AHSAA makes changes to the setup in 7A regional basketball:
Good 7A teams will be coming to Wallace next year, some won't:
GDW Analysis:
MONTGOMERY: Prep basketball fans who love to come to the AHSAA Northwest Regional at Wallace State Community College will see some different participants from the largest classification in the state.
The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) announced Thursday of whom will be going to the regional round of the playoffs with the Northwest to remain at Tom Drake Coliseum.
Class 7A, Area 7 and Area 8 will work their way through the Northwest Regional and on to the Final Four at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
Area 7 in 7A consists of Albertville, Grissom, Huntsville and Sparkman.
Area 8 is made up of Austin, Bob Jones, James Clemens and Florence.
Girls:
With Albertville now placed into the Northwest Regional, they will be expected to make another strong run in the postseason as they did in 2025 with Natasha Smallwood in her first year after a long tenure in Blount County at Susan Moore High School.
Albertville lost the Northeast Regional final last season to Hoover at Jacksonville State University.
Albertville is led by senior Lane Smallwood who stood out last week for the North in the AHSAA All Star game scoring 22 points and earning the team's MVP award.
A good program that got shifted from Wallace to Jacksonville is Hillcrest Tuscaloosa.
Hillcrest won the 7A Northwest title in defeating Bob Jones in a close game at Drake Coliseum.
Hillcrest is now led by former Wallace State and Cullman coach Jessica McBrayer.
Bob Jones and James Clemens will seek the opportunity to make it to Wallace in plenty of intense battles between the two Huntsville area programs.
Varsity:
Florence Falcons are the defending 7A Northwest champion. The Falcons claimed the 2025 crown in knocking off Hillcrest Tuscaloosa.
Hillcrest has been moved to the Northeast Regional.
Huntsville has been solid in recent years from the Northeast and now seeks the chance to stay strong in hoping to be playing at Wallace State in late February.
All other classifications will remain in the same region as they were last season.
In 2025, the Cold Springs Lady Eagles, Cullman Lady Bearcats, Good Hope Lady Raiders, Holly Pond Lady Broncos and West Point Lady Warriors gave the regional a good look from the local standpoint.
No local varsity team reached the regional round as upsets took place keeping Cold Springs, Cullman, Good Hope and West Point up in the stands as spectators.
The regional date is February 23 through the 26th for 2026 play.
Regional basketball has been a part of the AHSAA playoff structure since 1994.
Photo of former Cullman Lady Bearcats coach Jessica McBrayer during a playday series in 2024. McBrayer is now the head coach at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton.
