South Oldham, Sayre Crashing Kentucky Baseball’s Traditional Big Four Conversation

Trinity remains untouchable, but postseason questions surround St. Xavier, Male and Ballard as challengers emerge.

Ballard High School player Braylen Tillman slides into home plate in a game against DeSales High School May 12, 2026. Ballard has been highly competitive in 2026, but was recently displaced in the Big Four, along with St. X, by the rising South Oldham Dragons and Sayre Spartans. | Chris Adams

Cracks have started to show for the Kentucky high school baseball Big Four — Trinity-Louisville, St. Xavier, Male and Ballard. Trinity remains the clear exception.

There are three Bluegrass programs able to give three of the Big Four fits, DuPont Manual, Sayre and South Oldham.

That raises an obvious question: “Who are the true Big Four teams now?”

Let’s figure it out.

Trinity Stands Alone

We’ll get Trinity out of the way first. If they’re not a lock to win the state championship, then Andy Beshear isn’t the governor of Kentucky.

The Rocks (33-3) are on a 16-game win streak, and appear positioned for a deep postseason run.

Male and Ballard weren’t on the schedule this year, but it’s important to highlight that Trinity beat St. X (6-3), DuPont Manual (9-0) and Sayre (8-1).

University of Kentucky-bound Grayson Willoughby leads the Shamrocks with a .477 batting average and a 0.99 ERA from the mound.

Questions Surround St. Xavier

The Tigers (25-11) have had some consistency issues this season. They defeated Sayre, 12-1, but recently fell to South Oldham, 14-1. St. X shut out Male, 12-0, but lost to the Rocks. Ballard wasn’t on the slate.

Consistency remains the biggest question entering postseason play.

Male Searching for Consistency

Male (24-5) has lost two straight contests, the last one to DuPont Manual. The Bulldogs had been on an 11-game win streak after being blown out by St. X April 15.

Male was defeated by Sayre in early April, the Bulldogs first loss of the season. However, they prevailed against South Oldham and Ballard, 5-3 and 5-2, respectively.

Like St. Xavier, it comes down to consistency and whether the Bulldogs can sustain their stronger form.

Ballard Facing Similar Issues

The Bruins (19-8) also dropped a contest to Sayre, 11-1, and face DuPont Manual Friday evening—Ballard defeated DuPont Manual in the first game of the season and on April 25.

In the first half of the season, the Bruins beat St. X, 8-1, but lost to Male, 5-2. And then lost to South Oldham on April 14.

It’s kind of the same story and pattern with Ballard, Male and St. X; each has shown inconsistency at different points this season.

South Oldham and Sayre Make Their Case

South Oldham (22-8) has constructed a fairly strong season, defeating St. X, Ballard and DuPont Manual, but losing to Male and Trinity. Their Kentucky High School Athletic Association RPI is ranked 21st, 10 spots higher than the Ballard Bruins.

DuPont Manual (16-11) is probably more of a spoiler-type than a legitimate contender, but they’re not an easy matchup on any team’s schedule.

Yes, Sayre (22-8) has taken down Ballard and Male, but they’ve also lost to Scott County twice in recent weeks, and to Lexington Christian (21-11).

The Seventh Region Problem

All “Big Four” teams, plus DuPont Manual, are in the Seventh Region. The regional tournament is a problematic situation for St. X, Male and Ballard. Only one team will attend the state tournament in June. And we’re pretty certain who that’ll be.

Ironically, Sayre and South Oldham have a real shot at playing their way into the state tournament; with regions that are slightly less competitive than the Seventh.

At the moment, the reshaped Big Four appears to be: Trinity, Male, South Oldham and Sayre.