New LHSAA playoff format affects Patriots the most

The North Vermilion Patriots football team, a Class 4A football team, could play Abbeville, Erath or Kaplan in this year’s football playoffs. Also, if the North Vermilion Patriots want to win another baseball state title, the odds are they are going to have to beat Barbe, the two-time defending Class 5A state champs, in the finals.
Confused?
Please don’t feel bad because most of the coaches in Vermilion Parish were confused Friday afternoon when the LHSAA released its new playoff format for select/non-select schools.
The LHSAA is now calling it Select and Non-Select Division Playoffs. Gone are the Class 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A playoffs.
In non-select (non-private schools), there are four divisions. There are 28 non-select teams in each division and 24 in each select division.
The larger schools are in Division I and the schools get smaller in each division
Abbeville, Kaplan and Erath will play in Division II in every sport.
VC will play in Division IV select in every sport.
Gueydan is in Division IV non-select in every sport.
The team that is affected by the new playoff system are the North Vermilion Patriots.
In football, North Vermilion, with an enrollment of just over 840 students, will play in Division II only but Division I in the rest of the sports.
The Patriots will be one of the largest schools in Division II for football and one of the smallest in Division I.
The Patriots and around five other Class 4A schools are placed into Division II with Class 3A schools. So, there is a chance the Patriots could play Erath or Abbeville in the football playoffs.
But that will not be the case in other sports.
When the playoffs begin, all NV teams, except for football, will be playing teams such as Barbe, New Iberia, Neville, Parkway, West Monroe, Ruston and Westgate.
North Vermilion head coach baseball coach Jeremy Trahan learned of the new playoff system Friday afternoon. What it meant for the NV baseball team is that they are no longer the top dog in Class 4A.
There is a good chance they will have to beat baseball powerhouse Barbe in the Division I playoffs this year to win a third baseball state title.
Barbe has won the Class 5A state title at least 10 times since 1998. In addition, they have won back-to-back state titles in 2020 and 2021.
“We did not expect this would transpire,” said Trahan Friday at the North Vermilion football game. “We had no clue we would be joining 5A. I thought we would be in non-select 4A.”
Trahan’s reaction to the news?
“It is a surprise. We have an enrollment of 840. Most of those 5A schools have an enrollment of 2,000-plus. That is not my ideal situation what we want to be in. But it is what it is. We will do what we have to do.”
In boys and girls basketball, 32 non-select schools will qualify for the postseason, while on the select side, 28 teams will participate.

Softball and baseball differ slightly from basketball, with non-select schools competing for 32 playoff spots while select schools battle for 24 playoff positions.