2026 Southern Show Choir 4A/3A Postseason Rankings

By Tony Holeman, Southern contributor

The (very hectic and tumultuous) 2026 show choir season has been over for a few weekends, and it is time for this year's final set of show choir rankings of the Southern circuit. In true show choir fashion, an couple of extra voters were added to the finals voting panel in order to include a more diverse set of voices. This set of placements reflects that of the 4A/3A or large/extra-large division, which have been expanded from the 10 ranked groups in-season to 15 ranked groups for this special edition.

1) Clinton “Attaché” (7 first-place votes)

Theme: Abandoned Carnival

PHOTO: Glenda Heath

Death, taxes, and Clinton Attaché. Not much else to say here, as Clinton has reigned undisputed as the top Southern show choir program essentially since their inception (and even more so since David Fehr took over). With another undefeated season and wins over Brandon, Oak Mountain, Tupelo, Mt. Zion, and many more, Clinton is the unanimous selection as the top southern group in the 4A/3A division. However, the only thing threatening Clinton is something unstoppable: time. The concept of change looms on the horizon, although any window for change is probably at least a little ways off.

2) Homewood “The Network”

Theme: Flashback to the 1990s

PHOTO: Show Choir Nationals

With a close bout for second place, Homewood just takes over the next group due to their late-season surge. Despite starting off the year with a loss to West Jones, Homewood bounced back with a Grand Championship win over Avon, arguably the best Grand Championship title in the southern circuit for their win at Auburn, and then a 2RU placement at a stacked Show Choir Nationals competition. In just their third season removed since legendary director Scott Thorne’s retirement, Homewood seems to be doing just fine in his absence under the direction of Byron Mosquera.

3) West Jones “Imagination”

Theme: Main Street USA

PHOTO: Nikki Barlow Overstreet

One of the candidates for Most Improved Group of the season, West Jones took this season up a notch from years past. With their colorful Main Street USA-themed show, West Jones is just one of three southern groups this season with three Grand Championship titles. Like Homewood, West Jones had a slightly rough start to the season, placing third at the second competition they appeared in. However, that stumble was quickly met with two statement Grand Championships over the likes of Homewood and Brandon. The craziest part? West Jones did all of this as a 3A competitor, earning them the highest ranking for a group that size.

4) Brandon “Brio”

Theme: History of American Music

PHOTO: Old Soul Photography

Up-and-down would be the best way to describe Brandon’s season, and for multiple reasons. The first? Brandon traveled approximately 2,952 miles this competition season, competing at Chesterton, Fairfield, and four in-state events. The second reason? The varying results. Brandon started out the season with two Grand Championship sweeps, then followed by a 4RU placement at Chesterton. Brandon then earned a 1RU placement behind Clinton while beating Tupelo, but then lost to West Jones the next weekend. Brandon ended their competition season with a 3RU placement at Fairfield. While it might seem gloomy, such a rigorous competition schedule still landed many impressive wins (over groups likes Carroll, Tupelo, West Jones, Plainfield, and others) to earn them this spot on our list.

5) Oak Mountain “Singers”

Theme: Motown

PHOTO: Jasper High School

If strength-of-schedule was a widely tracked show choir metric, Oak Mountain would have a strong claim as top in this category. Despite only winning one Grand Championship title on the season, here’s a (very short) list of groups they lost to this season: Clinton, Franklin Central, North Central, and Homewood. What else do you want them to do about that? Not to mention that they still managed to take a caption off of Clinton, the first group to do so since 2020, and beat groups like Grenada, Fishers, Auburn, and many others. Needless to say, the trophy case doesn’t exactly reflect the season Oak Mountain put together this year.

6) Grenada “Visions”

Theme: Marilyn Monroe

PHOTO: Show Choir Nationals

Similar to Brandon, Grenada encountered a crazy season this year. Such a season included backstage emergencies and mid-week accidents all amidst their tough competitions. Such chaos is shown in some of their results: two 1RU placements behind Tupelo and Briarwood and a 2RU placement behind both Tupelo and Northwest Rankin. Yet, Grenada showed resilience despite this. They managed to earn 2RU at a tough Auburn competition and even made finals at Show Choir Nationals, finishing 5RU. While maybe not what was originally hoped for, this season proved Grenada has plenty of fight.

7) Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors”

Theme: N/A (No Theme)

PHOTO: NWR Choral Music

Talk about a late-season surge. Northwest Rankin started the season with a 2RU and two 3RU placements in the first half of their season. Next? Their director, Tony Keeler, was announced as Jackson Prep’s show choir director starting next season. Normally such a sequence of events would hinder a group’s ability to focus and continue on. Not here. Northwest then turned around and earned a 1RU placement over the likes of Grenada and Sauk Prairie. Next? Back-to-back Grand Championship titles to cap off their season. If you ever wondered what “getting hot when it matters” looks like, this is it.

8) Auburn “Varsity Singers”

Theme: Digital Icarus

PHOTO: Caroline Hardy

After starting out their season with a Grand Championship sweep, Auburn ran into a wall (a couple, actually). The first one came in the form of the Oak Mountain King of the Mountain Invitational, where some crazy results ended up placing them as 4RU. The next wall was the Homewood South Central Classic, where stacked competition ended up with them earning a strong 2RU placement. Auburn then finished off their season with a 1RU placement behind Uniondale at a small-scale FAME Show Choir America event, ending their season a bit cooler than how they started.

9) Spain Park “Rhapsody In Blue”

Theme: Paradise Lost

PHOTO: Hoover City Schools

A sign of certain growth for Spain Park came from their first competition of the season, where they earned their first Grand Championship in nearly 20 years. This title was followed by four straight finals/top-five placements, marking the first time this has happened in nearly 20 years as well for the program. Spain Park will surely be looking to take their next step next season, whether it’s multiple Grand Championships in one season or something even more impressive.

10) Petal “Soundsations”

Theme: Shuffle Your Playlist

PHOTO: Petal Show Choir

This has certainly been one of the more odd seasons in the history of a prestigious Petal show choir history. After starting off their season with a Grand Championship sweep, they proceeded to miss out on finals at a very stacked Auburn competition. However, at their next competition, Petal bounced back and won an out-of-state Grand Championship title over Hurricane and Matoaca. Going two-for-three on a season (and that one loss being at a competition at the level of Auburn) could certainly give Petal an argument that they belong higher than this position. However, missing out on that finals placement seems to have landed Petal in this spot in the rankings.

11) Briarwood “Radica”

Theme: Stars and Dots

PHOTO: Jasper High School

Briarwood earned a lot of new fans across the nation with their captivating and emotional show this year. They were certainly rewarded for doing so, having won a Grand Championship title, placed in finals at Auburn with a 4RU placement, and also garnered 1RU and 3RU placements on the season. Like Spain Park, this shows significant growth for the program, as it marks their first ever Grand Championship title in the deep south region of the southern show choir circuit (previous recorded Grand Championship titles were from the Southskirts in Tennessee).

12) Madison Central “Reveille”

Theme: Paris, France

PHOTO: Aaron David

A group looking to establish their identity ever since Max Lyall left for Clinton and Tammy Carney-Maxie had an impressive one-year stint, Madison Central had a very promising season this year. Despite not earning a Grand Championship title, MC still made finals at two of the three events they competed at and beat groups such as Auburn, Northeast Jones, and Spain Park. Many eyes will be watching this program as they will be moving onto their fourth director in the last six years. MC alum Bradley Davis was announced as Executive Director of Performing Arts at the school and will work with Reveille; fellow MC alum Wyatt Wilcox and current NWR middle school director Camp Wilhelm will serve as Directors of Choirs at MC next year.

13) Hamilton “The Legacy”

Theme: I Want More

PHOTO: The Legacy Show Choir

With so many stories to speak about from the southern show choir circuit, none may be as exciting and inspiring as what has happened at Hamilton. Under director George Walker, Hamilton (in their first-ever season as a program) not only put on a good show, but competed highly with other top groups at every competition. Making finals at two of their four competitions, earning a 2RU and even a 1RU placement, and being the first recorded group to take an overall caption as a brand-new first-year program in the south, Hamilton has wasted absolutely no time in making their mark in the South.

14) Northeast Jones “Gold Horizons”

Theme: Amelia Earhart

PHOTO: Miranda Burge

Northeast Jones came so close to breaking through this season, one where they earned three 1RU placements. Still, they earned wins over groups like West Jones, Biloxi, and South Jones. However, this was also met by missing out on finals at Jackson Prep and Biloxi, the latter where they also placed last in their division behind Jackson Academy and Oak Grove. They ended the season fairly well with a 2RU overall placement at Brandon ELITE. When one remembers that this was a jump season for NEJ moving up from middle mixed, it was a solid building year.

15) Jackson Academy “Encore”

Theme: N/A (No Theme)

PHOTO: Jackson Academy

Rounding out the top fifteen is a group in just their second year under director Jacob Butzin. Like Northwest Rankin, Jackson Academy seemed to start gaining traction later in the season (though not at the same rate). They started off the season with a no placement at Homewood. This was followed by two finals appearances and 4RU placements, with the later event of the two also including a divisional win over Northeast Jones and Oak Grove. They ended their season with their best performance, earning 1RU at Brandon ELITE over groups like Northeast Jones and South Jones.

Receiving Votes: Biloxi "Sound Surge", Hoover "Paradigm", Enterprise "Encores"