Boys Hoops Tourney Draw: Norwayne, Hiland and Triway headline local contenders

The field is set.

The OHSAA boys basketball tournament draw took place over the weekend, giving every team a clear picture of what their postseason future looks like.

Here's a look at where each of the 16 Wayne/Holmes area teams ended up:

DIVISION I

No. 55 Wooster makes the trip to No. 20 Avon in sectional semi play in one of the many loaded Northeast Districts. No. 11 St. Edward is on the same side of the Copley District bracket at the Generals and might be the favorite to win the district title, even though Brunswick (No. 5) holds the better seed.

Copley District: 5. Brunswick, 11. St. Edward, 20. Avon, 25. Brush, 40. Akron Garfield, 45. Twinsburg, 52. Amherst Steele, 55. Wooster, 60. Painesville Riverside, 65. Euclid, 68. Uniontown Lake, 74. Max. S. Hayes, 75. Valley Forge

DIVISION II

Norwayne got no breaks while bringing a 17-1 record into draw day. The Bobcats sectional final opponent? Defending state champion Buchtel. While the Griffins lost some of their best players from last year, they've played some of the best teams in Northeast Ohio (Lutheran West, St. Ignatius, Brookville, Richmond Heights) during the regular season to prepare for another tournament run. A dangerous Glenville (No. 8) team is the likely district semifinal opponent if Norwayne can get there.

Orrville is hoping to be a bracket buster at the 53-seed in the Akron District. A trip to Parma Heights to take on No. 22 Holy Name awaits right away in the sectional semis with the winner facing No. 33 Alliance. PAC-7 rival CVCA is the top seed in the bracket.

West Holmes doesn't have to play until the sectional finals in the East District but a matchup with top-seeded Maysville likely awaits. The Panthers haven't lost for more than a month.

Louisville District: 3. Norwayne, 5. Canfield, 8. Glenville, 11. Northwest, 19. Buchtel, 40. Hubbard, 45. Pepper Pike Orange, 55. Akron East, 57. Field, 58. Girard, 59. Conneaut, 60. Kenston

Akron District: 4. CVCA, 16. Poland Seminary, 17. Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 21. Canton South, 22. Holy Name, 33. Alliance, 38. Padua Franciscan, 41. Youngstown Chaney, 46. Akron Springfield, 49. Tallmadge, 53. Orrville, 54. Niles McKinley

East District 1: 1. Maysville, 2. Indian Valley, 5. St. Clairsville, 8. Minerva, 9. Steubenville, 10. Carrollton, 11. Lisbon Beaver, 12. Morgan, 17. Cambridge, 18. Indian Creek, 20. West Holmes

DIVISION III

Half of the area's teams reside in Division III and the Wooster District houses more of those teams than any other district. However, only Triway has a favorable path to play games at Wooster High School, with sectional matchups against No. 50 Black River and No. 49 Loudonville as its path. Northwestern (No. 32) gets No. 45 Mineral Ridge before it would run into defending district champ Cuyahoga Heights in the sectional finals and No. 38 Chippewa makes the trip to No. 15 Newton Falls in the sectional semis.

Rittman finds itself in the bracket of avoidance in the Gilmour Academy District, with No. 1 Lutheran East looming as the heavy favorite to advance to regionals. The next-best seed is No. 14 Columbiana, who will be Rittman's likely sectional final opponent.

No. 22 Waynedale has one of the most realistic paths to a district final as any local Div. III team. No. 12 South Range and No. 13 Waterloo are the highest ranked teams on Waynedale's side of the bracket, and the Bears have the talent and experience to pull off some upsets. But they will also have to go on the road for a sectional final and make the journey to Salem if they make it to the district stage.

No. 3 Crestwood stands in No. 25 Smithville's way if the Smithies can get past No. 47 Fairless in the sectional semifinals. Smithville doesn't have the same type of talent as past teams that have advanced to district finals, but they'll be a tough out no matter what. No. 51 Tuslaw makes a short trip to No. 8 Canton Central Catholic for its sectional semifinal.

Wooster District: 5. Fairview, 6. Cuyahoga Heights, 7. Triway, 10. Kirtland, 15. Newton Falls, 32. Northwestern, 36. Lorain Clearview, 38. Chippewa, 43. Wickliffe, 45. Mineral Ridge, 46. Rootstown, 49. Loudonville, 50 Black River

Gilmour Academy District: 1. Lutheran East, 14. Columbiana, 16. Brooklyn, 23. Wellington, 24. Ravenna Southeast, 29. Independence, 31. Columbiana Crestview, 33. Rittman, 34. Beachwood, 35. Chagrin Falls, 39. East Palestine, 41. Bard Early College, 44. Champion

Salem District: 4. Cardinal Mooney, 12. South Range, 13. Waterloo, 17. Mapleton, 18. Valley Christian, 19. Perry, 22. Waynedale, 26. Berkshire, 27. Cortland Lakeview, 37. United, 40. Brookfield, 42. Garrettsville Garfield, 52. Campus International

Niles District: 2. LaBrae, 3. Mantua Crestwood, 8. Canton Central Catholic, 9. Pymatuning Valley, 11. Campbell Memorial, 20. Manchester, 21. Trinity, 25. Smithville, 28. Mentor Lake Catholic, 30. Keystone, 48. Youngstown Liberty, 47. Fairless, 51. Tuslaw

DIVISION IV

Even though they weren't the top seed in their own super district (due to playing perhaps the toughest regular season schedule in the state), Richmond Heights remains the favorite to win a third straight state championship in Div. IV. The fourth-seeded Spartans are on the same side of the Akron District bracket as No. 23 Central Christian, who will make the trip to No. 18 McDonald for a sectional semifinal.

Dalton's tournament draw is similar to last year, when the Bulldogs won their first district title in 21 years. There isn't a dominant team in the group but there will be no easy games either. Dalton (No. 12) doesn't have the same talent as the 2023 team but if it gets past No. 9 East Canton in the sectional finals, things could get very interesting in the Struthers District.

It's been Hillsdale's best season in years, and a tournament run would make it even better. The Falcons have a chance to win some games, with nobody better than a 21-seed standing in their way of a district semifinal berth in the Grand Valley District. Top-seeded Warren JFK would likely be the Falcons' opponent if they can make it that far.

Hiland has won seven straight district titles and has every reason to believe an eighth is in the cards. The second-seeded Hawks won't face a seed better than No. 11 before the district semifinals. Top-seeded Monroe Central is undefeated but hasn't faced nearly the same schedule as Hiland during the regular season.

Akron District: 4. Richmond Heights, 6. David Anderson, 11. Fairport Harding, 16. St. Thomas Aquinas, 17. Mathews, 18. McDonald, 20. Wellsville Senior, 22. Berlin Center Western Reserve, 23. Central Christian, 24. Cornerstone Christian, 29. Medina Christian, 33. Leetonia, 36. Oberlin

Struthers District: 3. Mogadore, 7. New Middletown Springfield, 8. Lake Center Christian, 9. East Canton, 12. Dalton, 13. Lowellville, 15. Columbia, 19. Open Door Christian, 27. Andrews Osborne, 32. Sebring McKinley, 35. Lordstown, 37. Youngstown Academy for Urban Scholars, 39. Lake Ridge Academy

Grand Valley District: 1. Warren JFK, 2. Bristol, 5. Badger, 10. Hillsdale, 14. Heartland Christian, 21. Windham, 25. Grand Valley, 26. Jackson-Milton, 28. Maplewood, 30. Cardinal, 31. St. John School, 34. Southington Chalker, 38. Salineville Southern

East District: 1. Monroe Central, 2. Hiland, 3. Toronto, 4. Steubenville Catholic Central, 5. Bishop Rosecrans, 6. Shadyside, 7. River, 8. Caldwell, 9. Bridgeport, 10. Shenandoah, 11. Strasburg-Franklin, 12. Frontier, 13. Newcomerstown, 14. Conotton Valley, 15. Tuscarawas Central Catholic, 16. Beallsville

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Boys Hoops: breaking down the tourney draw for Wayne/Holmes teams