Here’s everything you need to know from the 2025 UIL softball state tournament. Below you’ll find game coverage, photo galleries and more for Dallas-area teams.
Must-read stories
— Grapevine beats Kingwood Park, enters rarified air with back-to-back state baseball titles
— Aledo baseball tops Smithson Valley for first state championship since 2014
— Trophy time: Photos from Aledo baseball’s state championship victory
— Back-to-back: Photos from Grapevine baseball’s state title win
UIL baseball playoffs
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
(at Dell Diamond, Round Rock)
CLASS 6A DIVISION I
Waco Midway 6, Humble Atascocita 2
CLASS 6A DIVISION II
Humble Kingwood 5, Tomball 4
CLASS 5A DIVISION I
Aledo 8, Spring Branch Smithson Valley 1
CLASS 5A DIVISION II
Grapevine 9, Humble Kingwood Park 5
CLASS 4A DIVISION I
Corpus Christi Calallen 5, Texarkana Pleasant Grove 3
CLASS 4A DIVISION II
Longview Spring Hill 5, Wimberley 3
CLASS 3A DIVISION I
Corpus Christi London 4, Texarkana Liberty-Eylau 3
CLASS 3A DIVISION II
Wall 14, Thrall 2
CLASS 2A DIVISION I
Centerville 6, New Home 1
CLASS 2A DIVISION II
Collinsville 12, Overton 0
CLASS A
Gordon (23-5) vs. Fayetteville (18-4)
9 a.m. Saturday
Previews
CLASS 5A DIVISION II
Grapevine vs. Humble Kingwood Park
When/where: 4 p.m. Friday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock
Grapevine
Record: (35-3)
Playoff road: d. Fort Worth Brewer 7-3, 8-7; d. Joshua 3-5,10-0, 13-4; d. Wylie 5-0, 4-0; Lubbock-Cooper 4-0, 13-8; d. Lovejoy 2-0, 6-5.
Previous appearances in state finals: 3 (2016, 2017, 2024)
State titles: 2 (2016, 2024)
Notable: The nation’s 12th-ranked team has won 22 of its last 23 games, with its only loss in that span coming to Joshua in Game 1 of a best-of-3 area-round series. Coach Jimmy Webster may use multiple pitchers in the state title game, but freshman LSU pledge Luke Esquivel is slated to start. Esquivel is 11-1 with 118 strikeouts this season. He struck out eight and allowed just five hits and no runs in Grapevine’s 2-0 win over Lovejoy in Game 1 of the state semifinals. He could be ed on the mound by his older brother, Lale Esquivel, who is 7-1 with 47 strikeouts. Both brothers are also hitting over .400 with at least 47 hits apiece. Grapevine is aiming to become the first team to win back-to-back state championships in the UIL’s second-highest classification since Robstown in 1991 and 1992. The team returned seven starters from its championship team.
Humble Kingwood Park
Record: 34-9-1
Playoff road: d. Brenham 6-3, 9-2; d. Sante Fe 2-1, 5-4; d. Weiss 14-2, 0-1, 3-1; d. Nederland 12-1, 8-1; d. Liberty Hill 2-3, 6-0, 5-4.
Previous appearances in state finals: 0
State titles: None
Notable: The 24th-ranked team in Texas has won 10 of its 12 playoff games, with its only loss coming to Liberty Hill in Game 1 of the Class 5A state semifinals. This marks the deepest postseason run in program history, with its previous best being a state semifinal appearance in 2018. Kingwood Park entered the playoffs ranked No. 8 in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association poll, while Grapevine was ranked No. 1. Kingwood Park has not defeated a top-10 opponent in the playoffs. Grapevine beat one — Lovejoy. Junior shortstop Tyler Brown, a Louisiana-Monroe pledge, is the team’s only announced Division I pledge. Brown has not played in the playoffs. In his place, Kevin Rios has stepped up, going 3 for 4 with a run scored in Game 3 of the semifinals against Liberty Hill.
CLASS 5A DIVISION I
Aledo vs. Spring Branch Smithson Valley
When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock
Aledo
Record: 33-8
Playoff road: d. Birdville 2-0, 0-2, 6-0; d. Arlington Heights 12-2, 5-1, 13-4; d. Amarillo 3-2, 15-2; Colleyville Heritage 1-3, 4-1, 13-2; d. McKinney North 4-0, 6-0.
Previous appearances in state finals: 1 (2014)
State titles: 1 (2014)
Notable: The nation’s 94th-ranked team has won nine of its last 10 games, with its only loss in that span coming to Colleyville Heritage in Game 1 of the regional finals. Aledo made its fourth appearance in the state semifinals this season. It won the Class 4A state title in 2014. The team is led by ace Devin Miller, a Cal State Fullerton commit, who threw seven strikeouts, while allowing three hits in a Game 2 victory in the state semifinals. Junior Luke Sandefur, the team’s other top pitcher, tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts in Game 1 of the semifinal series against McKinney North. With a week between games, both pitchers could see time in the title game. Air Force commit Brooks Burdine led Aledo at the plate and drove in two runs in Game 2 of the semifinals. Senior Luke Trager also contributed, going 2 for 4 with an RBI. Aledo finished 12-0 in district play this season.
Spring Branch Smithson Valley
Record: 28-12
Playoff road: d. Rouse 5-8, 3-2, 7-2; d. Seguin 7-1, 8-3; d. Veterans Memorial 2-1, 1-2, 7-6; Palmview 0-7, 8-2, 7-0; d. Barbers Hill 4-0, 4-3.
Previous appearances in state finals: 0
State titles: None
Notable: Smithson Valley has battled its way through the playoffs. The No. 39 team in Texas has won three series-deciding Game 3s to keep its postseason run alive — a display of grit that has defined its journey. Smithson Valley entered the playoffs unranked in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association poll and finished second in district play, while Aledo came in ranked No. 6. But Smithson Valley upset No. 4 Barbers Hill with a sweep to advance to its first-ever state championship appearance — and did so without a single Division I college pledge on the roster. Smithson Valley has scored four or more runs in 10 of its last 13 games.
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
