All five Olathe high schools will compete in Class 6A for the 2026-27 season after the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) released updated enrollment-based classifications on Thursday, Sept. 24.

The annual release, first reported by the Hutchinson Post, covers 349 member schools statewide. Fourteen schools shifted to a different classification from the 2025-26 school year. None of the area's eight local programs changed brackets, meaning families and athletes can expect the same competitive tier they saw a year ago.

Olathe Northwest leads the local pack with 1,897 students enrolled in grades nine through 12, ranking eighth-largest in the state. Olathe North follows at 1,850, Gardner Edgerton at 1,729, Olathe South at 1,685, Olathe East at 1,638 and Olathe West at 1,457.

All six land comfortably inside Class 6A's enrollment window of 2,363 down to 1,228 students. Wichita East tops the state at 2,363.

Spring Hill and De Soto both land in Class 5A. Spring Hill's enrollment of 1,139 ranks sixth in that 36-school class. De Soto, at 978 students, sits 20th. Class 5A spans enrollments of 1,227 to 752.

The boundary between the two classes is razor-thin. JC Harmon jumped up to 6A as its smallest member at 1,228 students. Wichita West dropped to 5A at 1,227, a single-student gap that flipped both schools' competitive brackets.

The KSHSAA said on X that enrollment figures were compiled for all 349 member schools, with 14 falling into a different classification. Enrollment ties are broken using figures from the previous classification cycle.

Schools are divided among six tiers: 36 schools each in Classes 6A, 5A and 4A, 64 schools each in Classes 3A and 2A, and the remaining schools in Class 1A. The classifications are based on enrollment counted as of Sept. 21 and cover grades nine through 12.

One key distinction for football fans: these classifications do not apply to football. KSHSAA football brackets run on a separate two-year cycle using enrollment from grades nine through 11. Those brackets were already set for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

The full classification list is available on the KSHSAA website.