The Arkansas Activities Association announced tentative conference alignments for spring sports for the 2024-26 cycle Friday.
This announcement includes baseball, softball and soccer conferences for the next two school years.
The only change for the 5A-South Conference comes in baseball and softball, where Benton is departing the for the 5A-Central. The rest of the conference, which includes Pine Bluff, White Hall and Sheridan, remains unchanged. All four 5A conferences will have eight teams.
This change does not affect soccer, where Benton will remain in a nine team 5A-South.
Like in basketball, the AAA is reorganizing Class 4A into eight conferences rather than six in baseball and softball. The class will remain at four conferences in soccer.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
For baseball and softball, Watson Chapel remains in Conference 4A-8 alongside Crossett, Hamburg, Monticello, Star City and Warren. Stuttgart moves to 4A-6, joining Forrest City, Lonoke, Batesville Southside, Trumann and Wynne.
The 4A-East Conference, which hosts the southeast Arkansas soccer teams in Class 4A, adds a new member in eStem, which is moving down from 5A.
Conference 3A-8 for baseball and softball will be almost exclusively southeast Arkansas schools going forward as Camden Harmony Grove and Smackover have moved to 3A-7. Rison moves up from Class 2A to join DeWitt, Drew Central, Dumas, McGehee, Lake Village Lakeside and Helena-West Helena Central.
Rison’s move up leaves Fordyce and Woodlawn as the only southeast Arkansas schools in a nine team 2A-8. Hermitage remains the lone southeast Arkansas school in 1A-8.