Upper Arlington's Division I boys soccer bracket just got bigger. A Franklin County judge granted St. Charles Preparatory School an injunction Tuesday, Oct. 6, ordering the OHSAA to let the state-ranked Cardinals compete in the Division I postseason, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

The ruling expands the Division I Central District field to 26 teams. Division II drops to 19.

St. Charles admitted it missed a May 8 deadline to submit an opt-up form moving the school from its assigned Division II classification to Division I. According to the Dispatch, the school's civil complaint blamed a miscommunication between athletic director Dave Lawler and an assistant athletic director over whether the form had actually been sent to the OHSAA. St. Charles discovered the error when final divisional alignments were released in June and submitted the form that day, but the OHSAA denied the late request.

The Cardinals filed suit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Sept. 11. A hearing was held Monday, Oct. 5, and the judge granted the injunction the following day.

St. Charles brings serious postseason pedigree into the bracket. The Cardinals were the Division I state runner-up in 2024 and a state semifinalist in 2025, opting up from Division II both years after the OHSAA expanded the soccer postseason to five divisions. As of Sept. 30, MaxPreps ranked St. Charles No. 5 in the state. Defending Division I state champion Dublin Jerome held the No. 3 spot.

Upper Arlington enters the Division I bracket with a tournament enrollment of 727. St. Charles carries an adjusted enrollment of 615, which had placed it among the largest Division II schools before the court intervened.

The Division I Central District tournament draw is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11. Coaches’ seed voting ends Saturday, Oct. 10, with bracket placement scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11.