2026 IHSA playoffs: Steve Soucie’s Class 8A playoff analysis and picks

Round of 16 picksLincoln-Way East (10-0) vs. Hinsdale Central (8-3): The Lincoln-Way East buzzsaw continued to slice through opponents although Oak Park-River Forest’s 24-point defeat was one of the closer games the Griffins have had this year. Hinsdale Central has rolled through two playoff opponents and the Red Devils have won five of their last six. Pick: Lincoln-Way EastMount Carmel (8-2) vs. Barrington (7-4): There were quite a few questions about Mount Carmel midway through the year, but it appears most of those concerns have been squelched with a very impressive string of scores over the past few weeks. Barrington looks nothing like the team that started 0-4 and has played extremely well, particularly on defense, for the last seven weeks. But this might be too high of a hill for the Broncos to climb.Pick: Mount CarmelOswego (9-1): vs. Naperville North (8-2): Oswego was already playing very well and got a huge boost with the return of RB Ammar Banire to the fold. The Panthers wo