#7 – New Home Finally Reaches the Summit with 1st State Championship For nearly a decade, New Home had become one of the most respected baseball programs in Texas. The Leopards won games. They won district championships. They made deep playoff runs. They reached the state tournament. But one accomplishment remained missing. A state championship. That long-awaited moment finally arrived in 2026. After years of coming painfully close, New Home defeated Overton 11-1 in the UIL Class 2A Division II State Championship game, capturing the first baseball state championship in school history and bringing home the trophy that had eluded one of Texas' premier small-school programs. The victory completed a journey years in the making and rewarded generations of players who helped build New Home into a perennial contender. The championship carried extra meaning because it was anything but an overnight success. Since first reaching the UIL State Tournament in 2018, New Home had become one of the state's most consistent programs. The Leopards returned to Dell Diamond five times in eight seasons—2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025—but each previous trip ended without the championship trophy. Year after year, New Home proved it belonged among Texas' elite, yet one question continued to follow the program: When would the Leopards finally win it all? That answer came behind one of the most talented senior classes in school history. The trio of Hunter Burrell, Ryder Starkey, and Bransen Beckham helped power one of the state's most explosive offenses all season long. Burrell batted .571 with 67 RBIs, Starkey contributed a .528 average with 10 home runs and 74 runs scored, while Beckham added a .542 average and 63 RBIs. Together, they formed the heart of a lineup that overwhelmed opponents throughout the playoffs and finished the season as one of Texas' most productive offenses. The championship game reflected everything New Home had become. The Leopards played with confidence from the opening inning, building an early lead before breaking the game open with a relentless offensive attack. By the final out, years of frustration had been replaced by celebration as players, coaches, and fans celebrated a championship that many believed had been years in the making. See Top Stories #7 - #10 at txhighschoolbaseball.com @NewHomeBaseball @HunterBurrell02 @ryderstarkey27 @BeckhamBransen