The NSAA released their classifications for the 2026 Fall Sports this morning. These classifications are set yearly outside of football, which are on a two year cycle and set earlier in the year.
Lots of the changes for local schools are in volleyball.
With Elkhorn North, Bennington, and Lincoln Northwest jumping up to Class A, that has forced North Platte to drop down to Class B for Volleyball, Softball, Girls Golf, Boys Tennis, and Cross Country. The Bulldogs are still in Class A for football in the upcoming two year cycle.
In Class C, Hi-Line volleyball moves up to C2. Last year the Bulls were 11-19. South Loup also makes the jump to C2, after going 8-22 last year.
Class D, the runners-up are swapping classes. The Overton Eagle volleyball team drops to D2. Last year in an all Fort Kearny Conference affair, the Eagles fell to Amherst in the D1 Volleyball championship. The D2 runner-up from 2025, Cambridge, is going up to Class D1. Medicine Valley, Brady, and Burwell are also dropping to D2 for the upcoming volleyball season.
NSAA member schools have until Thursday, July 30 to notify the NSAA Office if they want to opt-up in.
You can find every school’s classification HERE.
VOLLEYBALL CLASSIFICATIONS LOCALLY
A – Kearney
B – Lexington, McCook, North Platte (down from A)
C1 – Broken Bow, Cozad, Gothenburg, Holdrege, Kearney Catholic, Minden
C2 – Alma, Arcadia/Loup City, Elm Creek, Hershey, Hi-Line (up from D1), Kenesaw (up from D1), Maxwell, Maywood-Hayes Center (up from D1), North Platte St. Patrick’s, South Loup (up from D1)
D1 – Amherst, Ansley-Litchfield, Arapahoe, Axtell, Cambridge (up from D2), Dundy County Stratton, Loomis, Southern Valley, Southwest
D2 – Anselmo-Merna, Bertrand, Brady (down from D1), Burwell (down from D1), Hitchcock County, Medicine Valley (down from D1), Overton (down from D1), Sandhills Valley (down from D1), Sandhills/Thedford, SEM, Twin Loup, Wilcox-Hildreth
SOFTBALL CLASSIFICATIONS LOCALLY
A – Kearney
B – Hastings, HWY 6 (Holdrege/Minden), Lexington, McCook, North Platte (down from A)
C – Cozad, Gothenburg, Kearney Catholic/Amherst, Southern Valley/Alma
GIRLS GOLF CLASSIFICATIONS LOCALLY
A – Kearney
B – Hastings, Lexington/Elm Creek, McCook, North Platte (down from A)
C – Arcadia/Loup City, Broken Bow, Burwell, Cambridge, Cozad, Gothenburg, Hershey, Hi-Line, Holdrege, Kearney Catholic, Minden, North Platte St. Patrick’s, Southwest
UNIFIED BOWLING CLASSIFICATIONS LOCALLY
A – Kearney
B – Arapahoe-Cambridge, Lexington, McCook, North Platte (down from A), Southern Valley
CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIFICATIONS LOCALLY
A – Kearney
B – Lexington, McCook, North Platte (down from A)
C – Bertrand/Loomis, Broken Bow, Cozad, Gothenburg, Holdrege, Kearney Catholic, Minden
D – Alma, Amherst, Arapahoe, Arcadia/Loup City, Axtell, Brady, Burwell, Cambridge, Dundy County Stratton, Hershey, Hi-Line, Hitchcock County, Kenesaw, Maxwell, Maywood-Hayes Center, Medicine Valley, North Platte St. Patrick’s, Overton, Pleasanton, Sandhills Valley, SEM, Southern Valley, Southwest, Twin Loup, Wilcox-Hildreth
