Softball, soccer and volleyball committees make postseason RPI recommendations

Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com

AURORA — With all team sports set to move to the use of RPI in 2016-17, each individual sport committee is getting its shot at using the new formula to determine postseason qualification.

Within the last month, the softball, soccer and volleyball committees have made their recommendations for postseason qualification and seeding for 2016-17. Those recommendations, which all rely heavily on the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) formula, will be forwarded onto the Legislative Council for a vote in January.

Here’s what each committee decided:

Softball:

• The committee recommended that automatic qualifiers be determined based on the size of the league they come from. A league with six or more teams would have two qualifiers, while a league with five or fewer would have one qualifier.
• Under this recommendation, the 5A regional field would be comprised of 14 automatic qualifiers, and 18 via the RPI. In 4A, that would be 16 automatic qualifiers, and 16 via the RPI.
• In addition to the RPI changes, the committee recommended that the 3A softball regional expand from 18 teams to 24. The format would increase to eight sites with three teams per site, and two advancing to the state tournament. This would also expand the state field from 12 to 16. Games would follow the same schedule as 4A and 5A, with one half of the bracket playing at 10 a.m., and the second half at 12:30 p.m.
• With the expansion, the 3A field would get five automatic qualifiers from district champions, five more from runner-up teams, and the remaining 14 via the final RPI standings of the regular season. However, the runner-up in District 4 would only qualify automatically if the district is comprised of six or more teams during the regular season. If that runner-up does not qualify automatically, a 15th team would qualify via the RPI.
• Automatic qualifiers can bump a team out of the top 32 (or 24, depending on the classification).
• A 4A team participating in a 5A league during the regular season can receive the automatic qualifier of their league if they finish in the top 30 percent plus one of the teams listed in the league. Additionally, they can qualify via the RPI.
• A 3A team playing in a 4A league during the regular season can qualify via the RPI only.
• Regular season champions of the 3A districts will host regionals, and get a guaranteed top-12 seed. There will be a committee to seed the rest of the teams.
• For seeding of the 4A and 5A regionals, a committee will primarily use the RPI standings, but also consider geography and try to avoid first-round matchups of league opponents.
• The state brackets, all regional champions would get a top-8 seed. The remaining eight teams in each class will be seeded by a committee.

Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com

Soccer:

• Like softball, the number of automatic qualifiers per league would depend on the size of that league. Leagues with seven or more teams would receive two qualifiers, and those with six or less would get one.
• With that recommendation, the breakdown is as follows for boys soccer: 3A has 17 automatic qualifiers, 15 via the RPI; 4A has 15 automatics, 17 via the RPI; and 5A has 14 automatics, 18 via the RPI.
• In girls, the 5A and 4A breakdowns are the same as the boys, while the 24-team 3A tournament has 11 automatic qualifiers, and 13 via the RPI; and the 12-team 2A tournament has six automatics and six via the RPI.
• For 3A-5A boys soccer, and 4A/5A girls soccer, which are all 32-team fields, the top 16 teams will be seeded according to the final RPI standings of the regular season. The teams seeded 17-32 can be moved up or down one seed based on geography, and to avoid league opponents in the first round.
• In 3A girls soccer, teams 1-12 will be set by the RPI standings, and seeds 13-24 can be changed one spot due to geography or league opponents.
• In 2A girls soccer, the top four seeds will be set by the RPI, with the ability to move 5-12 because of geography or regional opponents.
• Teams playing up a classification during the regular season can earn the automatic qualifier of that league by winning it outright, or qualify via the RPI.
• A team playing down a classification during the regular season cannot earn the league’s automatic qualifier. They can only qualify via the RPI.

Volleyball:

• The volleyball committee essentially swapped the MaxPreps rankings for the RPI system.
• 3A, 4A and 5A volleyball will use the final RPI rankings of the regular season to select and seed the 36 teams into regionals. Teams will only be moved if there are regions with teams from the same league, and will also adjust teams based on geography.
• The 1A and 2A volleyball districts will run the same district and regional tournaments as they have been. Then will then use the RPI rankings after regionals to including wild card teams.