Seeding the area's Class 3A high school basketball sectionals

The Class 3A field will always lack the depth of what you’ll find in Class 4A, so there is some top-heaviness to the majority of the 3A sectionals. But with that comes a whole lot less debate and a more streamlined process in seeding — at least when it comes to seeding the very top of each sectional.

Here is how the Class 3A sectional seeds look heading into seeding week with official seeds released Thursday and matchups and brackets on Friday.

CLASS 3A

Brother Rice Sectional

1. Brother Rice (23-4)
2. Lemont (20-7)
3. Marian Catholic (21-6)
4. Hillcrest (17-9)
5. Crete-Monee (18-10)
6. Perspectives-Leadership (16-9)
7. TF North (13-10)
8. Tinley Park (14-11)

Overview: Brother Rice is the clear choice at No. 1, followed by a Lemont team that beat Marian Catholic and has played top teams (St. Laurence, St. Ignatius, Niles North) competitively in defeat.

Marian Catholic has been hot since the calendar turned to 2025. The Spartans have lost just once in that time — a loss to Benet — and already owns a win over Hillcrest back in November.

Hillcrest has played its typically strong schedule and has beaten Crete-Monee and took care of TF North last week.

Crete-Monee can hang its hat on wins over Bloom, Joliet West and Simeon while playing Brother Rice tough in a 45-44 loss.

Little Village Sectional

1. Fenwick (19-9)
2. St. Patrick (18-7)
3. Payton (14-12)
4. Westinghouse (6-23)
5. Elmwood Park (9-17)
6. Prosser (9-14)
7. Schurz (13-11)
8. Little Village (23-5)

Overview: What shapes up to be the worst sectional in the state should come down to Fenwick and St. Patrick.

Fenwick earns the top seed. The Friars have played 13 teams that have been ranked this season and have wins over Rich, Peoria Central and Mount Carmel while losing to Bolingbrook by just six points and to Simeon in double overtime.

Yes, Westinghouse has five wins. But it plays in the Public League’s Red Shield and lost to No. 3 seed Payton, 53-51, last week. That warrants the fourth seed in this sectional.

Glenbard South Sectional

1. St. Laurence (22-5)
2. Mount Carmel (23-5)
3. De La Salle (14-13)
4. Hyde Park (13-14)
5. St. Francis (11-14)
6. Lindblom (11-15)
7. Glenbard South (13-14)
8. Nazareth (9-15)

Overview: It appears Catholic League foes Mount Carmel and St. Laurence are on a collision course at Glenbard South, a sectional that lacks any real depth. They have both piled up wins, played competitive schedules and are playing well. But St. Laurence beat Mount Carmel 75-65 in late January.

De La Salle doesn’t have a lot of wins on a very formidable schedule. But it did beat sectional opponent St. Francis.

Hyde Park started the year with a nice win (Rockford East) and just recently earned its most impressive win of the year last weekend over Lincoln Park.

Antioch Sectional

1. DePaul Prep (24-3)
2. Lake Forest (17-8)
3. Deerfield (18-7)
4. St. Viator (20-8)
5. Notre Dame (15-12)
6. Grayslake Central (18-9)
7. Vernon Hills (16-11)
8. Grayslake North (15-12)

Overview: DePaul Prep and Lake Forest are the top two seeds for the second straight year in what is a pretty soft sectional.

A pair of competitive teams, Deerfield and St. Viator, follow at No. 3 and No. 4. Deerfield beat St. Viator in overtime at the Wheeling Hardwood Classic and has beaten both Vernon Hills and Grayslake Central.

Since that Deerfield loss in late December, St. Viator is 14-3 with wins over Notre Dame and Stevenson.

Notre Dame then gets the benefit of the doubt at No. 5 with the schedule it has faced. The non-conference slate has included Hinsdale Central, Simeon, Loyola and Stevenson.

Rochelle Sectional

Sub-Sectional A

1. Kaneland (24-1)
2. Crystal Lake South (23-4)
3. Wheaton Academy (16-7)
4. Burlington Central (19-8)

Overview: Is this Kaneland’s year? A year ago the Knights lost to top-seeded Crystal Lake South by 31 points in the sectional championship. Now they’ve earned the No. 1 seed and will prepare for the rematch.

Sub-Sectional B

1. Sycamore (19-7)
2. Woodstock (17-10)
3. Freeport (10-17)
4. Belvidere North (7-21)

Overview: Sycamore is the favorite in this sub-sectional where the records speak for themselves.