LHSAA Playoff Brackets: Storylines, Prospects | D-I Select

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Louisiana's high school football playoffs kick off this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The LHSAA's third postseason under a tweaked format features eight brackets — four "nonselect" and four "select" —&nbsp;full of impressive teams and prospects and intriguing matchups and storylines.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We'll give a quick preview of each, including the top five seeds, two lower seeds to watch for a potential run, up to eight top-ranked prospects, up to five sleeper prospects, an intriguing first-round matchup, a most intriguing potential second-round matchup and an overarching storyline entering the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This season is also the first in a new two-year classification cycle, so a few notable programs have changed divisions, which we'll note as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out the Division-I Select capsule below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 5 seeds: </strong>No. 1 Edna Karr, No. 2 Alexandria, No. 3 Acadiana, No. 4 Catholic (Baton Rouge), No. 5 Archbishop Rummel</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower seeds to watch: </strong>No. 9 St. Augustine, No. 11 Jesuit, No. 15 Captain Shreve, No. 18 Evangel Christian, No. 19 John Curtis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2023 champion:</strong> Catholic (Baton Rouge); 2023 Division-II Select champion St. Thomas More joins bracket</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2023 runner-up:</strong> Acadiana</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top prospects: </strong>2025 Edna Karr DL [player_tooltip player_id='913897' first='Corey' last='Adams Jr.'] (Ole Miss), 2026 McDonogh 35 WR [player_tooltip player_id='920613' first='Jakai' last='Anderson'] (LSU), 2026 Edna Karr DL [player_tooltip player_id='710991' first='Richard' last='Anderson'] (LSU), 2027 Rummel WR [player_tooltip player_id='469475' first='Jaylan' last='Ash'], 2026 Jesuit DL [player_tooltip player_id='1345265' first='Will' last='Berry'], 2026 Carencro ATH [player_tooltip player_id='710967' first='Chantz' last='Babineaux'], 2025 Acadiana WR [player_tooltip player_id='426961' first='Russell' last='Babineaux'] (Louisiana-Lafayette), 2025 St. Augustine OL [player_tooltip player_id='1220957' first='Juelz' last='Baptiste'] (Tulane), 2026 St. Thomas More QB [player_tooltip player_id='401749' first='Cole' last='Bergeron'], 2026 Catholic (Baton Rouge) DB [player_tooltip player_id='401737' first='Blaine' last='Bradford'], 2025 Catholic (Baton Rouge) DB [player_tooltip player_id='710081' first='Jacob' last='Bradford'] (LSU), 2027 Acadiana WR [player_tooltip player_id='934589' first='Collin' last='DiBetta'], 2026 Evangel Christian LB/RB [player_tooltip player_id='1237612' first='Damari' last='Drake'], 2025 Archbishop Rummel DB [player_tooltip player_id='145357' first='Lennis' last='Finister Jr.'], 2027 Jesuit DL [player_tooltip player_id='723628' first='Zyron' last='Forstall'], 2025 Edna Karr WR [player_tooltip player_id='426960' first='TaRon' last='Francis'] (LSU), 2025 Captain Shreve DB [player_tooltip player_id='144898' first='Tre' last='Fuller'], 2026 Evangel Christian WR/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='710968' first='Nathan' last='Green'], 2026 Edna Karr DB [player_tooltip player_id='401932' first='Aiden' last='Hall'] (LSU), 2027 Evangel Christian QB [player_tooltip player_id='1250887' first='Peyton' last='Houston'], 2026 Edna Karr DB [player_tooltip player_id='710970' first='Hayward' last='Howard Jr.'], 2026 Acadiana [player_tooltip player_id='920606' first='Darryus' last='McKinley'], 2027 Catholic (Baton Rouge) RB [player_tooltip player_id='739720' first='Jayden' last='Miles'], 2025 Edna Karr WR [player_tooltip player_id='1214144' first='Oliver' last='Mitchell Jr.'] (Tulane), 2025 Teurlings Catholic OL [player_tooltip player_id='914206' first='Gresham' last='Perry'] (Tulane), 2026 Captain Shreve RB/DB [player_tooltip player_id='401969' first='Jamarcea' last='Plater'], 2027 Alexandria QB [player_tooltip player_id='1250281' first='Karsen' last='Sellers'], 2025 Captain Shreve OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='915064' first='Lionel' last='Prudhomme'] (Arkansas), 2025 St. Augustine DL [player_tooltip player_id='426963' first='Warren' last='Roberts'] Jr. (Tulane), 2027 Brother Martin WR/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='723579' first='Easton' last='Royal'], 2025 Catholic (Baton Rouge) OL [player_tooltip player_id='546455' first='Erv' last='Smith'] (Louisiana Tech), 2026 Catholic (Baton Rouge) OL [player_tooltip player_id='1345158' first='Blaise' last='Thomassie'], 2027 Edna Karr OL [player_tooltip player_id='1593649' first='Zyion' last='Wesley'], 2027 St. Augustine WR [player_tooltip player_id='1323402' first='Miguel' last='Whitley'], 2026 Edna Karr DB [player_tooltip player_id='1237623' first='Maurice' last='Williams'] Jr., 2027 St. Augustine WR [player_tooltip player_id='1356127' first='Ray'Quan' last='Williams']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleeper prospects: </strong>2025 Edna Karr LB [player_tooltip player_id='291158' first='Arsenio' last='Bolds Jr.'], 2025 St. Thomas More DB [player_tooltip player_id='914120' first='Brian' last='Broussard'] Jr., 2025 Acadiana LB [player_tooltip player_id='913939' first='Amarion' last='Cooper'], 2026 Bonnabel WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='751777' first='Sy'our' last='Ferrell'], 2025 Riverdale QB [player_tooltip player_id='1318520' first='Rida' last='Ghazzali'], 2025 Archbishop Rummel DB [player_tooltip player_id='1598139' first='Lester' last='Johnson Jr.'], 2025 St. Paul's QB [player_tooltip player_id='1219324' first='Brennan' last='Keim'], 2025 Jesuit DB [player_tooltip player_id='1336886' first='Darrick' last='LeBeouf'], 2025 Acadiana DB [player_tooltip player_id='913926' first='Dalyn' last='Lewis'], 2025 Edna Karr WR [player_tooltip player_id='710768' first='Daejawn' last='Smith'], 2025 Brother Martin DB/RB [player_tooltip player_id='423650' first='Treshoun' last='Ware'], 2025 Alexandria WR [player_tooltip player_id='914212' first='Darius' last='Washington'], 2026 Alexandria LB [player_tooltip player_id='1601781' first='Xzavier' last='White']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Intriguing first-round matchup: </strong>No. 15 Captain Shreve vs. No. 18 Evangel Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most intriguing possible second-round matchup:</strong> No. 8 St. Thomas More vs. No. 9 St. Augustine</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall Storyline:</strong>&nbsp;Arguably four of the top five or six teams in the state represent the top four seeds in this loaded bracket: A pair of unbeatens in No. 1 Edna Karr and No. 2 Alexandria, the 2023 runner-up in No. 3 Acadiana and the 2023 champion in Catholic (Baton Rouge). That quartet should be tough to beat, but the division is as tough annually as any. The New Orleans area makes up half the 24-team field, including six representatives from the always-competitive Catholic League district. And the Lafayette duo of St. Thomas More and Teurlings Catholic move up from their typical Division-II group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->