New state baseball tourney format coming to Idaho next year

By MICHAEL LYCKLAMA

The Idaho Statesman

A pilot project will expand one of Idaho’s high school state tournaments, changing how teams qualify for state, giving more schools a chance to make the tournament, and possibly opening the door for more sports to expand their tournaments. 

Starting next season, Idaho’s baseball state playoffs will feature a new play-in round similar to college baseball’s regional format. 

The Idaho High School Activities Association Board of Directors finalized the plan Wednesday in a 12-1 vote. The core of the two-year pilot program is an expanded play-in round of either three-team, double-elimination tournaments or best-of-three series before the state tournament. Winners of those play-in rounds then advance to a four-team, double-elimination state tournament to determine a champion. 

“I hope we learn what works and what doesn’t,” said Mike Federico, the assistant director of the IHSAA who led the pilot program. “Is a four-team state championship effective, or do we need to have eight? Is the double-elimination or the two-out-of-three format better for baseball because of pitching? Are more play-in games the way to go? “… Hopefully we’ll find out those things and, ultimately, we’ll find out if people like it.”

HOW THE NEW TOURNAMENTS WORK 

The final four-team, double-elimination state tournament remains the same across all classifications. But each classification differs on how teams qualify for that tournament.

The new 6A, 5A and 3A classifications (current 5A, 4A and 2A classifications) will send 12 teams to the expanded play-in round. Eight of those 12 teams receive automatic berths based on their district tournament finish. At-large berths go to the next four highest-ranked teams in the MaxPreps.com rankings. Those play-in rounds feature four separate three-team, double-elimination tournaments. 

District champs and the 6A SIC runner-up will host those regionals. MaxPreps rankings will then seed the regional matchups, awarding a first-round bye to the highest-ranked school in each three-team tournament. 

Meanwhile, the new 4A and 2A classifications (current 3A and 1A) will not expand, holding at their eight state qualifiers because fewer schools compete at those levels. But all eight teams will need to win a best-of-three series in the play-in round to qualify for the four-team state tournament.

Mountain View coach Justin Schneidt applauded adding more teams to the postseason mix. “For years, we’ve been trying to get more teams involved, and the state kept coming back and saying you can’t do it,” Schneidt said. “I’m ecstatic about us gaining four teams. It gives us the true top 12 teams in the state. “Obviously, making that regional a double-elimination tournament and the state tournament double elimination really (shows) how deep you are pitching-wise. I like that a lot.”

“There were years, if you go back, where Rocky Mountain was undefeated, lost in the first round and had nothing to play for but consolation. The best teams should be able to come back.”

BASEBALL’S FIRST IHSAA STATE TOURNAMENT 

The pilot project comes at a turning point for baseball in Idaho. The state has crowned champions for decades, and the IHSAA sanctions the sport. But next season marks baseball’s first as an IHSAA-sponsored state tournament. 

Coaches or schools previously ran the state tournaments while closely following IHSAA rules, leading to few differences on the field. But the paperwork change provides the state governing body with an experiment as calls to expand Idaho’s other state tournaments have grown. Federico said the IHSAA has no immediate plans to expand other state tournaments, but just the idea of an expanded baseball tournament raised questions around Idaho. 

“I think it will be watched closely,” Federico said. “I really do. I think that’s what some people have in mind.” 

Wednesday’s original proposal also included pushing the baseball season and its state tournament back one week. But the board declined to vote on that change Wednesday.

“Right now, changing the calendar for next year would be problematic because schools have their calendars set,” Federico said. “We have things like graduation, and all those plans have been made.

“So I think that was late to the party.”