How We're Previewing Nebraska's 2025 High School Season

Fall has arrived.   We couldn't be more excited to cover another year of high school action in the Cornhusker State. It's hard to believe this will be my sixth year on Nebraska's prep beat for this site, and we have a lot of new things planned for another thrilling season of competition.   Of course, our in-season coverage has to start with a prelude to build the anticipation. "Preview season" is one of our favorites. We prepare for the high school season by addressing all the major storylines we'll be following throughout our flurry of event visits.   Before our season previews begin, let's preview our previews. Here's an overview of the featured topics that will carry us through the next few weeks and build the hype for the upcoming high school journey.     Class-by-Class Team Rankings Return   We're bringing back our class-by-class Top 10.   High school team rankings were a staple of Prep Dig Nebraska coverage before my time on the site, but they took a bit of a multi-year hiatus. We brought it back last season and enjoyed sorting out some top squads from Class A to Class D2.   This means we're not far away from our preseason list. It's easily our most challenging rankings of the season, as we try to prognosticate team strength without a sample of recent matches. Last fall's results will factor into these rankings, but we also have a lot of roster shuffles to sort out.   We can't wait to break it all down.     <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/08/IMG_4603-edited.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-850624" style="width:377px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lincoln Lutheran has been a frequent championship favorite over the last several years of preseason coverage.</figcaption></figure>   Identifying Championship Favorites   As we begin to compile the class-by-class team rankings, championship favorites will emerge.   We've highlighted title contenders in our season previews for the past several years. This has often been framed through last year's tournament participants who have a good chance to make a postseason return. We're planning to bring that back, but our scope can be expanded even further this time.   See the next section.   Finding the Underdogs   Let's find the next Cinderella story.   Our preview coverage isn't limited to the title favorites or which teams we select in the Top 10. We'll also use this preview period to decipher which teams could make a considerable jump from last year to this year.   High school coverage is at its best when parity peaks. We're bound to see a new wave of postseason hopefuls emerge as the season rolls along, and we're eager to predict which teams could give us those storylines.     Small-Town Spotlights   Here's another chance to dig deeper.   It's easy to hone in on the big-city scene when covering Nebraska's high school sports. Lincoln and Omaha have the biggest concentration of schools, giving us the widest array of coverage angles in a small geographical radius. However, Nebraska's small-town roots cannot be ignored.   Part of our preseason coverage will be dedicated to the small-town gems who have earned the spotlight through their exceptional play. We don't have to wait until the state tournament to bring these rural gems into the spotlight.     <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/08/IMG_4354-edited.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-850626" style="width:387px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cross County High School was a staple of last year's small-town coverage.</figcaption></figure>   Breaking Down Key Players   It's no mystery that athletes are central to our coverage.   Even as we rank teams and pick out title favorites, we can't forget that player visibility is our guiding principle on any Prep Dig site. So, as we address the broader team-based storylines, we'll also dive into the smaller details on which athletes to watch heading into the fall. This might manifest in a class-by-class approach that allows schools of all sizes to be addressed.     The Next Rankings Update   On top of all this preseason coverage, our next wave of rankings updates is on the way.   Here's the timeline:   2026 - Aug. 5   2027 - Aug. 12   2028 - Aug. 19   This gives us a chance to look back while we look ahead. In other words, we'll be compiling all of our observations from the club season to produce an updated look at our player rankings. That includes our first set of rankings for the Class of 2028.   It's a busy stretch, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Fall has arrived.