BROOKSVILLE — The long-debated and controversial 39th District draw is coming to an end. Bracken County, Mason County, and now Augusta have voted to seed the district at Tuesday’s 39th District draw meeting.
Games will be seeded by playing one game against each district opponent. If teams play twice, only the first game will count towards seeding.
The 39th District basketball tournament will be seeded starting next season. Other sports are being discussed as well.
39th District Basketball Tournament draw pairings for 2024:
The first round games will be played on Monday and Tuesday with the championships on Thursday. All games are doubleheaders with girls at 6:00 pm and boys following at 7:30 pm or 20 minutes after the first game. Dates and times were decided by the athletic directors. The admission cost is $7 cash only. Streaming will be on the NFHS Network.
The athletic directors also determined future sites for the district tournament.
2024 – Bracken County
2025 – Mason County (Mason)
2026 – Mason County (St. Patrick)
2027 – Mason County (Augusta)
More on Seeding:
The seed vs. draw debate heated up in the spring of 2016 when Bracken County and Mason County drew each other in the baseball. After that, Bracken County elected to not play any road games at Augusta, and Augusta did the same. They two teams did not play in the regular season from 2016-17 to 2019-20. The baseball tournament has been seeded since 2021 due to Saint Patrick not having a varsity team. Three team districts are required to seed.
It takes a 3-1 vote to make any changes to seed/draw method. Augusta and St. Patrick were the two hold-outs before, until Augusta flipped and voted to seed today.
Per the KHSAA, there is no required method in regards to seeding. District teams technically do not have to play at all. However, most teams play once or twice during the regular season.
Making it to the regional boys basketball tournament provides significant funding to a school’s athletic department. The girls tournament can draw around $2-3,000 and the boys anywhere from $4-6,000.
This story will be updated with comments from athletic directors and coaches.
