KSR's Kentucky High School Football 2023 Preseason Rankings 

High school football in the state of Kentucky is right around the corner and it promises to be an exciting season.

The Commonwealth saw some movement over the offseason when it comes to class realignment, as plenty of schools across the state (roughly 25 percent) changed classes. Some of the notable moves include Covington Catholic’s drop from 5A to 4A, Lexington Catholic and Central’s drop from 4A to 3A, Frederick Douglass’ jump from 5A to 6A, and much more. More realignment is coming in 2025, too.

The 2022 season ended with Pikeville (1A), Beechwood (2A), Christian-Academy Louisville (3A), Boyle County (4A), Frederick Douglass (5A), and Bullitt East (6A) taking home state championships. All six cracked KSR’s preseason Top 25, with Boyle County and Frederick Douglass holding down the top two spots, respectively. You can check out our full rankings list below, along with class-by-class breakdowns.

KSR’s Preseason Top 25 Rankings (2022 record and final ranking)

1. Boyle County | (13-2) 2nd
2. Frederick Douglass | (15-0) 1st
3. St. Xavier | (11-2) 5th
4. Corbin | (14-1) 7th
5. Male | (10-5) 6th
6. Scott County | (11-2) 12th
7. Bowling Green | (12-3) 9th
8. Covington Catholic | (9-3) 14th
9. Christian Academy Louisville | (15-0) 4th
10. Mayfield | (14-1) 16th
11. Louisville Trinity | (8-5) 22nd
12. Beechwood | (14-1) 10th
13. Lexington Christian Academy | (9-5) NR
14. Bullitt East | (14-1) 3rd
15. Southwestern | (13-1) 11th
16. Pikeville | (12-2) 8th
17. Bardstown | (14-1) 23rd
18. Johnson Central | (10-3) 25th
19. Bryan Station | (10-4) 18th
20. Raceland | (13-1) 24th
21. Woodford County | (11-2) 17th
22. Owensboro | (11-3) 20th
23. Dupont Manual | (9-3) 19th
24. Ballard | (11-3) 13th
25. Owensboro Catholic | (9-4) NR

Class-By-Class Rankings

Class 1A

1. Pikeville
2. Raceland
3. Hazard
4. Newport Central Catholic
5. Louisville Holy Cross

Notes: Pikeville defeated Raceland 41-9 in the 2022 state championship. Expect a rematch this season with a much closer result due to Pikeville’s heavy graduation losses.

Class 2A

1. Mayfield
2. Beechwood
3. Lexington Christian Academy
4. Owensboro Catholic
5. Breathitt County

Notes: The champion will come from one of the big three (Mayfield, Beechwood, LCA.) Who wins? Your guess is as good as mine, but Beechwood has proven to have the will to win.

Class 3A

1. Christian Academy-Louisville
2. Central
3. Belfry
4. Lexington Catholic
5. Bell County

Notes: Reigning champion CAL is a big favorite to repeat. Runner-up Bardstown moved to 4A but Central and Lexington Catholic both moved down. Ashland and Paducah Tilghman moved up to 4A.

Class 4A

1. Boyle County
2. Corbin
3. Covington Catholic
4. Bardstown
5. Johnson Central

Notes: The winner of 4A may go on to be the top team in the state if Boyle County beats Frederick Douglass in the regular season finale and Douglass wins 6A. Boyle will be favored to win again, but don’t count out 2022 4A runner-up Corbin or Covington Catholic, who moved down from 5A

Class 5A

1. Scott County
2. Bowling Green
3. Southwestern
4. Woodford County
5. Owensboro

Notes: Frederick Douglass moving to 6A really opens this class up. Several teams could win but flip a coin between Scott County and 2022 runner-up Bowling Green as the favorites. Bowling Green lost more seniors to graduation.

Class 6A

1. Frederick Douglass
2. St. Xavier
3. Male
4. Trinity
5. Bullitt East

Notes: When is the last time the preseason favorite in the state’s largest class wasn’t a Louisville team? Despite heavy graduation losses, Frederick Douglass opens as perhaps a slight favorite to win 6A, but St. Xavier returns a ton on offense. Male, Trinity, Bryan Station, and reigning champion Bullitt East are also in the mix.

If you have any comments or questions about the rankings, contact @teeroyhowell on Twitter/X.