By TIM STRIED
OHSAA Media Director
To help with your scheduling for the 2025 baseball and softball seasons and with our baseball and softball tournaments expanding to seven divisions beginning next spring, listed below are the [expected] dates for the start of coaching/tryouts; the dates for the start of regular season contests, and the dates for the start of the OHSAA tournament. The 2025 Baseball State Tournament will remain at Canal Park in Akron, with several of the divisional semifinals taking place at venues in the nearby northeast Ohio area. The 2025 Softball State Tournament will remain at Firestone Stadium in Akron, with several of the divisional semifinals taking place at venues in the nearby northeast Ohio area. Additional information will be shared at a later time, once the 2025 State Baseball and State Softball Tournament formats have been officially determined.
BASEBALL | DIVISIONS III – VII
Coaching Begins February 24
Season Begins March 28/29*
1st & 2nd Rounds of Tournament May 19 – 24
Tournament Draw May 11
BASEBALL | DIVISIONS I & II
Coaching Begins February 24
Season Begins March 28/29*
1st & 2nd Rounds of Tournament May 26 – 31**
Tournament Draw May 11
*Date dependent on OHSBCA proposal to begin the future baseball seasons on Friday, instead of Saturday
** Indicates a few teams may play a preliminary game May 23/24, although the majority of teams will begin tournament play the week of May 26
SOFTBALL | DIVISIONS III – VII
Coaching Begins February 17
Season Begins March 22
1st & 2nd Rounds of Tournament May 12 – 17
Tournament Draw May 4
SOFTBALL | DIVISIONS I & II
Coaching Begins February 17
Season Begins March 22
1st & 2nd Rounds of Tournament May 19 – 24*
Tournament Draw May 4
*Indicates a few teams may play a preliminary game May 16/17, although the majority of teams will begin tournament play the week of May 19
2025 SEASON START DATES
There has been some confusion with the 2025 and 2026 season start dates for softball and baseball. The 2025 Softball and Baseball Regulations have been published since the summer of 2022. The Softball Regulations have stated that the 2025 season start date would begin on March 22, 2025. The Baseball Regulations have stated that the 2025 season start date would begin on March 29, 2025. In previous years, the softball and baseball seasons have typically started on the same week. We realize this is a change; however, these dates have been published since 2022.
We understand that there may have been previous conversations that indicated the season begin date(s) might change from what was posted in the Sport Regulations; however, there have been internal and external meetings with the respective Coaches Associations, that have determined the following preliminary plan. This information is not official until the June Board of Directors Meeting. BASEBALL20252026
Season Begins 2025/March 28/29* – 2026/March 27/28*
State Tournament 2025/June 13 -15 – 2026/June 12 – 14
Season Ends 2025/June 21 – 2026/June 20
*current proposal submitted by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association to begin on Friday, March 28, 2025 and Friday, March 27, 2026 (instead of Saturday, March 29, 2025 and Saturday, March 28, 2026) to be reviewed and voted on at the June BOD Meeting. If not approved, the 2025 season will begin on Saturday, March 29 and 2026 on Saturday, March 28. SOFTBALL20252026
Season Begins 2025/March 22 – 2026/March 21
State Tournament 2025/June 5 – 7* – 2026/June 4 – 6
Season Ends 2025/June 14 – 2026/June 13
*current proposal to move the 2025 State Tournament to June 7 – 9, instead of the currently listed May 29 – 31, 2025 due to the increase in number of divisions. The tournament dates would match what is outlined above. This will be reviewed and voted on at the June BOD Meeting. As indicated by asterisks above, these date(s) could potentially change based on the June Board of Directors Meeting.
2025 BASEBALL/SOFTBALL DIVISIONS & REPRESENTATION
The OHSAA Board of Directors are on schedule to approve the new divisions and tournament representation at the August Board of Directors Meeting. As announced in February, baseball and softball will expand to seven divisions beginning this upcoming spring season (2025). The largest 64 schools are placed in Division I, the next 64 largest schools are placed in Division II, and the remaining schools are divided as equally as possible into the other divisions.
Once the divisional assignments and regional tournament representation are voted on at the August Board Meeting, the information that will be shared shortly after will be considered preliminary, as OHSAA member schools may opt to move up to Division I if Referendum Issue 1B passes this spring. Results of the referendum voting will be announced May 16. Any changes to divisional assignments or tournament representation as a result of schools opting up to Division I will be announced by the OHSAA at a later date.
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