Feature: 2024 UIL Realignment Rundown
Assessing the changes and impacts of the latest UIL Realignment in Class 6A and introducing the top teams moving up from 5A
UIL Realignment years are always highly anticipated as we all wait and watch to see which teams will drop down, which will move up, and to see which districts get reshuffled. This year, the biggest story, by far, was whether or not DeSoto would drop down to 5A on the heels of back-to-back state titles. Ultimately, DeSoto was able to opt up and they’re the prohibitive favorite for the Division 2 crown yet again.
In addition to DeSoto staying up, there were some notable newcomers added to the 6A ranks. Before we get to those, we’ll first run through the significant district changes across the state, starting from District 1-6A through 32-6A.
Aside from a couple of teams, Americas and El Dorado, dropping down to 5A in the El Paso district, we didn’t see any changes until we got to 3-6A. Trinity, LD Bell, and Haltom were replaced with the Mansfield ISD schools in what came as a shock to most. The Mansfield schools had been stuck in the District of Doom in 11-6A, so they’ll surely welcome the change, even if unexpected.
Trinity and LD Bell ended up in 4-6A with Carroll, Byron Nelson, and co., forming a highly entertaining and competitive district. Speaking of entertaining and highly competitive, 5-6A and 6-6A were shaken up a bit too with Coppell and Lewisville ISD basically swapping places with Allen, Prosper, and McKinney ISD. The end result of those changes brings fresh matchups and incredibly intriguing playoff scenarios.
Rounding out Region 1, very little changed in 7-6A and 8-6A. Highland Park went back to 5A from 7-6A and Haltom joined 8-6A from 3-6A.
The story of this realignment for Region 2 is undoubtedly the teams that moved up from 5A. In total, there are 7 teams making the leap from 5A and 6 of those appear inside our Top 100 rated teams to start the year, with 4 of those projected to make the playoffs. We’ll have more on those teams in the next section below, but suffice it to say that Region 2 got quite a bit stronger.
As a result of the new teams moving in, Mesquite and Horn were forced from their 10-6A home to the cauldron that is 11-6A, taking the place of the departed Mansfield schools. The new 10-6A, with Forney and Longview joining would’ve been no bargain as a 9-team district, but 11-6A is another beast altogether.
Another notable change in Region 2 was 12-6A which welcomed Killeen and Shoemaker, while Pflugerville Weiss dropped down and Hutto moved to Region 4. That certainly doesn’t clear the waters at all in what has always been a hotly-contested district.
Last but certainly not least in Region 2 was the monster that the UIL created in 15-6A. By simply adding Magnolia and Magnolia West to the existing district with Klein and Tomball ISDs, the UIL gave us one of the most balanced and most competitive districts in the whole state and we can’t wait to see how it unfolds.
In Region 3 there wasn’t a ton of change until District 20-6A, which was formed from Lamar Consolidated ISD, Alief ISD, and Strake Jesuit. Previously, 20-6A was Fort Bend plus George Ranch, but 21-6A became the new home for Fort Bend, shifting North Shore, Atascocita, and crew to 23-6A.
The main resulting effect of these changes is really just the Bi-District playoff matchups. Whereas the Fort Bend schools had been lining up against Katy ISD in Round 1, that will now fall to Lamar Consolidated, Alief, and/or Strake. Fort Bend will now square off in the first round with the new 22-6A made up of Pearland, Pasadena, and Alvin schools, while North Shore and the rest of the “Beastside” will now get 24-6A, which stayed the same except for the strong addition of Deer Park.
In Region 4 there were some fairly big surprises. Hutto moving to 25-6A wasn’t necessarily one of those big surprises, but their addition to this already wild district is noteworthy because it adds yet another playoff contender to a district full of them. From 26-6A, Austin Anderson dropped down to 5A and Buda Johnson was shipped off to *checks notes* 29-6A. More on that in a minute.
The 17 schools comprising Northside and Northeast ISDs in San Antonio shifted forward one district, while the former 27-6A with Steele and Judson was shifted to 29-6A. These changes have fairly large playoff implications, because it means that Steele and Judson et al won’t have to face the Austin powerhouses until the third round instead of facing them in Round 2.
To close out the realignment overview, we’ll talk through districts 30-32. With Mission and Rivera dropping to 5A, the UIL had an opportunity to create two districts from the previous three which would’ve opened up a whole other district elsewhere, which could’ve drastically changed districts in other parts of the state. Instead, they decided to keep three deep South Texas districts and we ended up with 32-6A as a 5-team district. Our initial thought was that they might play a round-robin schedule, but that was not the case. As it stands, teams in 32-6A will probably need just one district win to make the playoffs.
If all of that made your head spin, imagine the task facing the group of men and women that had to build it, not only for this classification of 249 schools, but for all of them down to 1A. Realignment is a monumental undertaking and the UIL does a really good job with it.
Notable 6A Newcomers
As teased above, now we’ll take a look at the top teams making the jump to 6A.
Longview checks in as our highest-rated promoted squad. The Lobos, of course, are no strangers to the top classification and they’ve been missed. We’re projecting them at #19 to start, which may seem a tad high given that they’re in a bit of a rebuild, but they’re a long-proven commodity.
Fulshear at #30 on the other hand might be too low. The Chargers have a talent-rich and experienced squad hitting the ground running in their debut to 6A. Coach Codutti’s bunch plays fast, physical, and free and they are immediate favorites to top their district. Even though they’re destined for the Region 3 D1 gauntlet, don’t be surprised to find them a few rounds in the playoffs.
Forney is another team that could be too low to start. The Jackrabbits went 13-2 last year, with their only losses being to Longview and Aledo. The gap between them and Longview may look too wide purely based on the #19 to #45 ranking split, but pay more attention to the OVR grades (84.9 vs 81.4) and the Elos which translate to only about a TD difference.
Lancaster is another exciting team moving up. The Tigers fear absolutely nobody and regularly tested themselves against their new district foes when they were in 5A. As you can see if the graphic below, Lancaster is not projected into the playoffs from 11-6A despite carrying an 80 OVR grade.
Magnolia joins 15-5A as a team expected to compete for a playoff spot immediately. The Bulldogs have played 6A competition in non-district in recent years and have fared well against the likes of Tomball, who is a perennial playoff winner.
Killeen Shoemaker is a great-looking team entering the 12-6A CenTex district. In fact, we have them picked to win the dang thing. You’re welcome Harker Heights! In all seriousness, the Grey Wolves will be an excellent addition to the district, perhaps replacing the talent lost with Weiss dropping to 5A.
The Northwest Texans, like Lancaster, are a solid team moving up with a (near) 80 OVR grade that is not projected to make the playoffs. The Texans went 10-3 last year, losing to Abilene in the 3rd round of the playoffs and but they appear to have some rebuilding to do, unfortunately, on their return to the top class.
New Braunfels Canyon is the top team moving into Region 4 and we have them finishing second behind Steele in the new 29-6A. The Cougars are well-positioned to go a couple of rounds deep in the playoffs too.
Rounding out the Top 10 Newcomers are Magnolia West and Manvel. Both programs have potential to compete for playoff spots now, but both find themselves in difficult districts and in a slight rebuilding phase. West has QB Bryson Broadway back and Manvel has a good-looking defense to lead their efforts, but both will need the opposing sides of the ball to come along quickly to compete in their new homes.
