FHSAA shakes up baseball playoffs for 2027. Here's what it means

Just in time for Major League Baseball's playoffs, the Florida High School Athletic Association is throwing a changeup of its own for baseball — and the double-duty final four feat of Brayden Harris in May could soon be a thing of the past in the Sunshine State.

The FHSAA board of directors voted to expand the best-of-3 format in baseball to include the state semifinals and the state championship itself, which were previously held as single-game elimination.

That adds two more layers of series baseball to the postseason, which for some teams could in theory stretch as far as 16 games: three games total in the single-elimination district tournaments (quarterfinal, semifinal and final), a fourth in the single-elimination regional quarterfinal, and then

series of three apiece in each of the remaining four rounds. Only the best-of-3 championships themselves, not the semifinal rounds, will take place at the FHSAA host site.

In the same vote, the association also instituted best-of-3 for each round of pool play in the Open Division in baseball,which is scheduled to hold its first edition in the spring of 2027.

The move is certain to further ratchet up the pressure on teams' pitching depth in the later stages of the playoffs, and raises the chances of high-scoring shootouts in the late knockout phase as schools dig deeper and deeper into their bullpens.

Applying best-of-3 to the last two rounds may further reduce the likelihood of another performance like the one from St. Johns Country Daypitcher Harris, now at Florida State, who won two elimination games in barely 48 hours. Harris started and won both the semifinaland final of Class 1A in May, exiting the semifinal in the fourth inning to avoid hitting the FHSAA pitch limit and then dominating the title game two days later.

Depending on Florida's often-unpredictable May weather, the move to best-of-3 could potentially stretch out postseason considerably. In 2017, Bollesand Neaseboth won FHSAA championships on June 1 after multiple weather postponements.

The FHSAA had employed single-elimination for the championship game going back to its inaugural tournament in 1922, when Summerlin Institute of Bartow defeated Williston 9-0 in a title game played at Rollins College.

Watch Florida high school sports live on NFHS Network

Got a great play? How to submit your high school sports highlights to the Times-Union

Bolles, Creekside top Bale-N-Trail

Over the bales and along the trails, Northeast Florida runners turned in some of the fastest times of the area's cross-country season so far at the Bale-N-Trail Original on Sept. 26 at Bartram Trail.

Paced by Aidan Chandler (15:56.5, fourth overall), Bolles claimed the boys team championship with a strong 41 points, ahead of Creekside and Fleming Island. Armaan Sharma, Aaron Ches, Wyatt Cleek and Vincent Barragan each came in under 16:35 with top-13 finishes for Bolles.

Senior JP Strombeck of Fleming Island took the individual boys top spot at 15:47.9, edging out Bartram Trail's Bryce Motycka and Fleming Island's Luke Janke.

In the girls elite race, Creekside earned a decisive first place with 59 points, comfortably clear of Gainesville Buchholz (102) and Ponte Vedra (105). Eva Delaney at 18:19 in second, Emma Godfrey at 18:53 in third and Ivey Edgell at 19:28 in sixth led the Knights. Bartram Trail's speedy sophomore Avery Hartley earned the individual championship in 18:17, after placing second at the same event in 2025.

Also during the week, Mandarin won both boys and girls events at the Leslie Baker Saints Open at Sandalwood, with Alex Cardona (20:02) and Marlee Munn (25:42) on top in the mid-afternoon competition.

This week's schedule includes the Run Matanzas Invitational on Oct. 2 in Palm Coast and the Craig Speziale Invitational on Oct. 3 in Ponte Vedra.

Volleyball opens big Gateway month

October is knocking on the door, and that means a flurry of action in Gateway Conference tournament season.

First up is the Gateway Conference volleyball tournament, beginning Oct. 5, with Wolfson entering as defending champion. The Wolfpack topped Fletcher in the 2025 final, ending a wait of 24 years.

Wolfson (12-5 through Sept. 29) landed the No. 1 seed in the bracket released Tuesday by Duval County Public Schools, potentially on a collision course with Fletcher in the final again. Baldwin and Mandarin complete the top four seeds.

Also on deck next week will be the boys and girls diving championships, scheduled for Oct. 8 at the Cecil Aquatic Center. The subsequent weeks this month will include championships in swimming, bowling, cross-country and golf.

Champions collide in Ponte Vedra meet

What happens when three state champion teams meet in one swimming pool?

A quality tri-meet like the one for Bolles, Nease and Ponte Vedra on Sept. 26 at Planet Swim near the Sharks' campus.

Perennial state champion Bolles, reigning over the state in Class 1A, picked up most of the event honors, including multiple victories for Noah Walker (boys 50 and 100-yard freestyle), Sarah Blaum (girls 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke) and Heidi Stoute (girls 50 and 500 free).

But Nease, last year's Class 3A boys co-champions, and Ponte Vedra, who have a Class 3A dynasty on the girls side, also had their own wins to celebrate.

Nease had top honors for Luke Zardavets in the boys 100 fly and 100 breaststroke, as well as first-place finishes for the boys 400 free relay team and for Lincoln Driesse in the boys 500 free. Ponte Vedra's Ava Pell, meanwhile, came in first in the girls 200 individual medley.

This week, many of the state's top swimmers converge on Ocala for the Florida Swimming Pool Association Meet on Oct. 2-3. More than 1,200 athletes compete across the two days in Marion County. Bolles won both the boys and girls team championships there in 2025, with 705 1/2 and 614 points, respectively.

Around the area

Beachside volleyball placed seventh at the Sunshine State Invitational in Venice with a 3-2 record, and freshman outside hitter Nina Simanic earned a berth on the all-tournament team. … Duval Charter inaugurated new permanent lighting for its football field on Jacksonville's Southside. … Ridgeview named Nicholas Tosh head wrestling coach. … Former Fleming Island midfielder Taylor Tamares won ASUN women's soccer player of the week honors at North Florida. … Navy midfielder Stella Jones, from Bishop Kenny, netted her second college goal Sept. 26 against Colgate. ... Eagle's View received the No. 1 seed for the Sunshine State Athletic Association volleyball tournament, scheduled for Oct. 2 and 3 in Winter Haven. … In a particularly lengthy volleyball set, Palatka defeated Crescent City 34-32 in the third during their Sept. 23 match. ... For track and field, the FHSAA voted to advance the top two district finishers in each event to regionals, along with the next eight best marks in the region from either the district meet or approved regular-season qualifiers. … The FHSAA board ratified Fletcher principal Dean Ledford and Orange Park principal Ivin Gunder as members of its public liaison advisory committee.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: FHSAA shakes up baseball playoffs for 2027. Here's what it means

Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.