WPIAL bracketology: Don Rebel, Chris Harlan forecast the 2025 girls basketball playoff pairings

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, February 9, 2025 | 1:57 AM

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The 2025 girls basketball playoff field is set with 84 teams in six classifications.

Class 6A girls starts with eight teams in the quarterfinals while Class 5A has a complete 16-team bracket and 3A is one short with 15. Both 4A and 2A have 17 teams, which means pigtail-mania. Class A has only 11 teams and will have five first-round byes.

The brackets will be unveiled Monday afternoon. Don’t miss the WPIAL Basketball Playoff Pairings Show on TribLive HSSN at 3 p.m. Until then, Don Rebel and Chris Harlan take a look at the decisions facing the WPIAL basketball steering committee.

Class 6A

Don Rebel’s bracket

No. 8 North Allegheny at No. 1 Norwin

No. 5 Butler at No. 4 Canon-McMillan

No. 7 Pine-Richland at No. 2 Upper St. Clair

No. 6 Mt. Lebanon at No. 3 Seneca Valley

Rebel says: What a difference a year makes. North Allegheny vs. Norwin was the 2024 Class 6A title game. Now it’s projected as a possible first-round contest. USC gets the nod for the No. 2 seed after rolling past Seneca Valley earlier this season, but the Raiders ran away with the Section 1 crown. Keep an eye on Canon-McMillan, which beat Upper St. Clair and lost to Norwin by two points in the second half of the season.

Chris Harlan’s bracket

No. 8 North Allegheny at No. 1 Norwin

No. 5 Butler at No. 4 Canon-McMillan

No. 7 Pine-Richland at No. 2 Upper St. Clair

No. 6 Mt. Lebanon at No. 3 Seneca Valley

Harlan says: With two sections and eight playoff qualifiers, there are only so many ways to arrange the teams. We ended up with identical Class 6A brackets here.

Class 5A

Don Rebel’s bracket

No. 16 Plum at No. 1 Penn-Trafford

No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Chartiers Valley

No. 13 Latrobe at No. 4 Shaler

No. 12 Mars at No. 5 Thomas Jefferson

No. 15 Greensburg Salem at No. 2 South Fayette

No. 10 Moon at No. 7 Baldwin

No. 14 Fox Chapel No. 3 Peters Township

No. 11 Bethel Park at No. 6 Franklin Regional

Rebel says: As usual, the Class 5A bracket is loaded. There will be some good debate about who should be No. 1 between three-time defending champion South Fayette, Peters Township and Penn-Trafford. The nod here goes to the Warriors with a perfect regular season and a win Saturday over 6A power Upper St. Clair. The Lions are also coming off a recent win over my 6A top seed Norwin. I show a lot of love for both Sections 3 and 4. All four playoff teams from Section 4 are in the top 11. Section 3 has its foursome among the top 12 seeds. There are some quality double-digit seeds that should make even the first round entertaining.

Chris Harlan’s bracket

No. 16 Greensburg Salem at No. 1 South Fayette

No. 9 Baldwin at No. 8 Franklin Regional

No. 13 Bethel Park at No. 4 Shaler

No. 12 Mars at No. 5 Thomas Jefferson

No. 15 Plum at No. 2 Peters Township

No. 10 Moon at No. 7 Indiana

No. 14 Fox Chapel at No. 3 Penn-Trafford

No. 11 Latrobe at No. 6 Chartiers Valley

Harlan says: South Fayette has one loss and Peters Township has two, but those losses all came during out-of-state trips. Both teams voluntarily took on tough schedules this winter, so I gave them the top two spots over undefeated Penn-Trafford. South Fayette earns the No. 1 seed here as a three-time defending WPIAL champion. Peters Township, a WPIAL 6A semifinalist last season, has one of the state’s top players in Natalie Wetzel, a Miami recruit. Penn-Trafford hasn’t gotten past the second round since winning a WPIAL title in 2014. There’s no doubt playoff pedigree at times plays a part in the seeding process.

Class 4A

Don Rebel’s bracket

No. 16 Yough/Mt. Pleasant winner at No. 1 Blackhawk

No. 9 Knoch at No. 8 Laurel Highlands

No. 13 Highlands at No. 4 Elizabeth Forward

No. 12 Freeport at No. 5 Beaver

No. 15 Hampton at No. 2 Oakland Catholic

No. 10 Belle Vernon at No. 7 Central Valley

No. 14 Hopewell at No. 3 North Catholic

No. 11 Burrell at No. 6 South Park

Rebel says: This is another bracket where the top seed is no layup. Section 2 winner and defending champion Blackhawk along with the Section 1 co-champs, North Catholic and Oakland Catholic, are in the mix for No. 1. The Cougars get the nod here because of their outright section title and a good resume that includes a win over the state’s top-ranked team, Kennedy Catholic. That sets a potential rubber match between Oakland Catholic and North Catholic for the semifinals instead of The Pete. Beaver and Central Valley from Section 2 are worth watching, and keep an eye on third-place Laurel Highlands, which unfortunately falls into the 8-9 game.

Chris Harlan’s bracket

No. 16 Yough/Mt. Pleasant winner at No. 1 Blackhawk

No. 9 Knoch at No. 8 Laurel Highlands

No. 13 Highlands at No. 4 Elizabeth Forward

No. 12 Freeport at No. 5 Beaver

No. 15 Hampton at No. 2 Oakland Catholic

No. 10 Belle Vernon at No. 7 Central Valley

No. 14 Hopewell at No. 3 North Catholic

No. 11 Burrell at No. 6 South Park

Harlan says: Blackhawk, Oakland Catholic and North Catholic all have great resumes. Blackhawk went undefeated in Section 2, while the two others shared the title in Section 1. For that reason, the Cougars draw the No. 1 seed here. Oakland Catholic won the most recent matchup against North Catholic (39-37 on Jan. 29), so the Eagles get the second seed.

Class 3A

Don Rebel’s bracket

No. 1 Shady Side Academy – bye

No. 9 Deer Lakes at No. 8 Riverside

No. 13 Ligonier Valley at No. 4 Keystone Oaks

No. 12 Ellwood City at No. 5 Seton LaSalle

No. 15 Brownsville at No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic

No. 10 McGuffey at No. 7 Quaker Valley

No. 14 South Allegheny at No. 3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

No. 11 Beaver Falls at No. 6 Avonworth

Rebel says: Defending champion and undefeated Shady Side Academy earns the top seed and a first-round bye. The team the Bulldogs beat twice in Section 2 is last year’s Class 2A champion: Greensburg Central Catholic. GCC earns the No. 2 spot here with wins over North Catholic and OLSH. Even though Keystone Oaks split the Section 3 title with Seton LaSalle, KO enters the playoffs on a 15-game winning streak. I have them matched up in a potential quarterfinal. OLSH is also riding strong with 10 wins in a row. This was tough to seed from No. 8 through No. 12.

Chris Harlan’s bracket

No. 1 Shady Side Academy – bye

No. 9 Riverside at No. 8 McGuffey

No. 13 Ligonier Valley at No. 4 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

No. 12 Ellwood City at No. 5 Seton LaSalle

No. 15 Brownsville at No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic

No. 10 Deer Lakes at No. 7 Quaker Valley

No. 14 South Allegheny at No. 3 Keystone Oaks

No. 11 Beaver Falls at No. 6 Avonworth

Harlan says: The top two seeds go to the top two teams from Section 2. The order of the third, fourth and fifth seeds is debatable. Keystone Oaks went 18-1, having split its two-game section series with Seton LaSalle. It didn’t seem right to make them rematch any earlier than the semifinals or finals. Often the co-champion that won the section rematch earns the better seed, but I broke that policy here by seeding KO higher.

Class 2A

Don Rebel’s bracket

No. 16 Bentworth/Carmichaels winner at No. 1 Neshannock

No. 9 Beth-Center at No. 8 Brentwood

No. 13 Rochester at No. 4 South Side

No. 12 Laurel at No. 5 Fort Cherry

No. 15 Apollo-Ridge at No. 2 Winchester Thurston

No. 10 California at No. 7 Riverview

No. 14 Ellis School at No. 3 Aliquippa

No. 11 Burgettstown at No. 6 Chartiers-Houston

Rebel says: Neshannock wins 11 straight, including a rout of Section 1 co-champion Aliquippa, to claim the top-seed. The Quips program continued its turnaround this winter and could be the No. 2 seed. But I rewarded Winchester Thurston, which owns victories over section winners Seton LaSalle and Chartiers-Houston. Speaking of the Buccaneers, they were 18-4 this season but 0-2 against fellow 2A section champions. A team to watch is Section 2 co-champion South Side, which has eight straight wins, including a victory over Fort Cherry on Thursday.

Chris Harlan’s bracket

No. 16 Bentworth/Carmichaels winner at No. 1 Neshannock

No. 9 Brentwood at No. 8 California

No. 13 Ellis School at No. 4 South Side

No. 12 Laurel at No. 5 Fort Cherry

No. 15 Burgettstown at No. 2 Winchester Thurston

No. 10 Beth-Center at No. 7 Riverview

No. 14 Apollo-Ridge at No. 3 Aliquippa

No. 11 Rochester at No. 6 Chartiers-Houston

Harlan says: Choosing teams for the preliminary round games is sometimes tricky. But Bentworth and Carmichaels finished tied for fourth in Section 3 with 3-7 records, so they’ll get to play again with the winner earning the No. 16 seed.

Class A

Don Rebel’s bracket

No. 1 Union – bye

No. 9 Bishop Canevin at No. 8 Springdale

No. 4 St. Joseph – bye

No. 5 Aquinas Academy – bye

No. 2 Geibel Catholic – bye

No. 10 Eden Christian Academy at No. 7 West Greene

No. 3 Clairton – bye

No. 11 Sewickley Academy at No. 6 Serra Catholic

Rebel says: For a small class, this bracket has some big-time scorers. Iyanna Wade of Clairton is No. 1 and Emma Larkin of Geibel Catholic is No. 2 in scoring in the WPIAL, averaging 42.1 and 26.9 points per game, respectively. Bella Dumbroski of Serra Catholic, Kylie Fruehstorfer of Union, Isabella Sysak of Bishop Canevin and Gia Richter of St. Joseph are just a few more top scoring threats in this 11-team bracket. I set the bracket up with Union, St. Joseph and Aquinas Academy on the left side of the bracket and Geibel Catholic, Clairton and Serra Catholic on the right side. Kind of like mini section tourneys leading to the finals. That’s how they seeded out, and I felt no reason to fiddle around.

Chris Harlan’s bracket

No. 1 Union – bye

No. 9 Bishop Canevin at No. 8 Springdale

No. 4 St. Joseph – bye

No. 5 Aquinas Academy – bye

No. 2 Geibel Catholic – bye

No. 10 Eden Christian at No. 7 West Greene

No. 3 Clairton – bye

No. 11 Sewickley Academy at No. 6 Serra Catholic

Harlan says: I considered swapping Clairton and Aquinas Academy to avoid section rematches, but it seems better to leave them seeded this way in the order they deserve. The downside is an immediate rematch between St. Joseph and Aquinas, which split their two-game series. But there aren’t many other options.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.