After allegations of gamesmanship, UIL expands best-of-three baseball playoff format to include Class 3A and 4A

Texas high school baseball coaches pushed for changes after complaints of playoff gamesmanship involving coin flip tactics

London defeats Huntington 6-3 in the Class 3A division I UIL State Semifinal game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at Gardner Boggs Field in Austin, Texas. / Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you’re a fan of a good Texas high school baseball best-of-three playoff series, you’re in luck.

It still won’t be mandatory in every classification, but the pilot that has been running in Classes 5A and 6A for the past two seasons (2024 and 2025), which mandates best-of-three series in all playoff rounds prior to the state tournament unless both coaches agree to a single game, is seemingly getting some good reviews.

The University Interscholastic League Legislative Council at a recent meeting approved a partial expansion of the current pilot to Classes 3A and 4A. In the past, the winner of a coin flip would decide whether the series would be one or three games. Now, best-of-three series will be mandated for all playoff rounds in Classes 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A leading up to the state tournament unless both coaches agree to play only one game.

Julia Zachary, communications manager for the University Interscholastic League, said the proposal came from the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association after some coaches “have been perceived” to be using gamesmanship in order to negotiate details of their playoff series.

The THSBCA alleges some coaches are using the threat of the coin flip to reach their perspective demands.

The explanation for the amendment is on Page 13 of the UIL’s Legislative Council General Session Packet where, under Section B of “Factual and Policy Justifications,” it reads: “Some schools perceive some coaches as employing gamesmanship while negotiating playoff series details. According to the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association, there has been an increased number of instances of schools threatening to invoke a coin flip to determine whether the series will include the best of three games or a single game if other demands, such as requiring the opponent to play at their home field or to travel great distances, are not met. Requiring a best of three series unless both schools agree to a one game series eliminates that negotiating tactic.

“For the past two years, in Conferences 5A and 6A, the current pilot program has been successful,” it continued. “The updated pilot expansion aims to align playoff formats across conferences and provide greater consistency throughout conferences in the post-season.”

Classes 1A and 2A will continue to operate under current guidelines.

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