05/10/22 – Baseball & Softball Season Clarification and Reminders

May 10, 2022 Athletic Department Blog Updates

This communication is published to assist Athletic Directors, Baseball/Softball Coaches, and others in the member schools with regard to the end-of-season questions office staff has been receiving as we are approaching the end of the regular season during this first year with a revised schedule.

Prior to the beginning of the year, the Board of Control approved revisions to the structure of the beginning of the season (and the postseason in baseball) to maintain the nine-week regular season. There was no question, at the time, with regard to the last day of the regular season as it was to remain as published in Bylaw 23.

However, many schools tried to both utilize the earlier playing week and shift the end of regular season play. It is clear that in this first year of the adjusted calendar, some assumptions were made at the local level and there is some confusion at the local level on options for play being created by the member school coaches.

After discussions with many schools and the desire to remain consistent within the membership, the Commissioner has approved a one-year exception to the normal ending of the regular season in collaboration with the staff responsible for softball and baseball. For the 2022 playing season ONLY, the last date to play a regular-season contest can be as late as the day prior to the start of the district tournament. This is irrespective of when you choose locally to play your district tournament. Beginning the day the tournament starts for any team within the district, no regular-season game can be played by any team in that district.

Beginning with the 2023 season, the last date of the regular season will return to the published Saturday prior to the week when a district tournament is scheduled, or the deadline for seeded district games to be played (Wednesday) if the district chooses to begin on the weekend prior to the published corresponding date.

In addition, below are some quick reference reminders:

LAST CONTEST

• For 2022 only, the last date for a regular-season contest is the day prior to the start of the district tournament.
• For 2023, the last date of the regular season will be the Saturday prior to the week when a district tournament is scheduled, or the deadline for seeded district games to be played if the district chooses to begin on the weekend prior to the published corresponding date.

LAST DISTRICT SEEDED CONTEST

• For both 2022 and 2023, the last day for a district seeded game is the Wednesday prior to District Tournament Week.
• For any game not played after that date, the winner/loser of any unplayed required seeded district games would default to the team with the higher RPI on the day following the deadline for seeded games.

NON-VARSITY CONTESTS

• For both 2022 and 2023, any non-varsity play must also be completed on or before the deadline to play a regular-season contest.

STATE TOURNAMENT DRAWS

• Draws for Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Baseball and Softball State Tournaments presented by UK HealthCare will be conducted Thursday, May 19 at 1:30 p.m. (ET) and can be viewed through the NFHS Network at khsaa.tv.

– KHSAA –

About the Kentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was organized in 1917 and is the agency designated by the Kentucky Department of Education to manage high school athletics in the Commonwealth. The Association is a voluntary nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of 286 member schools, both public and non-public. The KHSAA awards 215 state championships to 51 teams and 164 individuals in 13 sports and six sport-activities, funds catastrophic insurance coverage for its more than 106,000 rostered member school student-athletes, provides coaching education and sports safety programs for more than 12,000 coaches and licenses, and facilitates the distribution of training material for over 4,000 contest officials.