A major realignment in Alabama high school volleyball has reshaped the preseason rankings this year. The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) moved from seven total classifications to a new structure featuring six public school classes and two private school divisions, while the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) remains at two classes.
Despite the shakeup, one thing held steady: every team ranked No. 1 in its class heading into the season is a former or defending state champion.
Among AHSAA public schools, Class 6A’s Thompson, Class 5A’s Spanish Fort (which won the Class 6A title last season), Class 4A’s Guntersville (last season’s Class 5A champion), Class 3A’s Plainview, Class 2A’s defending champion Pleasant Valley and Class 1A’s defending champion Addison all enter the season with at least one state title to their name.
Addison leads all public schools with 15 championships, followed by Pleasant Valley (8), Guntersville (6), Spanish Fort (5), Thompson (3) and Plainview (1).
The private school classes remain dominated by two Mobile-area powerhouses. Double-A Private No. 1 McGill-Toolen has won 25 titles, all previously earned in the largest AHSAA classification before the reclassification. Single-A Private No. 1 Bayside leads the nation with 31 championships. In the AISA ranks, Macon East enters as the top team after winning last season’s A division title.
Volleyball practice began Aug. 3, with the first matches of the season set for Aug. 20.
What the Realignment Changes
The move from seven classifications to a structure of six public classes plus two private divisions is one of the most significant structural changes the AHSAA has made to its championship format, and volleyball is among the sports where its effects show up first. Under the old setup, private schools competed alongside public schools within the same classification lines; the new arrangement gives private school members their own championship tracks at two enrollment levels — Double-A Private and Single-A Private — while public schools compete across Classes 1A through 6A.
For programs that move between classification lines as a result, the change reshapes both the regular-season schedule and the path to a title. A school such as Spanish Fort, which claimed last year’s championship in the state’s former largest class, now chases that same prize in Class 5A under the new numbering. Guntersville makes the parallel jump from last season’s 5A title into 4A. The effect ripples down the list: every classification’s field is populated differently than it was a year ago, which is precisely what makes the preseason rankings a genuine document of transition rather than a simple reshuffle of last year’s final standings.
The AISA, the association governing many of the state’s private and independent schools outside the AHSAA, retains its two-class structure, so the realignment does not disturb the hierarchy there — Macon East enters as the team to beat in the A division after winning it all last season.
Championship Pedigree at Every Level
What the rankings underline is how much championship history stands behind the No. 1 slots. Addison’s 15 volleyball titles lead all public schools in the state and rank among the deepest dynasties in any Alabama sport, a run built in the small Winston County town where volleyball has been the school’s signature program for decades. Pleasant Valley’s eight championships and Guntersville’s six tell similar stories in their communities, while Spanish Fort has turned its five titles into one of the Eastern Shore’s marquee athletic brands.
The private-school numbers dwarf them all. McGill-Toolen’s 25 championships — accumulated in the largest classification before the split — make the Mobile school one of the most decorated volleyball programs in state history, and Bayside’s 31 titles lead the nation at its level. Between the two of them, the new private divisions have a clear favorite on both tiers, and both sit in the greater Mobile area, which continues to produce a disproportionate share of the state’s elite volleyball.
Class 6A
1. Thompson, 2. Hewitt-Trussville, 3. Hoover, 4. Bob Jones, 5. Vestavia Hills, 6. Spain Park, 7. Buckhorn, 8. Huntsville, 9. Oak Mountain, 10. Daphne. Teams to watch include Auburn, Albertville, Dothan, Enterprise and Fairhope.
The new largest classification remains top-heavy with the programs that have dominated it in recent years. Thompson, Hewitt-Trussville, Hoover, Vestavia Hills and Spain Park form the usual Birmingham-area bloc at the top, with Bob Jones and Huntsville representing the Huntsville city schools and Buckhorn joining them from the Tennessee Valley. Oak Mountain rounds out the metro Birmingham presence. Daphne holds the lone top-10 spot for the Mobile-Baldwin region, with Fairhope listed among the teams to watch just outside the top 10 — keeping the Eastern Shore firmly on the 6A map.
Class 5A
1. Spanish Fort, 2. Jasper, 3. Mountain Brook, 4. Austin, 5. Chelsea, 6. Saraland, 7. Homewood, 8. Hartselle, 9. Gulf Shores, 10. Pelham. Teams to watch include Arab, Boaz, Decatur and Pike Road.
Spanish Fort enters as the class favorite after winning last year’s title in what was then the largest classification, and the Toros are joined in the top 10 by two more coastal opponents: Saraland at No. 6 and Gulf Shores at No. 9. That gives the new 5A a distinctly Gulf Coast flavor at the top of the bracket, with the region’s programs now competing in a class whose field stretches from the beaches of Baldwin County to the Tennessee Valley programs like Hartselle and Arab. Jasper, Mountain Brook and Homewood anchor the central part of the state, Austin represents Decatur, and Chelsea carries the Shelby County banner.
Class 4A
1. Guntersville, 2. Cherokee County, 3. Alexandria, 4. Orange Beach, 5. Deshler, 6. Priceville, 7. Brewer, 8. Lawrence County, 9. West Morgan, 10. West Point. Teams to watch include Andalusia, Satsuma and Scottsboro.
Guntersville steps into 4A as the favorite after winning last season’s 5A championship, and the Wildcats are surrounded by northeast Alabama company — Cherokee County, Alexandria, Scottsboro to watch — along with a cluster of Tennessee Valley schools in Deshler, Priceville, Brewer, Lawrence County, West Morgan and West Point. Orange Beach, the new Baldwin County school, breaks up the northern concentration at No. 4, while Andalusia and Satsuma give south Alabama teams to monitor from outside the top 10. Satsuma’s inclusion continues the Mobile County school’s reputation for producing competitive volleyball despite its size.
Class 3A
1. Plainview, 2. Madison County, 3. Lauderdale County, 4. Central-Florence, 5. Glencoe, 6. DAR, 7. Geraldine, 8. Wilson, 9. Curry, 10. Vinemont.
Plainview’s championship pedigree — one title, but a perennially deep tournament run — tops a 3A list that is almost entirely a north Alabama affair. Madison County, Lauderdale County and Central-Florence carry the Tennessee Valley’s tradition-rich small-school programs, Glencoe and DAR keep the northeast corner represented, and Geraldine sits alongside Plainview as the other DeKalb County contender. Curry and Vinemont round out the list from the west and central parts of the state.
Class 2A
1. Pleasant Valley, 2. G.W. Long, 3. Lexington, 4. Fyffe, 5. Sand Rock, 6. Winston County, 7. Ohatchee, 8. Southeastern, 9. Zion Chapel, 10. Tharptown.
Pleasant Valley, the defending champion with eight titles to its name, opens the season on top of a 2A field that mixes east Alabama powerhouses with a heavy northwest presence. G.W. Long has long been the southeast corner’s standard, while Fyffe and Sand Rock bring DeKalb County depth. Lexington, Ohatchee, Southeastern and Tharptown round out a list drawn heavily from the state’s smaller rural communities, with Zion Chapel representing Coffee County and Winston County keeping its namesake school’s volleyball tradition in the conversation behind Addison’s dynasty.
Class 1A
1. Addison, 2. Meek, 3. Belgreen, 4. University Charter, 5. Kinston, 6. Spring Garden, 7. Marion County, 8. Fayetteville, 9. Lynn, 10. Waterloo. Teams to watch include Leroy, Millry and Washington County.
Addison’s 15 championships lead the state’s public schools, and the Bulldogs start where they almost always do — at No. 1 in the smallest classification. Meek, from the same Winston County area, sits at No. 2, making the county the epicenter of 1A volleyball. The rest of the top 10 spreads across small-town Alabama: Belgreen and Spring Garden in the northeast, Kinston in Coffee County, Marion County and Lynn in the northwest, Fayetteville and Waterloo rounding out the list. Leroy, Millry and Washington County give southwest Alabama three programs to watch, keeping the region’s small-school presence alive at the bottom of the classifications.
The Private Divisions
Double-A Private: 1. McGill-Toolen, 2. Briarwood, 3. Faith Academy, 4. Montgomery Catholic, 5. St. Paul’s, 6. UMS-Wright, 7. John Carroll, 8. Madison Academy, 9. St. Michael, 10. Houston Academy.
Single-A Private: 1. Bayside, 2. Prattville Christian, 3. Mobile Christian, 4. Montgomery Academy, 5. St. Luke’s, 6. Providence Christian, 7. Saint James, 8. Mars Hill Bible, 9. Donoho, 10. Trinity.
The two new private divisions are a portrait of Mobile-area volleyball dominance. McGill-Toolen tops Double-A Private with its 25 championships, and the rest of that division’s top 10 is saturated with Gulf Coast schools: Faith Academy at No. 3, St. Paul’s at No. 5, UMS-Wright at No. 6 and St. Michael at No. 9 — four more Mobile and Baldwin County programs alongside the Jackets. Briarwood and John Carroll represent Birmingham, Montgomery Catholic carries the capital city’s flag, and Madison Academy and Houston Academy fill out the tier.
Single-A Private is even more lopsided. Bayside, whose 31 titles lead the nation, starts at No. 1, with Mobile Christian at No. 3 and St. Luke’s at No. 5 giving Mobile two more contenders. Prattville Christian, Montgomery Academy, Providence Christian, Saint James, Mars Hill Bible, Donoho and Trinity complete the field from across the state.
AISA and the Season Ahead
AISA: 1. Macon East, 2. Lowndes, 3. Southern Academy, 4. Edgewood Academy, 5. Abbeville Christian.
Macon East enters the AISA ranks as the defending A division champion and the clear team to beat, with Lowndes, Southern Academy, Edgewood Academy and Abbeville Christian filling out the association’s top five.
With practice underway since Aug. 3 and first matches set for Aug. 20, the season opens under a format that gives more programs a realistic championship path than ever before — six public titles, two private titles and two AISA titles to chase. For the defending and former champions that populate the No. 1 lines, the target on their backs is the same as always. What has changed is the geography of who is chasing them, and for fans along the Gulf Coast, the new structure means the region’s powerhouses — Spanish Fort, Daphne, Gulf Shores, Saraland, McGill-Toolen, Bayside, UMS-Wright and the rest — will be playing for trophies in brackets built, for the first time, around them.
