Jay likely to stay put

INDIANAPOLIS — Updated enrollment numbers were released Monday.

They project the Patriots will stay where they have been.

Indiana High School Athletic Association on Monday released enrollment totals that will be used for reclassification and realignment for the next two years. Based on those figures, it looks as if Jay County High School’s athletic teams will remain in their current classes.

Enrollment numbers are used to determine classes for baseball, boys basketball, girls basketball, football, boys soccer, girls soccer, softball and volleyball. They will be in effect for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.

The Patriots are expected to remain in Class 3A for all four-class sports. They would be among the top 40 in enrollment in that class out of about 100.

They look as if they will remain in Class 4A for football and continue to be one of the larger schools in Class 2A for boys soccer and girls soccer.

JCHS ranks 128th with an enrollment of 800. That’s down from 118th two years ago when its enrollment was 879. (Its enrollment could stabilize as its largest classes are the freshman and sophomores with 203 and 208 while the juniors and seniors are both in the 190s.)

The IHSAA has changed its formula for the four-class sports (volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball, softball and baseball) this year, with the top 20% in Class 4A, the next 25% in class 3A, the next 25% in Class 2A and the smallest 30% in Class 1A. Football (six classes) and soccer (three classes) are not affected and will continue as they have in previous years.

Official classifications will be announced in the spring, with tournament sectional assignments to follow in late April.