We are excited to release our 2026 Pre-Season Rankings below: In 5A we like Waukee Northwest to win their 3rd championship in the last 4 years. The Wolves have, by my count, 5 Division I commits on their squad, and will be very difficult to beat this year. 4A was our most difficult class to predict. We are taking Norwalk to win it, but there are multiple teams with a realistic chance to challenge that. Cherokee Washington returns nearly all pieces from last season, has qualified for State 2 out of the last 3 years, and we are picking them to take the next step and win it all this season. In 2A we like Grundy Center, who also returns nearly all pieces from last season’s semi-final run. We have Janesville as the biggest favorite to win the championship in any of the five classes, after losing in the championship match last season, and returning nearly key performers from that 1A squad.