The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, where the Board approved a pair of advisory committee recommendations aimed at bringing the IHSA Baseball and Softball State Final schedules in alignment with other multiclass IHSA sports.
In recent years, the IHSA has made changes to its State Final schedules in boys soccer, girls soccer, girls basketball, and boys basketball. Each sport previously held their state final tournaments over the course of two weekends, contesting different classes on each weekend. Girls and Boys Basketball moved to a single-weekend state final format in 2021-22, and girls and boys soccer followed suit in 2023-24.
The changes approved by the Board on Wednesday set the stage for baseball and softball to follow suit with single-weekend state final formats beginning in 2026.
“The move to a single-weekend state final format in basketball and soccer has been very well received overall, which led our baseball and softball advisory committees to seek out a similar format,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “I believe this has the potential to create an exciting culminating weekend for both sports.”
The schedule will call for the IHSA Softball State Finals in all four classes to be held in Week 48 of the IHSA calendar, which is when the IHSA Class 1A/2A Softball State Finals are currently held. The IHSA Baseball State Finals in all four classes will be held in Week 49 of the IHSA calendar, which is when the IHSA Class 3A/4A Baseball State Finals are currently held.
The IHSA’s hosting contract for the Softball State Finals at Louisville Slugger in Peoria runs through the 2025 state tournament.
“We believe that Louisville Slugger is the premier softball facility in the state,” said Anderson. “We have enjoyed a fantastic partnership with the staff there and it is our intention to hold the IHSA Softball State Finals there in 2026, and beyond, as the tournament transitions to the single-weekend format. We believe there is mutual interest from Louisville Slugger, and the many community partners that help put on the event and expect to be able to work together to make this official very soon.”
The IHSA currently has a baseball state final contract for the 1A/2A tourney weekend at Dozer Park in Peoria, and a state final contract for the 3A/4A tourney weekend at Slammers Stadium in Joliet. The 1A/2A contract in Peoria runs through the 2025 state finals, while the 3A/4A in Joliet contract runs through the 2026 state finals.
“We intend to honor our current baseball hosting contracts and are open to multiple options in 2027 and beyond,” said Anderson. “Those options include holding the state finals at multiple venues in one city or continuing to contest the different classes at two sites on the same weekend. We have deep ties in both ballparks and communities, and will continue to work with both hosts, along with other key Illinois high school baseball constituents, to determine the best course of action for hosting the State Finals in the single-weekend format.”
The IHSA Board of Directors also indicated they will explore authoring a by-law proposal in the fall of 2025 that would bring alignment to the season lengths of both sports.
The IHSA will be releasing the dates for the remaining 2025-26 State Series rounds (Regional, Sectional, Super-Sectional) to schools in the near future.
