Merry Christmas to all you WPIAL baseball fans as the upcoming playoff seeds are all wrapped and waiting under the tree of anticipation.
The WPIAL baseball playoffs are set with 78 teams, including five of the six winners from a year ago with Seneca Valley (6A), Indiana (5A), Riverside (3A), Freedom (2A) and Serra Catholic (A) hoping to defend their crowns.
The postseason begins next week and concludes with six title games May 26-27 at EQT Park in Washington.
The brackets will be announced at 1 p.m. Friday on Trib HSSN.
Class 6A
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Butler vs. No. 8 Seneca Valley
No. 4 Norwin vs. No. 5 Hempfield
No. 2 Canon-McMillan vs. No. 7 Central Catholic
No. 3 North Allegheny vs. No. 6 Mt. Lebanon
Don’s take: Even though this is the smallest district baseball playoff field, it was not as easy to seed as in the past. … Butler is white hot with 10 straight wins and earned the top seed. … Canon-McMillan began the season with 11 consecutive victories before finishing 4-4 in its final eight games. … Even though Norwin was a co-champ, I gave the No. 3 seed to North Allegheny based on the Tigers win earlier this season over the Knights. … The final four seeds can go several ways. I based it on head-to-head with both Hempfield and Mt. Lebanon going a combined 3-2 against each other and Seneca Valley and Central Catholic. The Spartans get the nod for the fifth seed by going 2-1 against the Blue Devils. This way ignores trying not to match section teams against each other, but in a small bracket, that’s fine. If you are heck bent on going Section 1 vs. Section 2 in all four matchups, then you throw seeding out the door.
Class 5A
First round
No. 1 Pine-Richland vs. No. 16 Connellsville
No. 8 Montour vs. No. 9 Franklin Regional
No. 4 Moon vs. No. 13 Mars
No. 5 Plum vs. No. 12 Bethel Park
No. 2 Penn-Trafford vs. No. 15 Fox Chapel
No. 7 West Allegheny vs. No. 10 South Fayette
No. 3 Thomas Jefferson vs. No. 14 Upper St. Clair
No. 6 Latrobe vs. No. 11 Baldwin
Don’s take: Nothing new here. Another year, another brutal Class 5A bracket with plenty of depth. … Legit debate for No. 1, but I gave it to Pine-Richland based on the fact that the Rams were perfect in their section and four of their five losses were to Class 6A teams and the other was to the top seed in 3A. … What to do with the top-heavy Section 1-5A? You could argue that Plum or Latrobe is the best team in the class, and yet they finished tied for second place behind Penn-Trafford. I separated all four teams into different quadrants, giving Penn-Trafford No. 2 in the upper right of the bracket, Plum No. 5 in the lower left, Latrobe No. 6 in the lower right and Franklin Regional No. 9 in the upper left. … Thomas Jefferson defeated Moon earlier this season, so the Jaguars are No. 3 and the Tigers are 4. … Tough to pick between Section 3 and 4 runners-up in West Allegheny and Montour, so you can flip a coin or go with the more traditional eeny-meeny-miny-moe for the No. 7 and 8 seeds. … We have seen mid-range to double-digit seeds win 5A in the past, and anybody between the No. 7 and 14 seeds that aren’t labeled as favorites could make a deep run.
Class 4A
First round
No. 1 Indiana – Bye
No. 8 Belle Vernon vs. No. 9 Blackhawk
No. 4 Elizabeth Forward vs. No. 13 Derry
No. 5 Hopewell vs. No. 12 Ringgold
No. 2 Valley – Bye
No. 7 West Mifflin vs. No. 10 Hampton
No. 3 Beaver – Bye
No. 6 Knoch vs. No. 11 Ambridge
Don’s take: Can Indiana reach the district and state finals for a third straight year and repeat as champions in either or both? They will begin their quest as the top seed in the 4A bracket after earning a share of the Section 3 crown. … The team they finished tied with for first place is Valley, so the Vikings earn the No. 2 spot. … Section 1 was strong again this season, so they dominate five of the next nine seeds with Beaver at No. 3, Hopewell at 5, Blackhawk at 9, Hampton at 10 and Ambridge at 11. … Watch out for seeds No. 6, 7 and 8 as Knoch, West Mifflin or Belle Vernon could go on a successful postseason run. The Knights get the nod at No. 6 thanks in part to a win over the top team in 6A in Butler.
Class 3A
First round
No. 1 Avonworth vs. No. 16 Waynesburg Central
No. 8 Mt. Pleasant vs. No. 9 Quaker Valley
No. 4 Freeport vs. No. 13 Charleroi
No. 5 South Park vs. No. 12 Keystone Oaks
No. 2 Ellwood City vs. No. 15 Ligonier Valley
No. 7 Riverside vs. No. 10 Shady Side Academy
No. 3 Mohawk vs. No. 14 South Allegheny
No. 6 Seton LaSalle vs. No. 11 Burrell
Don’s take: The biggest question coming in to the 3A playoffs is where do you put Freeport? The Yellowjackets won Section 3 by four games, but four of their five nonsection wins were against teams that did not make the playoffs. … Avonworth gets the nod on top. The’ Lopes not only won Section 2, but they also played a very challenging nonsection schedule that included a victory over Class 5A No. 1 Pine-Richland. … Next are the Section 1 co-champs with Ellwood City and Mohawk at No. 2 and 3. … I put Freeport in at No. 4, followed by a South Park team that lost a heartbreaker to Avonworth but did beat Baldwin, West Mifflin and Belle Vernon in nonsection games. … Section 4 champ Seton LaSalle is No. 6 with defending district champion Riverside at No. 7. … This should be a heck of a tournament following the first round.
Class 2A
First round
No. 1 Neshannock – Bye
No. 8 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart vs. No. 9 California
No. 4 South Side vs. No. 13 Apollo-Ridge
No. 5 Freedom vs. No. 12 Frazier
No. 2 Laurel – Bye
No. 7 Riverview vs. No. 10 Burgettstown
No. 3 Fort Cherry – Bye
No. 6 Shenango vs. No. 11 Apollo-Ridge
Don’s take: I give a lot of love to a deep and tradition-rich Section 1 as co-champs Neshannock and Laurel get the top two seeds, then defending champ Freedom is No. 5 and Shenango is 6. … A still young Fort Cherry team nearly goes undefeated and earns a No. 3 seed and a bye for winning Section 1. … Watch out for the three top teams in Section 3 with South Side at No. 4, Riverview at 7 and OLSH at 8.
Class A
First round
No. 1 Eden Christian Academy – Bye
No. 8 Leechburg vs. No. 9 Jefferson-Morgan
No. 4 Western Beaver – Bye
No. 5 Avella vs. No. 12 Aquinas Academy
No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic – Bye
No. 7 Bishop Canevin vs. No. 10 Carmichaels
No. 3 Serra Catholic – Bye
No. 6 Sewickley Academy vs. No. 11 Union
Don’s take: Again, one section stood out above the other two and earns the benefit of higher seeding. Props to Section 3-A as Eden Christian gets the top seed, 2025 champ Serra Catholic No. 3, Sewickley Academy 6 and Bishop Canevin 7. … Section 2 champion Western Beaver is the No. 4 seed, and Avella tries to repeat a 2024 deep run out of the No. 5 seed. … Like last year, this bracket should produce some pretty exciting baseball, especially in the quarterfinals and beyond.