High school football in Georgia is basically a religion, but the 2024-25 season felt like someone rewrote the Bible halfway through the service. You've probably spent hours staring at the GHSA playoff brackets 24 25, trying to figure out why your local powerhouse was suddenly traveling three hours for a first-round game. It wasn't just bad luck.
The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) threw a massive curveball this cycle. They introduced the Post Season Ranking (PSR) formula.
For decades, the math was simple. You finish top four in your region, you're in. You win your region, you host. But for Class 3A, 2A, and A Division I this year, the GHSA started using a formula similar to the NCAA’s RPI to seed teams 1 through 32.
The Chaos of the New Seeding Reality
Honestly, it caught a lot of folks off guard. In the past, "Region 1 vs. Region 3" was a predictable cross-over. Not anymore.
Under the 2024-25 rules, region finish still technically got you into the dance if you were in the top four, but it didn't guarantee you a home game unless you were a heavy hitter in the rankings. The PSR formula calculates your winning percentage (35%), your opponents' winning percentage, and even your "opponents' opponents'" winning percentage (combined 65%).
Take a look at how this played out in the Class 3A football brackets. Calhoun eventually climbed the mountain to beat Jefferson 20-7 in the finals, but the road there was a jagged mess of high-ranking teams meeting earlier than usual.
It's a brutal system.
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If you play a "cupcake" non-region schedule to pad your record, the formula punishes you. It’s no longer just about winning; it’s about who you beat and who they beat.
Big Winners and Heartbreaks
In Class 6A—the biggest of the big—we saw Grayson and Carrollton on a collision course all year. Grayson ended up taking the trophy with a 38-24 win over Carrollton, but the bracket itself was a gauntlet.
- Grayson's Path: They had to dismantle Norcross and then survive a 35-28 thriller against Douglas County in the semis.
- Carrollton's Run: They were arguably the most dominant team for three months, but running into a peaking Buford in the semifinals (winning 30-17) took everything they had left in the tank.
Meanwhile, over in Class 5A, Milton proved they were essentially a college team in high school jerseys. They blew the doors off the bracket, ending with a 56-35 victory over Hughes in the final.
Basketball and the Long Winter
The GHSA playoff brackets 24 25 for basketball are where things get even more frantic. The schedule is tight. You’re looking at first-round games on February 24th and 25th, 2026, with the whole thing wrapping up at the Macon Centreplex by mid-March.
The Wheeler boys are still the gold standard in 6A. Their 61-56 win over Newton in the previous cycle's final showed that the gap is closing, but they still have that "it" factor.
One thing people often miss: the travel.
Because the GHSA is moving toward more statewide seeding rather than regional pairings, you might see a team from south Georgia driving to the Tennessee border on a Tuesday night. It’s tough on the kids. It’s even tougher on the parents' gas budgets.
The Private School Split
We have to talk about the "Private" bracket. This has been a massive point of contention in Georgia sports. For the 2024-25 season, the GHSA maintained a separate playoff for private schools in Classes 3A through A.
Hebron Christian has basically turned their bracket into a personal trophy room. They won the football title again, and their basketball programs are equally terrifying for opponents.
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Some coaches hate it. They think the "multipliers" used to adjust private school enrollment don't do enough to level the playing field. Others think the split is the only way to keep public school trophy cases from gathering dust.
What to Watch in the Spring Brackets
Baseball and softball usually follow the same 32-team format. In baseball, the "Best of Three" series format makes the brackets move a bit slower than the "one and done" nature of football.
- Pitching Depth: You can't win a GHSA baseball bracket with one ace. You need three guys who can throw strikes under pressure.
- The Home Field Advantage: In baseball, hosting the first two rounds is a massive statistical advantage.
- The "Power" Regions: Watch Region 6-6A and Region 1-5A. These areas are so dense with talent that teams finishing 4th in the region often make runs to the Elite Eight.
Looking Ahead: The 2026 Shift
The GHSA just voted on something huge. Starting in the 2026-27 school year, they are going all-in. Every single class will use the PSR formula to seed teams 1-32.
Region standings will become almost irrelevant.
The only thing a region title will get you is an automatic bid and a top-16 seed. Everything else? It’s all about the math. This is a radical departure from 100 years of Georgia sports tradition.
Actionable Steps for Fans and Coaches
If you are following the GHSA playoff brackets 24 25, don't just look at the wins and losses.
First, check the GHSA's official "Post Season Rankings" page frequently. A team with an 8-2 record might be ranked lower than a 6-4 team if that 6-4 team played a schedule full of 7A giants.
Second, if you're planning to attend the finals, book your Macon or Atlanta hotels at least three weeks out. The "Mercedes-Benz" experience for football and the "Macon Centreplex" for hoops draw tens of thousands of people.
Lastly, understand the tie-breakers. Head-to-head is still the first metric the GHSA uses if the PSR scores are identical. Keep that in mind when looking at those late-season non-region matchups that seem "meaningless"—they might be the only thing keeping your team on their home turf in November.
Check the MaxPreps or Score Atlanta feeds daily during the tournament windows. Brackets update in real-time, and with the new seeding rules, the "bracket path" can change drastically in the final 48 hours of the regular season.
The 2024-25 season isn't just another year of sports. It's the beginning of a data-driven era for Georgia high schools. Whether you love the math or miss the old-school regional rivalries, the bracket is the only thing that matters when the lights go on.