Jackson County Schools Bring Experience to Statewide Sports Rankings Change

When the Georgia High School Association took its Post Season Ranking formula statewide this fall, three of Jackson County’s four high schools had already played under a version of it.

Commerce, East Jackson and Jefferson competed in Classes A Division I, 2A and 3A in 2025-26, the classifications that used PSR. Under last year’s rules, the top four teams in each region still earned playoff spots. PSR set the seeds and filled any remaining places in the 32-team brackets.

This year, only region champions are guaranteed a spot. They receive a top-16 seed and a first-round home game, and PSR fills the rest of the bracket.

PSR ranks teams on three numbers. A team’s winning percentage counts for 35%, its opponents’ winning percentage counts for 35% and its opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage counts for 30%. Wins over non-GHSA schools count as 0.9 of a win.

Last school year, Commerce sent eight teams to state. Its boys basketball team, seeded No. 9, beat Social Circle and Swainsboro before losing 59-49 to Vidalia in the quarterfinals. East Jackson’s boys soccer team, seeded No. 31, beat No. 2 Thomson 2-0 in the first round. Jefferson’s girls soccer team won the Class 3A title.

Jefferson football, state runner-up in 2024 and 2025, moved from Class 3A to 5A this year. Jefferson coach Travis Noland said his staff learned from the formula.

We realized the tougher schedule you play, the more benefits there are for you,” Noland said.

“All of our five nonregion teams are playoff teams and most of them do play playoff teams.”

The Dragons opened with a 21-19 loss to Calhoun, which beat them in the 2024 title game. As of Oct. 7, Jefferson was 4-2 and No. 14 in Class 5A, its last game a 35-0 win at Flowery Branch on Oct. 2.

Brad Hayes, athletic director at Jackson County High School, said the chase for strong opponents has made scheduling harder for less competitive programs.

Under PSR, Hayes said, it is “almost better to lose to a good team than win against a bad team.”

Jackson County football, in its first season under PSR after moving to Class 6A, was 6-0 and No. 1 in its classification as of Oct. 7, after a 53-0 win over Loganville on Oct. 2.

Commerce football shows how much schedule strength counts. The Tigers were also 5-0 as of Oct. 7, but their opponents had won about 35% of their games, leaving Commerce No. 9 in Class 2A. Commerce last played Oct. 2, a 45-14 win at Temple.

East Jackson athletic director Wesley Wheeler said private schools can complicate the math. In Classes 2A through 4A, private schools play region schedules and count in their opponents’ PSR, but they compete in a separate private-school bracket.

“I think that’s the biggest part of it is: how do we schedule right?” Wheeler said.

Not every coach builds a schedule around the formula. East Jackson volleyball finished 10-27 last season and still reached state as the No. 26 seed. This season, the Eagles were 22-11 and No. 15 in Class 4A as of Oct. 7, after a 2-1 loss to Bethlehem Christian on Oct. 1.

“If somebody has a date available and they want to play, we’re going to play,” coach Mary White said. “My goal is to fill up our dates.”

In softball, Jackson County (13-10) was No. 26 in Class 6A (.552) after an 8-1 loss to Habersham Central on Oct. 6. Jefferson (22-6) was No. 12 in Class 5A (.605) after a 9-8 loss at Hart County on Sept. 30, and Commerce (12-13) was No. 28 in Class 2A (.519) after a 4-3 loss at Providence Christian on Oct. 6. East Jackson (12-15), which beat Tallulah Falls 18-1 on Oct. 1, held the 32nd and final spot in Class 4A (.462).

In volleyball, Jackson County (39-6) was No. 3 in Class 6A (.664) after a 3-0 win over Apalachee on Oct. 6. Jefferson (24-9) was No. 7 in Class 5A (.616) after a 3-0 win at Johnson of Gainesville on Oct. 1, and East Jackson (22-11) was No. 15 in Class 4A (.538) after a 2-1 loss to Bethlehem Christian the same day. Commerce (16-16) was No. 42 in GHSA’s combined Class A-2A table (.475), outside the field, after a 2-0 win at East Hall on Oct. 1. Teams outside the top 32 can still qualify by winning their region.

Landry Allen, Jacob Hardie and Agustina Noriega are students in the undergraduate certificate program in the Carmical Sports Media Institute at UGA.