News today out of the GHSA regarding proposed regions and classifications for schools here in Georgia for the 2026-2028 reclassification cycle. Lets take a look at proposals and what it means for hoops in the Peach State:

INITIAL NOTES:

- GHSA will be going up to 7A again as was done prior to this past reclassification cycle.

- GHSA will be continuing with its private school-only state tournament, but will be for private schools placed in 2A, 3A, & 4A. No private schools will be placed in the A division based off what was released today by the GHSA. 

- Schools still have until November 16th to appeal any proposals that came out today by the GHSA. 

7A:

Region 3-7A: Campbell, Harrison, Hillgrove, Kennesaw Mountain, McEachern, Pebblebrook - One of today's current toughest regions in GA loses Paulding County, Osborne, & South Cobb. Nightly region battles between these 6 programs will surely make for some exciting hoops down the road.

Region 4-7A: Archer, Grayson, Lakeside (Dekalb), Newton, North Atlanta, Rockdale County, South Gwinnett - Gone is the commute to Augusta for these schools but 2 trips to ATL added with Lakeside & North Atlanta being added to the region. 

Region 6-7A: Denmark, Forsyth Central, Lambert, North Forsyth, South Forsyth, West Forsyth - Region 6 becomes Forsyth County schools only moving forward. 

Region 8-7A: ​​​​​​​Buford, Central Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Dacula, Discovery, Mill Creek, Seckinger - The Seckinger Jaguars get placed with other Gwinnett County traditional powers in the state's highest classification for the first time in school history. The program has seen success up to this point and will be interested to see how they compete at this level.

6A:

Region 3-6A: Creekside, Langston Hughes, Lovejoy, McIntosh, Morrow, Newnan, Northside (Columbus), Tri-Cities, Woodward Academy - Bit of a switch-up on the Southside with some HEAVY HITTERS in this region.

Region 4-6A: Alcovy, Chamblee, Decatur, Dunwoody, Heritage (Conyers), Meadowcreek, Midtown, Shiloh - This region filled with multiple basketball schools mainly on the Eastside of ATL will make for some nightly region battles. Meadowcreek makes the move down from the state's highest classification.

Region 6-6A: Creekview, Kell, Lassiter, Pope, River Ridge, Rome, Sequoyah, Woodstock - Bit of a switch-up on the Northwest side of ATL for this region as Kell & Rome enter. 

Region 7-7A: Alpharetta, Gainesville, Johns Creek, Lanier, Milton, Mountain View, Riverwood, Roswell - This region filled with mainly North Fulton area schools adds Mountain View who will not be playing in the state's highest classification for the first time since their initial classification at opening in 2009. 

5A: 

Region 5-5A: Cross Keys, Druid Hills, Maynard Jackson, Lithonia, Mays, Southwest Dekalb, Tucker - New look for these schools mainly located inside 285. Maynard, SW Dekalb, Tucker will anchor from a hoops perspective.

Region 8-5A: East Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Jefferson, Johnson (Gainesville), Madison County, North Oconee, Winder-Barrow - This North Georgia region consists of some high-level basketball schools including back-to-back state champion North Oconee.

***NOTE - All private schools listed in 4A, 3A, & 2A will participate in their own separate state tournament away from Public Schools in their region***

4A:

Region 4-4A: Fayette County, Hampton, Luella, McDonough, Mt.Zion (Jonesboro), North Clayton, Riverdale, Sandy Creek, Woodland (Stockbridge) - Wacky region based off where these schools have been placed in past realignments. Good basketball schools located on the Southside just added traditional state power Sandy Creek to the mix. Fun region to watch.

Region 5-4A: Clarkston, Douglass, Greater Atlanta Christian, North Springs, Pace Academy, Salem, Stephenson, Stone Mountain, Westminster - This region is a monster. Not only do you feature 3 historically strong basketball programs in GAC, Pace & Westminster - you also feature Doug & a Stephenson program now under new HC BJ Thomas who is sure to up level the program. Keep an eye out on this region.

3A:

Region 4-3A: Burke County, Butler, Cross Creek, Hephzibah, Morgan County, Thomson, Washington County, Westside (Augusta) - Augusta-area region adds traditional Middle GA power Morgan County to the mix. Good hoops out of Augusta with a Cross Creek program at a high-level with other strong traditional powers such as Westside.

Region 5-3A: Haralson County, Holy Innocents, KIPP Atlanta, Lovett School, North Cobb Christian, Temple, Therrell, Wesleyan - I'd advise for parents at these schools to get a fuel-efficient vehicle for the next few years as this region spans from the Alabama-state line (Haralson, Temple), up I-75 to North Cobb Christian, & all the way to Peachtree Corners with Wesleyan. Multiple schools with deep basketball roots in this region.

2A:

Region 5-2A: Drew Charter, ELCA, Greenforest, Landmark Christian, Paideia, Southwest Atlanta Christian, Trinity Christian, Utopian Academy, WD Mohammed, Washington, Whitefield Academy - What a collection of hoop schools. ELCA features the #1 2028 in the country, Greenforest & Paideia are always strong, add Drew, Landmark, SACA, Trinity, & Whitefield and you'll have a region that is sure to produce talent yearly.

Region 9-2A: Atlanta International, Fellowship Christian, Galloway, Kings Ridge, Mount Vernon, Mount Bethel, Mount Paran, Mount Pisgah, St. Francis, Walker School, Weber - With state tournaments switching to power ranking, it looks like the traditional 8 regions per classification has gone away. Region 9 consists of many of the top basketball private school programs in the State. Vernon, Bethel, & Walker all consists of young cores that look to be some of the top programs in Georgia over the next few years.

If you'd like to check out the full classification proposal from the GHSA, take a look at the link here.