Notable changes to the 2025-26 WPIAL baseball alignment

By: Bill Hartlep
Monday, September 2, 2024 | 11:44 AM

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The WPIAL released new section alignments for the next two-year cycle in all sports, and changes will be implemented starting this fall.

This summer, the Tribune-Review will break down changes for each of the WPIAL sports.

Here’s a look at the upcoming WPIAL baseball season:

2024 WPIAL championships

Class 6A: North Allegheny

Class 5A: Penn-Trafford

Class 4A: North Catholic

Class 3A: Avonworth

Class 2A: Seton LaSalle

Class A: Bishop Canevin

Notable changes

• Class 6A went through a bit of a change since the original changes were announced last month. Central Catholic voluntarily asked to move up to Class 6A but communicated with the PIAA. The WPIAL put out an alignment with Central Catholic in Class 5A and went with a nine-team section in Class 6A. That changed with Central Catholic moving up to 6A. There will be two sections of five teams, and they will stick with the three-game section series like in the past alignment cycle. Central Catholic will move to Section 1 from 2. Also, North Hills moved up from 5A, and Woodland Hills bumped up all the way from 4A.

• In Class 5A, there are eight additional teams, so there will be four sections instead of three. Latrobe and Kiski Area (Section 1), Chartiers Valley (Section 2) and McKeesport, Montour and Thomas Jefferson (Section 4) all moved up a class.

Allderdice and Pine-Richland (Section 3), as well as Baldwin (Section 4) dropped from 6A.

In addition, Moon moved over to Section 2 from 3, Fox Chapel moved into Section 3 from 1, and Connellsville and Gateway joined Section 4 from 1 and 2, respectively.

• Class 4A shrunk from four sections to three. Derry, Greensburg Salem and Valley moved up in class and will play in Section 3 with Highlands, Indiana and Knoch.

In addition, Hampton and North Catholic moved over to Section 1 from the defunct Section 4, and Elizabeth Forward and West Mifflin moved to Section 2 from 3.

• Four new teams moved up to Class 3A: Ligonier Valley in Section 3 and Charleroi, Seton LaSalle and Washington in Section 4. In addition, Sto-Rox moved into Section 1 from 2. Section 2 gained East Allegheny and Shady Side Academy from Section 3. Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland and Yough moved into Section 3 from 4. And Keystone Oaks went from Section 2 to 4.

• In Class 2A, California and Fort Cherry (Section 1), and Carlynton and Springdale (Section 3) moved up a class, while Neshannock and Shenango (Section 2) both dropped down. The only other changes were OLSH and South Side moving from Section 2 to 3.

• Class A added Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette (Section 1), as well as Serra Catholic (Section 3) from Class 2A

New teams

• Aquinas Academy and Winchester Thurston will play WPIAL schedules this season. Both will play in Section 2-A.

Past championships

• North Allegheny, which won the 2024 and 2021 Class 6A district titles, holds the most WPIAL baseball championships with nine.

Other schools with five or more titles include Allegheny (7), McKeesport (7), California (6), Neshannock (6), Pine-Richland (6), Mt. Lebanon (6), Riverside (6), Shaler (6), Ellwood City (5), North Catholic (5), Hopewell (5) and West Allegheny (5).

• Seton LaSalle (2A) and Bishop Canevin (A) have won two straight titles.

Key dates

March 4: First practice date

March 9: First scrimmage date

March 15: First play date

March 25: First section date

May 10: Playoff pairings meeting

May 28-29: WPIAL championships, Wild Things Park

June 13-14: PIAA championships, Penn State

2025-26 alignment

Class 6A (10 teams)

Section 1: Butler, Central Catholic, North Allegheny, North Hills, Seneca Valley

Section 2: Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Norwin, Woodland Hills

Class 5A (27 teams)

Section 1: Armstrong, Franklin Regional, Kiski Area, Latrobe, Penn Hills, Penn-Trafford, Plum

Section 2: Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley, Moon, Peters Township, South Fayette, Trinity, Upper St. Clair

Section 3: Allderdice, Fox Chapel, Mars, New Castle, Pine-Richland, Shaler, West Allegheny

Section 4: Baldwin, Connellsville, Gateway, McKeesport, Montour, Thomas Jefferson

Class 4A (20 teams)

Section 1: Ambridge, Beaver, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Hampton, Hopewell, North Catholic

Section 2: Albert Gallatin, Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward, Laurel Highlands, Ringgold, Uniontown, West Mifflin

Section 3: Derry, Greensburg Salem, Highlands, Indiana, Knoch, Valley

Class 3A (26 teams)

Section 1: Beaver Falls, Ellwood City, Mohawk, Quaker Valley, Riverside, Sto-Rox

Section 2: Avonworth, East Allegheny, Shady Side Academy, South Allegheny, South Park, Steel Valley

Section 3: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland, Yough

Section 4: Brownsville, Charleroi, Keystone Oaks, McGuffey, Seton LaSalle, Washington, Waynesburg

Class 2A (21 teams)

Section 1: Bentworth, Beth-Center, Burgettstown, California, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry, Frazier

Section 2: Aliquippa, Freedom, Laurel, Neshannock, New Brighton, Northgate, Shenango

Section 3: Apollo-Ridge, Brentwood, Carlynton, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Riverview, Springdale, South Side

Class A (22 teams)

Section 1: Avella, Carmichaels, Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette, Jefferson-Morgan, Mapletown, West Greene

Section 2: Aquinas Academy, Leechburg, Rochester, St. Joseph, Summit Academy, Union, Western Beaver, Winchester Thurston

Section 3: Bishop Canevin, Clairton, Cornell, Eden Christian, Monessen, Serra Catholic, Sewickley Academy

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.