Iowa Boys High School Basketball: 1A, 2A District Pairings Revealed

Half of the postseason pairings have been released for Iowa boys basketball.

Madrid's Jevyn Severson (0) shoots over his defenders during the boys Class 1A state quarterfinal against Boyden Hull on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Teams in Classes 1A and 2A of Iowa boys high school basketball now know their path to the state tournament, as the Iowa High School Athletic Association revealed district pairings on Monday afternoon.

For 3A and 4A, those pairings will be revealed in the coming days.

The 2026 Iowa High School Athletic Association State Basketball Tournament takes place March 9-13 in Des Moines, Iowa from the Casey’s Center (formerly known as Wells Fargo Arena).

Postseason Games Begin This Week In Iowa Boys High School Basketball

Preliminary round games in 1A are set for Friday, February 13 with first round games taking place in both 1A and 2A starting Monday, February 16. First round substate games in 3A and 4A begin on Monday, February 23.

Winners of District 1 and District 2 play each other in a substate final, filling the eight-team state tournament fields.

Second round games for 1A and 2A will be played Thursday, February 19 with district finals set for Tuesday, February 24. Substate finals will take place on Saturday, February 28.

Top Seeds Revealed For 1A, 2A Boys Basketball

The top seeds in the 16 districts for 1A are MMCRU, Belmond-Klemme, Bishop Garrigan, Wapsie Valley, Bellevue, East Marshall, Bellevue Marquette, Lynnville-Sully, Burlington Notre Dame, Calamus-Wheatland, defending state champion Madrid, Council Bluffs St. Albert, Southwest Valley, St. Edmond, Coon Rapids-Bayard and Boyden-Hull.

St. Edmond moved back to No. 1 in 1A in the official boys basketball rankings this past week after scoring a victory over seventh-ranked (3A) Clear Lake.

For 2A, the No. 1 seeds include Unity Christian, Southeast Valley, Forest City, Kuemper Catholic, Grundy Center, Denver, Aplington-Parkersburg, Monticello, Iowa City Regina, Northeast, Union Community, Pella Christian, Underwood, Treynor, Tri-Center and defending champion Hull Western Christian.