MISSOULA — After a busy championship weekend in Western Montana to conclude the 2025 Montana High School Association spring sports, the 2026 calendar looks similarly busy west of the Continental Divide.
Missoula, which simultaneously hosted the Class B/C state track and field meet and Class B/C state tennis tournament last month, will host three spring sports championships in 2026: the State AA/B track meet, the State B/C tennis tournament again and the Class AA state softball tournament.
In addition to those three events, which are all scheduled to run May 28-30, 2026, western Montana will host the State AA tennis tournament in Kalispell, the Class A state softball tournament in Hamilton and the state baseball tournament in Butte.
Right now, the state baseball tournament is still scheduled to feature teams from all classes, but, according to MHSA associate director Scott Wilson, discussion will take place this summer regarding breaking the sport into two classes. That could happen as early as next season, which would result in a Class AA state tournament and a Class A/B/C tournament. As many as 14 of Montana's 16 Class AA schools could field baseball teams next season, with Bozeman, Gallatin, Great Falls and CMR already set to add teams and Glacier and Flathead in talks to do so.
Senior, Skyview and West in Billings and Big Sky, Hellgate and Sentinel in Missoula fielded first-year programs this year. Butte and Belgrade have had teams since high school baseball started three years ago.
Helena and Capital are the only Class AA schools that have not expressed interest in adding high school baseball.
The sites for the other spring sports state championship events in 2026 are:
- State A/C track at Laurel
- State B/C softball at Billings
- State B golf at Billings
- State C golf at Shelby
The site for the State A tennis tournament has not yet been determined.
The first state events of the 2025-26 school year will be the Class AA and Class A state golf meets. The State AA meet will run Oct. 2-3 at Butte, and the State A meet is scheduled for Oct. 3-4 at Sidney.
The state cross country meet is Oct. 25 in Missoula, and the all-class state volleyball tournament is again bound for Bozeman. This year's tournament will run Nov. 12-14 at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the campus of Montana State University. The tournament will begin on Wednesday and conclude on Friday (as opposed to its typical Thursday, Friday, Saturday format) to avoid conflicting with the MSU football game versus UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The all-class state wrestling tournament is undergoing another schedule change, as well, as it will be held one week later than usual. The tournament, which expanded to three days last year, is scheduled for Feb. 19-21, 2026 at First Interstate Arena in Billings. The first day is expected to include a full day of action instead of the half-day schedule used last year.
The state swim meet will return to Great Falls Feb. 12-14, 2026.
The dates and sites for the 2026 state boys and girls basketball tournaments are:
- Class AA at Billings, March 12-14
- Class A at Great Falls, March 12-14
- Class B at Bozeman, March 12-14
- Class C at Missoula, March 11-14
The MHSA rotates the state basketball tournaments between Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls and Missoula. In 2027, Billings will host Class C, Butte Class B, Missoula Class A and Bozeman Class AA.
