mark.

  • Northeast, Northeast and Southwest have the most movement in D-III.
  • In the Northeast, Chagrin Falls, Triway and Keystone all have talent and could make runs in their new division.
  • In the Northwest, Wayne Trace moved up from Division IV, which makes things really intriguing come tournament time. The Raiders of WT would have been preseason Top 3 in Division IV before the move up to D-III. Ottawa-Glandorf moved down from D-II to D-III and with the Titans being from the Western Buckeye League and having to battle against those teams, lookout for O-G come postseason play.
  • In the Southwest, Cincinnati Christian and Dayton Christian both made the move up from Division IV and have talent on their rosters. Waynesville and Blanchester have had good teams over the years and could prove to be a tough out come tournament time.
  • In the South, Lucasville Valley goes from being the #1 team in the state in D-IV a year ago to an extremely talented team in D-III in 2023. Likely a Top 3 preseason spot was guaranteed for Lucasville Valley if the Indians were in D-IV, so it will be interesting to see what they do in D-III.

Teams Moving Down To Division III

Teams
Archbishop Alter Conneaut Milton-Union Triway
Bard Early College Fairless Norwood Union Local
Beachwood Heath Ottawa-Glandorf Utica
Blanchester Huron Perry Valley View
Chagrin Falls Keystone Port Clinton Waynesville
Clearview Lakeview Springfield Northwestern

Teams Moving Up To Division III

Teams
Brookville East Knox Independence Mogadore
Cardington-Lincoln Grove City Christian Jackson-Milton Peebles
Carey Harvest Prep Lucasville Valley Seven Hills
Cincinnati Christian Hicksville Mapleton Spencerville
Cuyahoga Heights Houston Mineral Ridge
 Wayne Trace
Dayton Christian Huntington

Division IV

Division IV has seen two teams that likely would have been ranked Top 3 in the preseason along with two other perennial Top 25 teams move up to Division III, which gives life to other Division IV squads this upcoming season. That said, while losing those teams may have "weakened" the division a bit, the teams that moved down from Division III, bumped it right back up again.

  • Two MAC schools fell from Division III to Division IV, which always puts a wrinkle on things. Minster and Parkway now look to show the state the power of the MAC within D-IV in 2023.
  • Mechanicsburg was the last team to be unbeaten in the spring season in 2022 and now moves down to Division IV, looking to carry on that success.
  • In Northwest Ohio, Gibsonburg has some talented arms that will give the Golden Bears a chance come tournament time. Columbus Grove took steps in 2022 and now the Bulldogs hope to take another step in 2023 in D-IV.
  • Northeast Ohio will have a trio of teams move down to D-IV with New Middletown Springfield, New London and Trinity all looking to make a run in their new division.
  • Seneca East, Colonel Crawford, Northmor and Elgin, amongst others, are excited about their new prospects in 2023 and look to make some noise in the upcoming campaign.

Teams Moving Down To Division IV

Teams
Colonel Crawford Federal Hocking New London Parkway
Columbus Grove Gibsonburg New Middletown Springfield Riverview East Academy
Covington Loudonville Newcomerstown Seneca East
Delphos Jefferson Mechanicsburg Northmor Trinity
East Canton Minster Oberlin Triad
Elgin Nelsonville-York

2022 Spring High School Season Content Recap

To view the Ohio Spring High School Report, please click here.

To View the 2022 PBR All-State Teams click below:

To view the 2022 All-Tournament Team, CLICK HERE.

To read the OHSAA Tournament Wrap-Up, CLICK HERE.

To view the Heat Sheet, which provides the top velocity we have seen this spring, please click here.

To view out Spring Scout Blog with videos and reports from the spring, please click here.

To view the Team Rankings, click below:

To view the Teams of the Week, click below:

To view the Preseason All-State Teams, click below:

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