By Kevin Lonnquist
NTX Varsity Sports Columnist
Time flies. It seems like the start of the high school volleyball season this past August was a couple of weeks ago.
But when you’re in an athletic calendar that transitions from one sport to the next, the days easily tick off the calendar rapidly and without anyone noticing it.
Before you know it, it arrives at the first week of June. The final UIL event of the year is the state high school baseball championships.
From Thursday-Saturday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, the UIL packs 11 games into this timeframe. If you didn’t know, the Round Rock Express is the Triple A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
But each year, this franchise allows the UIL to use this beautiful facility, which opened in 2000, to play title games.
The NTX Varsity Sports coverage area enjoys a unique situation. It has three teams playing for titles between Boyd (Class 3A Division I), Paradise (Class 3A Division II) and Aledo (Class 5A Division I).
A couple of notables. Boyd and Paradise are coming out of the same district in 10-3A. Rarely, do you see teams from the same district playing for state titles in the same year. Then there’s Aledo, which is trying for back-to-back state titles, and is also competing in its final Class 5A athletic event. The school moves up to 6A on Aug. 1
So, let’s preview these title games.
Class 3A Division I State Final
Boyd (38-3) vs. Corpus Christi London (33-7-1)
4:00 p.m. Thursday
Boyd’s playoff run: Beat Dallas Madison in one game (bi-district); swept Winnsboro (area); swept Tatum (regional semifinal); beat Gunter in three games (regional final); swept Iowa Park (state semifinal)
Notable: The Jackets pitching has been nothing short of special. Expect junior right-hander Will McIntire to get the start. He’s coming off a complete-game 5-hit shutout against Iowa Park in the opening game of the state semifinals…there’s a solid No. 2 pitcher in sophomore Lane Beacham…Boyd has seven players in its lineup who are hitting well above .300 for 2026…the Jackets are 9-1 in the playoffs…the Pirates are young but have three sophomore pitchers between Dax Williams, Crosby Zeller and Elijah Acosta who have combined for 22 of the team’s 33 wins this year…London is 10-1 in the playoffs.
Class 3A Division II State Final
Paradise (37-5) vs. Franklin (35-2-2)
7:00 p.m. Thursday
Paradise playoff run: Swept Dallas Village Tech (bi-district); swept Chisum (area); swept Hooks (regional semifinal); beat Bells in three games (regional final); beat Wall in three games (state semifinal)
Notable: The first-ever appearance for Paradise to play in the state championship. Prior to this run, no Panther team had ever advanced as far as the 2025 trip to the regional semifinals. The District 10-3A champions are led by senior Colton Walker (12-2) and junior Jake Ryan (10-0) who have been exceptional all season…senior center fielder Cash Watson is hitting .480 while senior catcher Carter Mara is hitting .464…this is a journey where the Panthers had to fight for it. They won elimination games in their last two playoff rounds…but Paradise faces a daunting challenge. Franklin’s record is no accident. The Lions are 10-1 in the playoffs and have thrown seven shutouts.
Class 5A Division I State Final
Aledo (38-3) vs. Montgomery Lake Creek (26-17)
4:00 p.m. Friday
Aledo’s playoff run: Swept Denton Ryan (bi-district); swept Paschal (area); swept Amarillo (regional semifinal); swept El Paso Americas (regional final); swept McKinney North (state semifinal)
Notable: Going back to their run to close out their 2025 state title, the Bearcats have won 15 consecutive postseason games. They are 10-0 during this run to return to Austin thus far….Aledo is trying for its third state title. It also won in 2014…last week, Aledo used a five-run seventh to overcome a 5-2 deficit and sweep McKinney North as it won the deciding second game, 7-6. Aledo has trailed for a total of 10 innings throughout the playoffs…LSU signee and left-hander Lucas Nawrocki has enjoyed a storybook postseason. He’s undefeated at 4-0 in the playoffs and belted three home runs in the playoffs. That includes his go-ahead grand slam last Friday. He is scheduled to start Friday…senior second baseman Landon Barnes has enjoyed a strong postseason as well…the Lions are making their first ever appearance in the state championship. They finished the regular season at 15-15 but have just found a hot streak. Lake Creek knocked off Region IV champion and 36-7 Leander Rouse in the state semifinals last week…Lake Creek may not be flashy, but it makes all the routine plays to help itself in games. That’s why it’s playing the last game at Dell Diamond.
Next week, we’ll provide a breakdown of how all three of these championship games finished, and what it means moving forward.