BoneGuy4

The only schools that I have heard are going (not 100% certain)
Canyon HS
Rockwall HS
Waxahachie HS
Wylie HS

I'm not sure this will be the Waxahachie runaway people are predicting--let's not forget Forney passed Leander in finals last year at state, and has only become bigger since then. In fact, I'm currently thinking they're the favorite to win this area in their first year at the 6A level. Of course, Waxahachie always wayyyy places my expectations when it comes to UIL. Even still, I'm thinking we'll have a brand new 6A area champ this year.

I hadn’t thought about that. Thats a really good point, I think it will definitely be a battle between Rockwall, Berkner, and Duncanville this season.

Yeah i checked earlier, this Areas just haven’t been posted yet. Should be really soon though! 

Different areas have different places they put them (Area Js is somewhere on the region 20 site), but its the draw order where each band is randomly assigned a number for the area order

Their content is never the issue, but the level of execution typically can cause inconsistent scoring for them, specifically their visuals which at Bedford was 2 points below their music scores, and overall placed below Southlake in a majority of the captions who placed below North and Forney at 11th, so unless they take a major step up Id place them around the 8-14 range depending on the bands around them
 
Definitely not throwing shade since their shows are generally great and they perform so well, but this competition is so brutal that the 7-17 bubble feels fairly interchangeable, it just depends on who is better and who is not which makes predictions for this competition fun lol

Here's what I'm thinking pre-season:
1. Marcus (GE, Music) What can you say about Marcus that hasn't already been said. They'll no doubt have the cleanest, most refined show at this contest. They're coming off an excellent season last year, and I'm certain they're only looking to ramp it up for this year. Look out for them to possibly be back on top of the Lewisville Trio this year.
2. Bell (Vis) Similar to Marcus, Bell had a banner year last year--their best in over a decade--and don't forget: they outright won Prosper prelims last year. I was very impressed by how those kids moved last, especially by end-of-season, though Wakeland or Marcus could easily nab that vis caption on the strength of ensemble vis. Regardless, I think Bell is notching out a fresh identity for this historic program, and the judges seem to love it.
3. Wakeland Last year, Wakeland surged early season before having a lower than expected placement in San Antonio. I think their show this year is again relatively unoriginal, following a trend they set last year. While not necessarily presenting the freshest of concepts, they always find a way to steal my heart with their drill. 3A captions are theirs for the taking, unless Lone Star comes out swinging.
4. Bentonville Coming off a great season with Arkansas' first-ever GNats finals appearance, there's no reason to assume this group won't be in top-half.  Truthfully, I don't even know the title of their program this year, but I can't wait to see this group and I think it would be awesome to see some non-TX bands finish nicely here.
5. Jenks Similar to Wakeland, Jenks also seemed to have a great start to their season last year that didn't translate to full-season dominance. At BOA Bedford last year, they enjoyed a top-half finish among some of the biggest names in TX, even beating groups like LD Bell, Timber Creek, and Keller Central. I think the OK and AR groups will have to come out swinging in vis this year to compete with the music scene here.
6. Lone Star This is the most difficult group to place for me. Given the rapid growth in the city of Frisco and their incredible music book last year, I think 6th place is well within reach. Would love to see them in top-half and continue to contribute to the growth of Frisco ISD as another powerhouse district.
7. Prosper Prosper always seems so volatile in their placements to me, especially on their Nats years. Just when you feel like counting them out, they go and have an absolutely monster run in Nats Semis, though I think we're on the verge of seeing Cartwright-designed shows falling out of vogue. TX groups that go to Nats tend to have a later surge in their season than those that don't, and I anticipate seeing that reflected in scores here. 
8. Keller Central I'm really excited to see this show! Last year, they had one of my favorite visual programs, and I could see them being a sleeper pick for top-half this year. They've been good for a long time, but recently I've started to feel that they're becoming great. I love seeing Keller ISD becoming a force to be reckoned with in the band world. 'Another Time, Another Place' will probably be one of the most unique shows in finals here.
9. Wylie East This is where it gets a bit dicey, since there are a million bands in this 9-12 echelon for this contest--it will come down to splitting hairs. I'm hoping that Wylie East's show this year will be a little more concrete than last year's to lock into finals. With how the new Area J is looking, it will be really difficult for anyone outside of LISD to punch a ticket to state, so they will all be fighting tooth and nail for this finals appearance.
10. Rock Hill Also incredibly difficult to place. This program is so young compared to the rest on this list, and they had an incredible finish in top-half here last year. I could be way off-base thinking they'll be as low as 10th, but their weaker results toward the end of the season have me a bit hesitant to predict them toward top-half this year.
11. McKinney North In their state run last year, I was shocked by their sound--I could have sworn I was listening to a DCI hornline. Seeing them miss 5A finals was a complete shock for me, and I'm thinking they'll turn up the dial even more this year. The only weakness I picked up on was size, something that will continue to grow as the city does. I anticipate them being noticeably larger than last year, which will hopefully translate to a second, consecutive finals appearance here. 
12. Wylie I have been blown away by the quality and cleanliness of their shows for the past two years, and I'm a bit taken aback that they aren't rewarded by judges like I think they ought to be. Personally, I think they should be scoring much higher than 12th here, and I often struggle to find one thing to critique about them. Hopefully this is the year the begin receiving the recognition they deserve!
I have Mustang and Southlake Carroll just outside of finals. Ultimately, it comes down to how much Mustang can beef up their music program to compete with these TX groups in their first trip down and how clean Southlake Carroll can be by this point. I also think the prelims schedule will have a big impact when the bubble is this large, and Azle, Aledo, Rockwall, and Braswell will all certainly be on fire.

I'll make a spitball for this, but the bottom half of finals is completely unpredictable in my opinion:
1. Marcus (Visual, Music)
2. Wakeland (General Effect)
3. Prosper
4. Jenks
5. L.D. Bell
6. Bentonville
7. Keller Central
8. Rock Hill
9. Wylie East
10. McKinney Boyd
11. McKinney North
12. Lone Star
Finalist Bubble: Wylie, Mustang, Southlake, McKinney, Azle, Rockwall

Realistically, the only locks apart from the top 6 are Keller Central and Wylie East in my opinion given how their show design and execution is very consistent for BOA measures, McKinney Boyd and North have had some pretty good momentum, but this competition got a tight finals bubble, I can see some of these bands finishing either in the top 8-9, or 15th/16th

This is just my 2 cents on this comp
Marcus L.D. Bell Wakeland Bentonville Prosper Jenks Keller central SLC Mustang Rock hill Wylie east Rockwall Wylie McKinney North Aledo Azle Braswell Lake ridge Grapevine Walnut grove Coweta Liberty North mesquite Commerce Waller Whiesboro

This is just my 2 cents on this comp
Marcus L.D. Bell Wakeland Bentonville Prosper Jenks Keller central SLC Mustang Rock hill Wylie east Rockwall Wylie McKinney North Aledo Azle Braswell Lake ridge Grapevine Walnut grove Coweta Liberty North mesquite Commerce Waller Whiesboro

I’m so excited to watch this comp and see who makes finals. I’m hoping my band can make finals, however watching this will be fun no matter what.

I’m so excited to watch this comp and see who makes finals. I’m hoping my band can make finals, however watching this will be fun no matter what.