Louisiana high school boys basketball playoff preview: Divisions III-C

Take an in-depth look at some of the teams to watch in the small-school brackets

Loreauville High landed its highest playoff seed ever. / Loreauville Athletics Facebook

There will be 10 state champions crowned in the coming weeks in Louisiana high school boys basketball with the opening round of the playoffs set to unfold Friday.

Here is a look at the small-school divisions/classes with favorites, intriguing matchups and potential upsets. You can find the complete brackets here: LHSAA Brackets

Division III select

Top eight seeds (all receive first-round byes)

1. Calvary Baptist (25-3)

2. Dunham (19-5)

3. Country Day (22-6)

4. Newman (19-6)

5. Rosepine (26-3)

6. Catholic New Iberia (19-9)

7. De La Salle (17-9)

8. Lafayette Renaissance (18-8)

There could be a No. 3 Catholic NI at No. 6 Country Day quarterfinal rematch from two years ago, when the No. 10-seeded Panthers knocked off the second-seeded Cajuns to reach the state tournament for the first time. Catholic will face the No. 11 Sarah Reed (23-9)/No. 22 Capitol (7-14) winner. Reed had a six-game win streak snapped by Country Day in its final game of the regular season.

Catholic, which was a No. 6 seed last year as well, beat No. 11 Capitol in the 2023-24 second round, 61-55. The Panthers, who had to rally from an eight-point deficit in that game, have excellent size with 6-foot-8 Jacob Minvielle and 6-foot-10 Joab Trosclair. Country Day, which has wins over St. Thomas More, John Curtis, Northshore and Archbishop Hannan, lost to Sarah Reed earlier in the season. The Cajuns beat defending state champion Newman by 22 points on Feb. 21.

No. 5 Rosepine, in its first season in select, is led by high-scoring junior guard Kody Calhoun. The Eagles will take on the winner of No. 12 Lafayette Christian (13-14)/No. 21 Episcopal (11-22), which stunned No. 4 Calvary Baptist and No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas last year. Lafayette Christian began the season with a 1-7 record but finished on an eight-game win streak. The Knights beat Episcopal in January, 71-50.

No. 8 Lafayette Renaissance is in its first varsity season under coach Brad Boyd, who guided Southside High to its first playoff victory a couple of years ago. The Tigers should face No. 9 St. Louis Catholic (12-13) in a rematch of a December game won by the Saints, 65-49.

No. 10 Thomas Jefferson (20-8), which rides into the postseason on a nine-game win streak, hosts No. 23 North Caddo (14-16) with the winner traveling to No. 7 De La Salle (17-9). A potential second-round showdown of 6-foot-4 New Orleans area standouts Rashad Stevenson (Thomas Jefferson) and Levon Gipson (De La Salle) would be exciting.

Division III nonselect

Top 10 seeds (first four receive first-round byes)

1. Madison Parish (23-3)

2. Red River (24-5)

3. Marksville (22-8)

4. Richwood (19-9)

5. Donaldsonville (15-7)

6. French Settlement (20-12)

7. Loreauville (16-8)

8. St. Helena (18-7)

9. Winnfield (13-7)

10. Westlake (14-8)

No. 4 Richwood lost six of eight games before getting all of its roster intact and reeling off seven consecutive wins with four straight 90-plus point performances.

Last year's tournament teams were No. 6 Marksville, No. 7 Richwood, No. 8 Donaldsonville and No. 13 Red River. Marksville, which beat Red River for the championship, should be battle-tested after finishing the regular season with games against St. Thomas More, Peabody and Avoyelles Public Charter.

Loreauville notched its first playoff win ever last year before losing to Marksville in the regionals. The Tigers' senior class, which includes 6-foot-4, 280-pound Texas Tech football signee Dylan Singleton and Louisiana Christian football signee Kylon Polk, has won the most games in school history. The Tigers went through a slump with Polk hampered by injury but moved up from No. 10 in the power rankings to No. 7 after wins over Catholic NI and Division IV nonselect No. 8 West St. Mary.

The Class 2A Tigers drew Class 3A No. 26 Port Allen (15-17) in bi-district. The winner will face a Class 3A program in No. 10 Westlake or No. 23 Crowley (13-11). Port Allen has played a salty schedule against the likes of Parkview Baptist, Madison Prep, University and Franklin. Loreauville and Port Allen lost to Frankin, the defending Division IV nonselect champion. Port Allen blew out No. 14 Mamou (21-8) by a score of 61-27 in January.

No. 9 Winnfield, which entertains No. 24 Springfield ( 18-12), avenged a previous loss with a 50-49 win over Red River in February.

Madison Parish will host the winner of No. 16 Green Oaks (15-10)/No. 17 Doyle (20-9). Green Oaks was competitive in a district loss to Calvary Baptist and concluded the regular season with a 52-48 win at Class 4A Tioga (21-10).

No. 12 Church Point (23-9), which hosts No. 21 Oak Grove (9-6), has been a surprise team in its first season under coach Joshua Moreau. The Bears are led by guard Jarrison Reese.

Division IV select

Top eight seeds (all receive first-round byes)

1. Crescent City (16-10)

2. Lincoln Prep (23-7)

3. Southern Lab (18-7)

4. Hamilton Christian (16-7)

5. Vermilion Catholic (14-3)

6. Ascension Catholic (21-8)

7. J.S. Clark (16-11)

8. M.L, King Charter (17-12)

The top four seeds are perennial powers and regulars at the state tournament. Crescent City, which is repeating as the No. 1 seed, defeated No. 2 St. Martin's Episcopal for last season's title but was forced to forfeit the trophy because of an LHSAA ruling. The Pioneers, who brought back star Dwight Magee, have faced the likes of Central-BR, Catholic-BR, John F. Kennedy, Zachary, Country Day, Calvary Baptist and Liberty.

Magee and the Pioneers will take on the winner of No. 16 Westminster Christian (13-11) and No. 17 Northwood-Lena (17-6). WCA, led by energetic young coach Craig Green, won five of its past six games with a loss to Class 4A Beau Chene. Northwood, which features 6-foot-4 eighth-grader Landon Tinsley, won seven of its past eight with a loss to Lakeview (25-4).

No. 21 Westminster Christian-Lafayette (19-13) won five of its past six games to secure its first playoff appearance. The Chargers travel to Ruston to tangle with No. 12 Cedar Creek (13-9). The winner will travel to No. 5 Vermilion Catholic, which swept WCA-Lafayette in district by scores of 73-53 and 59-52.

Division IV nonselect

Top 10 seeds (first four receive first-round byes)

1. Vinton (20-4)

2. Franklin (21-5)

3. Lakeview (25-4)

4. Ferriday (23-9)

5. Arcadia (16-7)

6. East Iberville (16-14)

7. Haynesville (15-2)

8. West St. Mary (15-10)

9. White Castle (14-14)

10. Montgomery (14-13)

Traditional football power Haynesville is having a season to remember on the hardwood. The Golden Tornado, which lost by 31 points as a No. 18 seed to No. 15 Block (now select) in the first round last year, hosts No. 26 Mangham (7-18). Haynesville's only setbacks were by one point to Lincoln Prep and at Arcadia.

Franklin, which has made two consecutive appearances in the championship game, returned star forward Treyshaun Mack. The Hornets are coached by Tremayne Johnson, who is also the head coach of the football team. Last year, the Hornets beat No. 3 Oakdale, No. 2 Ringgold and No. 1 Lakeview.

No. 6 East Iberville, which could travel to No. 3 Lakeview in the quarterfinals, faced a schedule that included Denham Springs, St. Michael, Covington, Dunham, Bonnabel and Newman. The Tigers will face the winner of No. 11 North Central (12-19 and No. 22 Varnado (11-11). The Hurricanes, who aren't far removed from state titles, won six of their past eight games. Varnado had a six-game win streak halted by a 55-48 district loss at Crescent City in its previous game.

Class B

The top 12 seeds landed first-round byes in the Class B bracket, which is comprised of 20 teams.

There are four bi-district games: No. 17 Holden (13-16) at No. 16 Fairview (16-15); No. 20 Episcopal School of Acadiana (12-18) at No. 13 Choudrant (16-14); No. 19 Elizabeth (9-15) at No. 14 Anacoco (17-20) and No. 18 Oak Hill (19-17) at No. 15 Glenmora (15-13).

Four regional games are set: No. 9 Stanley (19-12) at No. 8 Negreet (20-8); No. 12 Doyline (22-8) at No. 5 Hicks (30-8); No. 10 Castor (19-12) at No. 7 Pitkin (29-10) and No. 11 Florien (16-20) at No. 6 Quitman (23-6).

The top four seeds are No. 1 Lacassine (28-1), No. 2 Avoyelles Public Charter (20-7), No. 3 Zwolle (21-8) and No, 4 Simsboro (20-8). Lacassine's only loss was to Negreet (63-60) in the season-opener at the Simpson Tournament. The high-flying Cardinals scored at least 70 points in 22 games with a high of 94 against Reeves in January.

Zwolle and Avoyelles Public Charter are defending state champions (Division V nonselect and Division V select). Select and nonselect schools are now combined in Classes B and C.

Class C

This 12-team bracket has four bi-district games: No. 17 Harrisonburg (11-17) at No. 16 Singer (14-19); No. 20 Northside Christian (9-18) at No. 13 Maurepas 18-16); No. 19 Calvin (10-23) at No. 14 Saline (12-17) and No. 18 Summerfield 8-24) at No. 15 Ebarb (12-25).

No. 1 Pleasant Hill (26-5), No. 2 Plainview (25-3), No. 3 Gibsland-Coleman (17-9) and No. 4 Family Christian (24-9) earned first-round byes. Four regional games are set: No. 9 Starks (20-6) at No. 8 Reeves (16-13); No. 12 Hackberry (22-8) at No. 5 Georgetown (30-7); No. 11 St. Joseph's Plaucheville (24-18) at No. 6 Phoenix (17-10) and No. 10 Claiborne Christian (19-12) at No. 7 Hornbeck (17-9).

Georgetown scored at least 80 points in 10 games with a season high of 100 in a win at Doyline in the final game of the regular season.

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