It seemed logical enough.
Jeannette won the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship last year, returned its entire starting lineup and didn’t lose to a district team this season.
Yet there was some belief that the Jayhawks (19-1) would not get the No. 1 seed for this year’s tournament. It wasn’t so obvious with unbeaten Sewickley Academy (21-0), another legit contender, holding the No. 1 ranking all season.
The debate flamed out quickly Monday when the bracket revealed Jeannette at No. 1 and Sewickley Academy at No. 2.
“I was shocked but not surprised,” Jeannette coach Adrian Batts said. “I wouldn’t have been upset if we were No. 2, but we beat (Sewickley Academy in the semifinals) last year. They didn’t beat us.
“Somebody believed in us, which is nice. But we have to be ready to play and advance. We’ll worry about Sewickley when we have to.”
WPIAL basketball committee member Bill Cardone said Jeannette’s title run last year carried weight.
“Sewickley is a very good team, and Jeannette is a very good team,” Cardone said. “Jeannette pretty much has their whole team back. You had the champion in Jeannette … We gave them that little nod. They’re the champs until they’re unseated.”
Jeannette will host a first-round game at 7 p.m. Monday, facing the winner of a preliminary game between Brentwood and Beth-Center.
The Derry boys, looking every bit of a postseason darling, also fared well after winning their first section title since 1957. The Trojans (15-6) are the No. 4 seed in Class 4A and will host No. 13 Deer Lakes (10-11) at 7 p.m. Friday.
“We thought we’d get Deer Lakes or Highlands,” Derry coach Tom Esposito said. “We’ve embraced the one-game-at-a-time mindset. Our guys have been focused. Different guys have stepped up the last month. They are resilient … playing with one heartbeat.”
Another pleasant surprise for local fans, on the girls side, is a pair of all-Westmoreland matchups in the first round.
Norwin (16-4) earned the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 Hempfield (13-9) at 7 p.m. Feb. 20.
It is odd for the WPIAL to pair up teams from the same section in the opening round — this will be a quarterfinal in the nine-team bracket — but it made an exception.
Canon-McMillan is No. 1 in 6A after beating Norwin last week to win the Section 2 title.
Norwin was the runner-up last year, which likely played strongly into its seeding.
Hempfield will get another crack at Norwin, which it lost to 56-48 in the regular-season finale. Norwin has beaten Hempfield 19 straight times.
“I really thought we would get Pine-Richland,” Hempfield coach Bob Madison said. “I spent all weekend scouting them.
“What’s the point of two sections if you aren’t going to cross-seed?”
The Hempfield boys are seeded No. 5 in Class 6A. The Spartans (15-7) will take on No. 4 Seneca Valley (13-8) on Feb. 19 at a time and site to be announced.
“We have no complaints,” Hempfield coach Austin Butler said. “Everyone is 0-0. It’s win or go home.”
In girls 5A, No. 6 Penn-Trafford (16-5) will host No. 11 Franklin Regional (12-10) at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Penn-Trafford beat the Panthers, 59-42, in nonsection play last month.
The Warriors took a 22-game home winning streak into Monday night’s game against Upper St. Clair.
“That’s where I thought we would be,” Penn-Trafford coach Chuck Fontana said. “Losing to Plum and Indiana obviously didn’t help us get to a higher seed. It’s tough to beat a team twice. Franklin is a scrappy and well-coached team. It’s going to be a tough first-round game.”
The Belle Vernon girls also grabbed a No. 4 seed in 4A. The Leopards (19-3), riding a 13-game winning streak behind a fledgling lineup, will host No. 13 Lincoln Park (10-12) at 7 p.m. Monday.
“I still thought we should have been the three seed, but our reality is we are a four seed and we now have to focus on Lincoln Park,” Belle Vernon coach Cornelious Nesbit said. “We now have to control what we can control.”
The Greensburg Central Catholic girls are seeded No. 3 in 3A. The Centurions (16-5) didn’t get the defending champion nod like Jeannette, although GCC beat Shady Side Academy in last year’s final before losing twice to the Bulldogs this season.
GCC won the 2A championship two years ago.
Shady Side Academy (19-2) is No. 1.
GCC plays No. 14 Mohawk (8-13) at 6 p.m. Friday at Fox Chapel.
Ten county schools have their boys and girls teams in the postseason: Norwin, Hempfield, Penn-Trafford, Latrobe, Franklin Regional, Belle Vernon, Burrell, Jeannette, Greensburg Central Catholic and Monessen.
The Latrobe (5A) and Greensburg Central Catholic (2A) boys have preliminary-round games Thursday.
The Norwin (6A), Franklin Regional (5A) and Belle Vernon (4A) are all in No. 8 vs. 9 matchups. Belle Vernon is a defending WPIAL champ.
The top boys seeds are Upper St. Clair (6A), Quaker Valley (4A), Mohawk (3A), Chartiers Valley (5A), Jeannette (2A), and Neighborhood Academy (A).
Top girls seeds are Canon-McMillan (6A), South Fayette (5A), Blackhawk (4A), Shady Side Academy (3A), Neshannock (2A), and Aquinas Academy (A).
The WPIAL finals will be Feb. 26-28 at Petersen Events Center.