Class 4A, Redrawn: Knoch Opens Its First WPIAL Title Defense on a New Map

By Keystone Clutch Sports

Knoch finally has a WPIAL boys basketball title to defend. The Class 4A field around it looks very different.

The WPIAL’s 2026-28 alignment reshuffles Class 4A. The team Knoch beat in last season’s final is gone, the reigning PIAA Class 2A champion is moving up, and two Beaver County programs are dropping down from Class 5A. Here’s the new map, with practice opening Friday, Nov. 20.

The champs: Knoch

The third-seeded Knights beat top-seeded Quaker Valley 48-35 on Feb. 26 at the Petersen Events Center for the first WPIAL title in school history. Quaker Valley grabbed the lead late in the first half, but Knoch broke the game open with an 11-0 run that started late in the third quarter, according to TribLive. Roman DeFelice had a game-high 13 points, Liam Avon added 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Derek Lang scored 10, per the Butler Eagle box score.

It was a first-year triumph for coach Joe Lafko. TribLive reported the win was his 570th and his second WPIAL title, after leading Hampton to one in 2009.

Knoch kept it going in the state tournament. The Knights beat Girard 46-30 in the PIAA Class 4A first round on March 6, the program’s first state playoff win since 1997, according to TribLive. Teegan Finucan had a game-high 18 points, per the Butler Eagle box score. Section 1 rival North Catholic ended the run in the second round, winning 77-69 in triple overtime on March 10 at Plum.

Knoch is retooling. Finucan, a senior who became the school’s all-time leading scorer last season, and fellow senior starters Lang and Vinnie DeFelice have played their final high school games. The WPIAL hasn’t posted 2026-27 rosters yet, so we’re holding off on naming returners until those are official.

Knoch stays in Section 1, now with Burrell, Derry, Freeport, Highlands and Valley. North Catholic, last season’s Section 1 co-champion with Knoch, moves to Section 4.

Who’s out, who’s in

According to the WPIAL alignment and TribLive’s reporting on it, these are the moves that reshape Class 4A:

• Leaving for Class 3A: Quaker Valley, last season’s Class 4A runner-up, and Ambridge.
• Down from Class 5A: Blackhawk, Lincoln Park, Hampton and Ringgold.
• Up from Class 3A: Ellwood City Lincoln and Mt. Pleasant.
• Up from Class 2A (voluntary): Sewickley Academy.

Sewickley Academy is the headline addition. The Panthers beat Jeannette 52-38 for the 2026 WPIAL Class 2A title, then beat Old Forge 52-36 for the PIAA Class 2A championship. They’re jumping two classes by choice. The WPIAL’s first alignment release put them in Section 2, but after a correction, the league’s revised alignment places them in Section 4 with Avonworth, Deer Lakes, Hampton, North Catholic and West Mifflin. That means the Panthers share a section with the North Catholic team that ended Knoch’s season.

Section 2: Beaver County, plus Ellwood City Lincoln

Section 2 is about as local as it gets: Beaver, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Hopewell and Lincoln Park from Beaver County, plus Ellwood City Lincoln from Lawrence County. Two of those six, Blackhawk and Lincoln Park, spent the last cycle in Class 5A, and Ellwood City Lincoln arrives from Class 3A.

Our take

Knoch enters as the champion, but probably not as the clear favorite. It lost three senior starters, including its all-time leading scorer, Sewickley Academy arrives as the reigning PIAA Class 2A champion, and North Catholic has already proved it can beat the Knights when it matters. The best Class 4A title race may come out of the Section 2 and Section 4 crowd rather than Knoch’s Section 1. Expect Section 2 to be a rugged, all-local fight with two former Class 5A programs in the mix. Either way, Butler and Beaver county teams figure to have a lot to say about who reaches the WPIAL final.

Key dates for 2026-27

• Nov. 20 (Friday): First official practice
• Dec. 4 (Friday): First regular-season games
• Dec. 10-11: WPIAL section play opens
• Feb. 6, 2027: Last WPIAL section play date
• Feb. 11-24, 2027: WPIAL playoffs
• Feb. 25-27, 2027: WPIAL championships
• March 18-20, 2027: PIAA championships at the Giant Center in Hershey

Sources

• WPIAL boys basketball sectional alignment, 2026-27 and 2027-28 (PDF)
• WPIAL 2026-27 boys and girls basketball calendar (PDF)
• PIAA Schedule of Sports’ Events, 2026-27 (PDF)
• TribLive: Sewickley Academy bumping up to Class 4A as WPIAL announces section alignment
• TribLive: Sewickley Academy won’t share section with Lincoln Park after all
• Butler Eagle: Knoch boys basketball wins first WPIAL championship
• TribLive: Knoch downs Quaker Valley in Class 4A final to win 1st WPIAL championship
• TribLive: After WPIAL championship victory, Knoch turns attention to state playoffs
• Butler Eagle: Knoch dispatches Girard in PIAA first round
• Butler Eagle: 2026 PIAA basketball brackets and results
• WTAE: 2026 WPIAL basketball championship results
• Butler Eagle: North Catholic knocks out Knoch in 3OT
• Butler Eagle: Knoch, North Catholic share WPIAL section crown