Hatfield's VHSL Region Playoff Hoops Picks with Preview for Monday 2-23-26
Mother Nature brought snow and ice to a few portions of the Commonwealth late on Sunday night, forcing the postponement of regional games in Occoquan Region 6C as well as a couple of other areas being affected with two-hour school delays. However, the ones that got hit with delays are still able to play this evening.
By my count, unofficially, there are six regions in play on this final Monday of February 2026. In Region 5D, defending Class 5 State Champ Green Run starts its playoff quest of a fourth straight regional title. Two of their four regular season losses came at the hands of Princess Anne, which is on the bottom half of the bracket and hosts a Cox team that they beat by just two in the first encounter. Salem and Kellam square off in the rubber match after splitting two regular season meetings, while Indian River tries to avenge an 83-71 loss to Kempsville when the Braves host the Chiefs.
In Region 4B, it’s Varina, annually a State Playoff fixture these days, aiming to extend its 15-game winning streak following a 0-2 start to the season. Kenneth Randolph’s Blue Devils feature a couple of key members from the state title winning football team in Kaleb Wyche and DaMari Carter, a UVA signee on the gridiron. But the Blue Devils aren’t the only team in Class 4 on a fairly long winning streak.
Caroline has won seven straight, including the Battlefield District Tournament Championship over Chancellor last week. As for Chancellor, they get a second meeting with the defending Class 4 State Champion Atlee Raiders, who lost the first encounter to the Chargers 61-58 back in December.
If Atlee falls, it means that half of the reigning State Champs on the boys side – along with last year’s Class 6 title winner South Lakes and Class 3 title winner Spotswood – fail to reach the second round of the regional playoffs.
Handley puts its eight-game winning streak on the line in hosting Millbrook, while GW-Danville travels to Salem – a school that has long been a thorn in its side on the football field – and tries to extend its 12-game winning streak behind prolific scoring guard Kobe Morrison, who recently became the all-time leading scorer in Eagles history.
The Judges split with Millbrook during the regular season, winning 63-55 on the road in early January, but fell to the Pioneers 75-65 at home on January 23rd. If they are without scoring machine Will Braun-Duin, who has been banged up most of his junior campaign due to injury, more will fall on the shoulders of capable seniors Christian Dinges (19.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.4 APG) and Kyren Oglesby (10.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG).
We’ll see if Monday’s results are more competitive than what Region 5B and Region 1B put out on Saturday, where the average margin of victory was 19.1 PPG.
View the 2025-26 VHSL Playoff Basketball Brackets Here
HATFIELD’S REGION PLAYOFF PICKS FOR MONDAY 2-23-26:
Region 5A: Quarterfinals
#8 Deep Creek (10-13) at #1 Green Run (19-4)
Hat’s Pick – Green Run by 32
#5 Kellam (15-8) at #4 Salem-VB (16-7)
Hat’s Pick – Salem by 4
#6 Kempsville (11-12) at #3 Indian River (16-6)
Hat’s Pick – Indian River by 3 in OT
#7 Cox (10-10) at #2 Princess Anne (17-6)
Hat’s Pick – Princess Anne by 14
Region Tourney Final Pick: Green Run over Princess Anne
Region 4B: Quarterfinals
#8 Huguenot (12-9) at #1 Varina (15-2)
Hat’s Pick – Varina by 13
#5 Monacan (13-7) at #4 Hanover (13-7)
Hat’s Pick – Monacan by 6
#6 Courtland (13-8) at #3 Caroline (16-6)
Hat’s Pick – Caroline by 5
#7 Atlee (13-8) at #2 Chancellor (16-7)
Hat’s Pick – Atlee by 1 in OT
Region Tourney Final Pick: Varina over Caroline
Region 4D: Quarterfinals
North #4 Millbrook (14-9) at North #1 John Handley (18-5)
Hat’s Pick – Handley by 7
North #3 Sherando (14-9) at North #2 Charlottesville (15-8)
Hat’s Pick – Charlottesville by 3
South #4 Halifax County (15-8) at South #1 E.C. Glass (21-0)
Hat’s Pick – E.C. Glass by 19
South #3 GW-Danville (17-6) at South #2 Salem (19-3)
Hat’s Pick – GW-Danville by 2
Region Tourney Final Pick: E.C. Glass over Handley
Region 3C: Quarterfinals
#8 East Rockingham (14-8) at #1 Western Albemarle (18-3)
Hat’s Pick – Western Albemarle by 15
#5 Rocktown (16-6) at #4 Alleghany (17-5)
Hat’s Pick – Alleghany by 4
#7 Staunton (19-5) at #2 Wilson Memorial (20-2)
Hat’s Pick – Wilson Memorial by 6
#6 Liberty Christian (17-7) at #3 Turner Ashby (20-3)
Hat’s Pick – Liberty Christian by 3
Region Tourney Final Pick: Western Albemarle over Wilson Memorial
Region 1A: Quarterfinals
#8 Colonial Beach (6-11) at #1 Northumberland (15-3)
Hat’s Pick – Northumberland by 32
#5 Chincoteague (9-9) at #4 Lancaster (10-7)
Hat’s Pick – Lancaster by 21
#6 West Point (9-10) at #3 Rappahannock (12-4)
Hat’s Pick – Rappahannock by 15
#7 Middlesex (9-18) at #2 Northampton (12-6) PPD due to weather to Tues. 2/24/26
Region Tourney Final Pick: Northumberland over Rappahannock
Region 1D: Play-In
Hogo #3 Northwood (12-12) at Cumberland #3 Rye Cove (13-11)
Hat’s Pick – Rye Cove by 6
Region Tourney Final Pick: Patrick Henry-Glade Spring over Chilhowie
More Related Links Here:
VaPreps 2026 Basketball Playoff Central Here
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Hatfield’s Picks for Friday 2-20-26 Here
Watch VHSL Hoops Playoff Action on NFHS Network Here
VHSL Web Site’s Basketball Playoff Page Here
VISAA Web Site’s Basketball Pages Here
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Matthew Hatfield has served as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com since 2016 and been writing for the web site under the Rivals umbrella dating back to 2004. Matthew also has served as the Play-by-Play Voice for Old Dominion Women’s Basketball since 2021. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and be sure to Subscribe to CoVA Sports TV, where you can watch and hear his Podcasts.