Oregon High School Basketball: 6A Playoff Picture Takes Shape

As the 2025-26 Oregon high school basketball season heads towards its conclusion, the playoff brackets are beginning to solidify. With league play wrapping up for many classifications, teams are vying for automatic bids and at-large berths in the state tournament. Here’s a breakdown of the current projections as of February 17, 2026, focusing on the 6A division, with updates on key players and recent game results.

6A Playoff Projections

The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) determines automatic bids based on league winning percentage, with head-to-head matchups and OSAA rank used as tiebreakers. Rankings will officially freeze on February 27 for 6A teams.

Automatic Bids

• PIL (Portland Interscholastic League): Grant, Benson, Ida B. Wells
• Metro League: Southridge, Jesuit, Westview
• Pacific Conference: Sherwood, Forest Grove, Newberg
• Mt. Hood Conference: Central Catholic, Nelson, Clackamas
• Three Rivers League: Tualatin, Oregon City, West Linn
• Central Valley Conference: West Salem, South Salem, McNary
• Southwest Conference: Sheldon, South Medford, South Eugene

At-Large Bids

Eleven at-large bids are available, with the following teams currently in contention:

• Lake Oswego
• Barlow
• Mountainside
• Sunset
• Gresham
• Beaverton
• Lakeridge
• Lincoln
• Grants Pass
• Roosevelt
• Jefferson

The next five teams on the bubble are Reynolds, David Douglas, Sandy, Century, and North Salem.

Projected 6A Bracket (First Round Matchups)

• No. 32 Newberg at No. 1 Tualatin
• No. 17 South Salem at No. 16 South Medford
• No. 25 Lincoln at No. 8 Lake Oswego
• No. 24 Ida B. Wells at No. 9 Nelson
• No. 28 Roosevelt at No. 5 Sherwood
• No. 21 Beaverton at No. 12 Barlow
• No. 20 Sunset at No. 13 Grant
• No. 29 Jefferson at No. 4 Southridge
• No. 30 South Eugene at No. 3 Oregon City
• No. 19 Sheldon at No. 14 Mountainside
• No. 22 Gresham at No. 11 Westview
• No. 27 Grants Pass at No. 6 Jesuit
• No. 26 Lakeridge at No. 7 Clackamas
• No. 23 McNary at No. 10 West Linn
• No. 18 Benson at No. 15 West Salem
• No. 31 Forest Grove at No. 2 Central Catholic

Recent Results & Key Players

Ida B. Wells recently secured a narrow 48-47 victory over Lincoln on February 5, 2026. Muhammed Carter, a junior for Wells, was featured in a photo from the game by Austin White/Portland Preps. Carter was also named to the all-PIL second team as a sophomore, and is described by his coach, Max Trezise, as a “highlight waiting to happen every possession.” OregonLive

Wells currently holds an 8-11 record, while Lincoln is 11-8. Recent games for Ida B. Wells include a 58-71 loss to Grant on January 30 and a 64-50 win over McDaniel on January 29.

Looking Ahead

With the 6A rankings freezing on February 27, teams will be focused on solidifying their positions and making a strong push for the state tournament. The coming weeks promise exciting matchups and intense competition as Oregon’s top high school basketball programs battle for championship contention.