First look at SC High School League’s new athletic regions for 2026-28
The South Carolina High School League released its region placement for 2026-28 realignment on Thursday.
The news comes a day earlier than expected and comes a week after the classification placements were set. Schools have until Feb. 1 to submit if they will appeal their region assignments. Appeals will be heard on Feb. 3-5.
Some of the highlights of the new region placements:
- Gray Collegiate will not be in a region with Lexington County schools for its first two seasons in Class 5A. The War Eagles are in Region 4-5A with Ridge View, Blythewood, Spring Valley and Sumter.
- Irmo won’t be with any Midlands teams in Region 5-4A. Instead, the Yellow Jackets are placed with Aiken-area schools and North Augusta.
- There will be an all-Midlands region in 3A with Airport, Brookland-Cayce, Camden, Gilbert, Lower Richland, Swansea all in Region 4-3A.
- Fort Mill, Northwestern, Rock Hill will be placed with Upstate schools Dorman and Boiling Springs in Region 2-5A.
- Florence schools Wilson, South Florence and West Florence will be paired with Myrtle Beach-area schools Conway, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and St. James in Region 7-4A.
- With Socastee and Carolina Forest the only two Grand Strand teams in 5A, they are placed with Lowcountry schools Berkeley, Cane Bay, Goose Creek and Wando.
- Stratford is not in the same region as three other Berkeley County high schools, Berkeley, Goose Creek and Cane Bay. Insteal Stratford is in Region 6-5A with Ashley Ridge, Fort Dorchester, James Island, Stall, Summerville and West Ashley.
The complete list is below. (**Denotes Schools Not Playing Football ... ****Denotes At-Large Member)
Class 5A
Region 1: Byrnes Eastside, Hillcrest, JL Mann, Mauldin, Woodmont
Region 2: Boiling Springs, Dorman, Fort Mill, Northwestern, Rock Hill, Spartanburg
Region 3: Chapin, Dutch Fork, Lexington, River Bluff, White Knoll
Region 4: Blythewood, Gray Collegiate, Ridge View, Spring Valley, Sumter
Region 5: Ashley Ridge, Fort Dorchester, James Island, Stall, Stratford, Summerville, West Ashley
Region 6: Berkeley, Cane Bay, Carolina Forest, Goose Creek, Socastee, Wando
Class 4A Regions
Region 1: Easley, Fountain Inn, Greenwood, Laurens, TL Hanna, Westside
Region 2: Gaffney, Greenville, Greer, Riverside, Travelers Rest, Wade Hampton
Region 3: Catawba Ridge, Clover, Lake Wylie, **Legion Collegiate, Nation Ford, South Pointe, York
Region 4: AC Flora, Dreher, Indian Land, Lancaster, Lugoff-Elgin, Richland Northeast, Westwood
Region 5: Aiken, Fox Creek, Irmo, Midland Valley, North Augusta, South Aiken
Region 6: Beaufort, Bluffton, Colleton County, Hilton Head, Lucy Beckham, May River
Region 7: Conway, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, South Florence, St. James, West Florence, Wilson
Class 3A Regions
Region 1: Berea Daniel, Pickens, Seneca, Southside Walhalla
Region 2: Belton Honea Path, Emerald, **Legacy, Palmetto, Powdersville, Wren
Region 3: Blue Ridge, Broome, Chapman, Christ Church, Union County
Region 4: Airport, Brookland-Cayce, Camden, Gilbert, Lower Richland, Swansea
Region 5: Bishop England, Georgetown, Hanahan, North Charleston, Oceanside Collegiate
Region 6: Atlantic Collegiate, Aynor, Crestwood, Darlington, Hartsville, Lakewood, Loris
Class 2A Regions
Region 1: ** Brashier MC, Crescent, Carolina, **Green Upstate, **Greenville Tech, Liberty, Pendleton, St. Joseph’s, West-Oak
Region 2: Chesnee, Clinton, **Greer MC, High Point, Landrum, Mountain View Prep, Southside Christian, Woodruff
Region 3: Andrew Jackson, Chester, Columbia, Keenan, Mid-Carolina, Newberry, York Prep
Region 4: American Leadership, **Horse Creek, Orangeburg-Wilkinson, Pelion, Silver Bluff, Strom Thurmond, Saluda
Region 5: Academic Magnet, Battery Creek, **Bridges Prep, Lake Marion, Philip Simmons, Timberland, Woodruff
Region 6: Dillon, East Clarendon, Lake City, Marlboro County, Manning, Waccamaw
Class A regions
Region 1: Abbeville, Calhoun Falls, Dixie, McCormick, Ninety Six, **SC Deaf and Blind, Thornwell, Ware Shoals
Region 2: Batesburg-Leesville, CA Johnson, Clear Dot Charter, Eau Claire, Ridge Spring-Monetta, Whitmire
Region 3: Blacksburg, Buford, Fairfield Central, Great Falls, Lewisville, **Midlands Stem, **Riverwalk
Region 4: Barnwell, Blackville-Hilda, Calhoun County, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, **North, Wagener-Salley, Williston-Elko
Region 5: Central, Cheraw, Chesterfield, **Governor’s School, Lamar, Lee Central, McBee, North Central
Region 6: Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Bethune-Bowman, Branchville, Denmark-Olar, Edisto, Scott’s Branch
Region 7: Allendale-Fairfax, Hampton County, Hardeeville, ****Polaris Tech, Ridgeland, **Royal Live Oaks, Whale Branch
Region 8: Baptist Hill, Burke, **Charleston Charter, Cross, **Lowcountry Leadership, Military Magnet, **Palmetto Scholars, St. Johns
Region 9: Andrews, Carvers Bay, Hannah Pamplico, Hemingway, Johnsonville, Kingstree
Region 10: ****Coastal, Green Sea Floyds, Lake View, Latta, Marion, Mullins, **Virtus Academy
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 3:41 PM with the headline "First look at SC High School League’s new athletic regions for 2026-28."
