For the second time in school history, Mill Valley is included in this year’s 6A classification for the 36 biggest schools in the state as announced by KSHAA Friday, Sept. 23. The new classification follows the school having the highest enrollment since 2019 at 1,340 students.

The new 6A classification will only apply during postseason competition. The regular season opponents will remain mostly Sunflower League teams, but the school will compete exclusively against 6A teams at regionals and state. Football and tennis activities are excluded from this classification due to different rules and will remain competing in 5A for the next two seasons.

Mill Valley is the only school to move up to 6A, kicking Hutchinson down to 5A. Mill Valley is also the smallest 6A school in Kansas; Wichita Southeast is the biggest school with 2,430 students enrolled.

According to the KSHAA Study Committee Summary, the postseason consistency between the classes could result in “the ranking of the teams to get the best teams matched up in the post season to get the best team to win.”