The WIAA’s newly released 2026-27 Division 5 girls basketball sectional assignments close out OnFocus’s look at statewide girls realignment. Division 5 remains the largest classification by far, with 128 schools across four 32-team sectionals.
Eleva-Strum moves up to Division 4
Eleva-Strum won last year’s Sectional 1 title with a 64–44 sectional-final victory, but the program does not appear anywhere on the 2026-27 Division 5 assignment sheet. A check of the Division 4 assignments confirms it: Eleva-Strum is now a Division 4 program, landing in that division’s Sectional 1.
The other three champions stay
Barneveld, Pacelli and Fall River each won a sectional title in 2025-26 and all three remain Division 5 programs for 2026-27, though sectional numbering shifts have moved some of them to a different sectional slot than the one they won last year — consistent with how the WIAA renumbers sectionals geographically each season rather than preserving the prior year’s bracket position.
| Sectional | 2025-26 Champion | Sectional Final | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sectional 1 | Eleva-Strum | 64–44 sectional final | Division 4 |
| Sectional 2 | Barneveld | 38–34 sectional final | Division 5 |
| Sectional 3 | Pacelli | 75–46 sectional final | Division 5 |
| Sectional 4 | Fall River | 58–48 sectional final | Division 5 |
A note on scope
Division 5 is by far the WIAA’s largest girls basketball classification — 128 schools, more than the size of Division 1, 2 and 3 combined — and the division where co-op programs change most often from year to year.
Regionals for the 2026-27 season are set for February 23, 26 and 27, with sectional semifinals on March 4 and sectional finals on March 6. The state tournament follows March 11-12-13, 2027.
