St. Charles Preparatory School is asking a Franklin County judge to intervene in OHSAA's placement of its boys soccer team for the upcoming postseason.
School Files Suit in Franklin County
The Columbus prep school filed its request in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, naming OHSAA as the defendant, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The school is seeking reassignment to Division I, making the team's tournament classification the central issue in the case.
The filing puts OHSAA's classification system and St. Charles's postseason placement at the center of the dispute.
A Bigger Bracket, A Narrower Path to the Top
How Ohio’s soccer divisions changed
OHSAA approved an expansion that moved boys and girls soccer from three tournament divisions to five, with the largest 64 schools assigned to Division I and the next 64 to Division II, according to the Sidney Daily News. The News-Herald also reported that the expansion debate grew from wide enrollment differences under the previous three-division format. Member schools passed Referendum Item 1B, which addresses sport-by-sport moves to Division I; the information available here does not specify additional criteria for such a move.
Other recent court challenges have produced mixed procedural outcomes. In a Mahoning County baseball case, the Ohio Court of Appeals’ Seventh District dismissed OHSAA’s appeal as moot on July 30, 2026, after the student graduated and the season ended, without deciding the merits. In a separate Franklin County case, a judge denied a preliminary injunction sought by the parents of a Bishop Watterson football player on October 10, 2025, finding they had not shown that OHSAA’s decision lacked substantial evidence or violated the law, according to the Ohio Court of Appeals and USA TODAY High School Sports, citing The Columbus Dispatch.
OHSAA's tournament structure for boys and girls soccer is part of the broader discussion over how schools are placed in divisions.
Member schools passed Referendum Item 1B, which addresses sport-by-sport moves to Division I. St. Charles is now turning to the courts in its dispute with OHSAA.
A Program With State Title History
St. Charles enters this postseason fight on the strength of a program with deep roots in Ohio soccer. The school's soccer history includes state championships in 1983 and 1985 and state runner-up finishes in 1981, 1988, 1991, and 2016, according to The Catholic Times.
Legal Precedent for Challenging OHSAA
St. Charles's legal dispute places the school in a broader debate over OHSAA rules.
The outcome of St. Charles's injunction request remains uncertain.
