The march to a state title begins with the bracket release.
A total of 210 boys’ soccer teams across five divisions learned their postseason fates Saturday afternoon when the MIAA released the tournament brackets — with games able to begin as early as Sunday and the state championships projected to be held Nov. 21-22.
St. John’s Prep (15-1-2) leads the 42-team Division 1 field, followed by second-seeded Natick (12-5) and No. 3 Newton South (12-2-3). Reigning runner-up St. John’s (Shrewsbury) is the 12th seed at 11-4-3, and reigning champ Newton North (5-8-5) — no stranger to a Cinderella run — is 26th.
Three-time defending Division 2 champion Oliver Ames (12-1-3) leads the 39-team pack. Northampton (13-0-5) is the second seed, with Longmeadow (12-1-6) and Duxbury (14-3-1) right behind them.
Medfield (14-3-1) earned the top seed in the 40-team Division 3 tournament, with Norwell (18-0-1) and defending champion Dover-Sherborn (13-4-1) rounding out the top three seeds. In its first year in Division 3, East Boston (11-3-4) earned the No. 8 seed.
The largest field is Division 4, with 49 teams and 17 preliminary-round games. Sutton (15-1-2) leads the pack as the top seed, followed by Bromfield (15-1-2) and Hamilton-Wenham (14-2-2).
The winner of the last two Boston City League tournaments, Boston International (15-1-2) earned the top seed in the 40-team Division 5 bracket. No. 2 Hopedale (7-6-5), No. 3 St. John Paul II (13-0-4), and No. 4 Brighton (7-6-4) are close behind.
Mike Puzzanghera can be reached at michael.puzzanghera@globe.com. Follow him on X @mpuzzanghera.