New-look classifications set for SC high school sports after realignment. Take a look
The S.C. High School League on Friday released its new-look classifications that will be in effect for two years starting with fall sports in 2026.
Class 5A once again will be one single classification after being split into two divisions over the last two sports seasons. And Class A has 66 schools, the most of any classification. Class A is made up of the state’s smallest schools.
Biggest changes from realignment
Gray Collegiate is moving up to Class 5A. The War Eagles, a public charter program, were in Class 4A in the most recent realignment and in Class 2A before that. The War Eagles opened up a second campus in Irmo earlier this year.
Other big moves include:
Class 5A: South Florence is making the move from Class 4A to Class 5A.
Class 4A: Irmo, TL Hanna, Westwood, Catawba Ridge, Nation Ford and Gaffney are among the schools moving down from Class 5A to 4A. Legion Collegiate, in Rock Hill, is re-entering the SCHSL and will be in Class 4A.
Lake Wylie, which is opening in 2026, will be in Class 4A. Clover High, which is splitting to form Lake Wylie, also will be in Class 4A.
Class 3A: Schools dropping from Class 4A to 3A include Airport, Camden, Hartsville, Darlington, Lower Richland and Gilbert. Oceanside Collegiate, another powerhouse charter school, will stay in Class 3A.
Legacy Early College, located in Greenville, will be in Class 3A when it enters the league in 2026. Legacy, which doesn’t offer a full slate of sports, is ineligible for championships in its first year, but will be able to compete after that.
Class 2A: Schools dropping classification down to 2A include Mountain View Prep, Clinton, Keenan and Newberry.
Class A: Schools dropping from Class 2A into the new-look Class A include North Central, Fairfield Central, Hampton County, Eau Claire, Batesburg-Leesville, Marion and Mullins.
Below is a breakdown of each new class. Schools are listed in order of size and with total enrollment. And the SCHSL still uses a multiplier: Students from outside that school’s attendance zone are counted as three toward the enrollment.
Class 5A
- 1. Dorman High 2,929
- 2. Summerville High 2,729
- 3. Carolina Forest High 2,635
- 4. James F Byrnes High 2,547
- 5. Spring Valley High 2,336
- 6. Boiling Springs High 2,197
- 7. West Ashley High 2,177
- 8. Wando High 2,147
- 9. Mauldin High 2,143
- 10. Lexington High 2,132
- 11. Stratford High 2,087
- 12. Ashley Ridge High 2,056
- 13. James Island Charter High 2,013
- 14. Wade Hampton High 1,962
- 15. Cane Bay High 1,961
- 16. River Bluff High 1,958
- 17. West Florence High 1,877
- 18. Fort Dorchester High 1,871
- 19. Berkeley High 1,830
- 20. Blythewood High 1,829
- 21. Spartanburg High 1,812
- 22. J L Mann High Academy 1,793
- 23. Sumter High 1,764
- 24. Rock Hill High 1,753
- 25. Socastee High 1,752
- 26. Hillcrest High 1,747
- 27. R B Stall High 1,740
- 28. Eastside High 1,717
- 29. Dutch Fork High 1,708
- 30. South Florence High 1,708
- 31. Fort Mill High 1,681
- 32. Woodmont High 1,675
- 33. Gray Collegiate Academy 1,640
- 34. Ridge View High 1,630
- 35. Chapin High 1,628
- 36. White Knoll High 1,610
- 37. Northwestern High 1,571
- 38. Goose Creek High 1,566
- 39. Indian Land High 1,540
- 40. Lucy Beckham High 1,458
Class 4A
- 1. T L Hanna High 1,561
- 2. Conway High 1,557
- 3. Nation Ford High 1,534
- 4. Wilson High 1,517
- 5. Gaffney High 1,505
- 6. St. James High 1,464
- 7. Fountain Inn High 1,449
- 8. Greenwood High 1,442
- 9. Lugoff Elgin High 1,419
- 10. May River High 1,407
- 11. Riverside High 1,396
- 12. Westwood High 1,392
- 13. North Myrtle Beach High 1,386
- 14. Catawba Ridge High 1,377
- 15. North Augusta High 1,374
- 16. Irmo High 1,356
- 17. Easley High 1,354
- 18. Greenville High 1,345
- 19. Westside High 1,338
- 20. South Aiken High 1,297
- 21. Midland Valley High 1,267
- 22. South Pointe High 1,261
- 23. Fox Creek High 1,256
- 24. Richland Northeast High 1,254
- 25. Dreher High 1,235
- 26. Bluffton High 1,216
- 27. Myrtle Beach High 1,198
- 28. Travelers Rest High 1,192
- 29. York Comprehensive High 1,192
- 30. Aiken High 1,188
- 31. Legion Collegiate Academy 1,171
- 32. Greer High 1,145
- 33. Lake Wylie High School 1,132
- 34. Greenville Tech Charter Hi 1,113
- 35. A.C. Flora High 1,100
- 36. Laurens Dist 55 High 1,091
- 37. Clover High 1,075
- 38. Lancaster High 1,062
- 39. Brookland-Cayce High 1,058
- 40. Beaufort High 1,044
- 41. Hilton Head Island High 983
- 42. Colleton County High 981
Class 3A
- 1. Airport High 1,042
- 2. Wren High 1,030
- 3. D W Daniel High 1,024
- 4. Greer Middle College 1,022
- 5. Pickens High 986
- 6. Lower Richland High 982
- 7. Blue Ridge High 974
- 8. Berea High 966
- 9. Walhalla High 960
- 10. Gilbert High 955
- 11. Hartsville High 945
- 12. Southside High 933
- 13. Emerald High 928
- 14. Brashier Middle College 926
- 15. Crestwood High 901
- 16. Camden High 890
- 17. Hanahan High 887
- 18. Aynor High 881
- 19. Powdersville High 877
- 20. Darlington High 876
- 21. Legacy Early College 873
- 22. Bridges Preparatory School 853
- 23. Atlantic Collegiate Academy 846
- 24. N Charleston High 842
- 25. Palmetto High 839
- 26. GREEN Upstate High School Greenville 834
- 27. Seneca High 831
- 28. Chapman High 827
- 29. Oceanside Collegiate Academy 805
- 30. Georgetown High 797
- 31. Broome High 794
- 32. Union County High 791
- 33. Belton Honea Path High 781
- 34. Lakewood High 779
- 35. Christ Church Episcopal 777
- 36. Bishop England High School 763
- 37. Marlboro County High 761
- 38. Pendleton High 757
- 39. Swansea High 745
- 40. Loris High 738
Class 2A
- 1. Charleston Charter Math/Science 759
- 2. Battery Creek High 736
- 3. Woodruff High 723
- 4. Orangeburg Wilkinson High 721
- 5. Carolina Academy (High) 711
- 6. St. Joseph’s High 709
- 7. Mountain View Preparatory 703
- 8. High Point Academy 701
- 9. Waccamaw High 698
- 10. Clinton High 686
- 11. Landrum High 672
- 12. American Leadership Academy SC-Lexington 671
- 13. Chesnee High 666
- 14. Keenan High 666
- 15. Horse Creek Academy 665
- 16. West-Oak High 662
- 17. Southside Christian School 660
- 18. Philip Simmons High 654
- 19. Crescent High 642
- 20. York Preparatory Academy 609
- 21. Newberry High 607
- 22. Pelion High 604
- 23. Strom Thurmond High 604
- 24. Woodland High 600
- 25. Silver Bluff High 597
- 26. Dillon High School 596
- 27. Andrew Jackson High 588
- 28. Liberty High 588
- 29. Academic Magnet High 575
- 30. Columbia High 572
- 31. Lake City High 570
- 32. Manning High 568
- 33. Timberland High 564
- 34. Lake Marion High 559
- 35. Saluda High 548
- 36. Mid-Carolina High 546
- 37. East Clarendon Middle-High 532
- 38. Palmetto Scholars Academy 525
- 39. Central High 513
- 40. Chester Sr High 511
- 41. Blacksburg High 492
Class A
- 1. Ninety Six High 489
- 2. Hampton County High 487
- 3. Fairfield Central High 485
- 4. Kingstree High 479
- 5. Barnwell High 472
- 6. Buford High 456
- 7. North Central High 454
- 8. Batesburg-Leesville High 453
- 9. Burke High 453
- 10. Mullins High 449
- 11. Edisto High 439
- 12. Cheraw High 437
- 13. Eau Claire High 436
- 14. Marion High 433
- 15. Riverwalk Academy 428
- 16. Chesterfield High 410
- 17. Latta High 401
- 18. Andrews High 393
- 19. Bamberg-Ehrhardt High 365
- 20. Virtus Academy of South Carolina 361
- 21. Abbeville High 348
- 22. Whale Branch Early College 343
- 23. Carvers Bay 342
- 24. Dixie High 331
- 25. Hannah-Pamplico 330
- 26. Lee Central 328
- 27. Ridgeland Secondary Academy of Excellence 328
- 28. Johnsonville 325
- 29. Lewisville High 323
- 30. Green Sea Floyds 305
- 31. Hardeeville 305
- 32. St John’s High 303
- 33. CA Johnson High 297
- 34. Calhoun County 296
- 35. Royal Live Oaks Academy of the Arts and Sciences 282
- 36. McBee 262
- 37. Baptist Hill 261
- 38. Clear Dot Charter 249
- 39. Ridge Spring-Monetta 247
- 40. Thornwell Charter School 232
- 41. Coastal High 231
- 42. Wagener-Salley High 220
- 43. Lake View High 212
- 44. Lamar High 211
- 45. Lowcountry Leadership Charter School 209
- 46. Polaris Tech Charter School 193
- 47. Ware Shoals High 193
- 48. Whitmire 193
- 49. Military Magnet Academy 185
- 50. Scott’s Branch High 179
- 51. Allendale Fairfax High 177
- 52. Williston-Elko High 176
- 53. Bethune-Bowman Middle/High 163
- 54. Great Falls High 158
- 55. Branchville High 154
- 56. Cross 145
- 57. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics 138
- 58. Denmark Olar High 136
- 59. Hemingway High 123
- 60. McCormick High 119
- 61. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High 115
- 62. Blackville-Hilda High 104
- 63. North Middle/High 99
- 64. Midlands STEM Charter School 96
- 65. Calhoun Falls Charter School 94
- 66. SC School For the Deaf and the Blind High 44
What is realignment? Where are the new regions?
Realignment happens in the state every two years and attempts to level the competitive playing field among schools.
This year’s realignment is based on 45-day enrollment numbers from grades 9-11. This year’s formula also featured an out-of-zone multiplier for the second time. That multiplier took each student who lives outside of the school’s assigned attendance zone and counted them as three for total enrollment purposes.
During this year’s realignment, it also was decided that Class A (league’s smallest classification) would have the most teams in it, between 62 and 74 schools, with the chance of being split for sports that have more than 45 participating schools. Other classifications would between 36 and 44 schools.
Schools will have a chance to appeal their realignment next month. After that process is over, then region placement can occur. Schools then will be able to appeal region placement.
Any school wishing to appeal its classification placement to the SCHSL Executive Committee must submit it in writing by 1 p.m. on Jan. 7. Appeals will be heard Jan. 13-14. A second appeal, if necessary, would go before the Appellate Panel on Jan. 15-16.
Region placements will be sent will be sent out Jan. 23. Appeals to classification executive committee will be Feb. 3-5 and then to the SCHSL Executive Committee on Feb. 10 and Appellate panel on Feb. 12.
This story was originally published December 19, 2025 at 4:10 PM.
