Not only is Grapevine the best high school baseball program in the state of Texas, it is one of the best high school baseball programs in the United States. The Mustangs were suddenly removed from the playoffs just hours before they were set to begin their quest for a three-peat.
It stems from the use of an ineligible athlete.
This unexpected forfeiture changes the entire landscape of high school baseball in the Lone Star State. The postseason bracket looks completely different.
Grapevine is a high school baseball powerhouse.
Grapevine High School opened on April 8, 1952. It enrolls approximately 1,750 students in Grades 9-12. The National Blue Ribbon School is located in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area right next to the airport.
The Mustangs won back-to-back state championships in 2024 and 2025 with a combined record of 76-8. They were ranked as one of the 10 best teams in the entire country and the top-ranked team in Texas.
The 2026 season was just as impressive, if not even more so.
Grapevine finished the regular season undefeated in district competition at 12-0 and 28-3 overall. It ranks No. 16 in the country and No. 1 in the state. The reigning back-to-back Class 5A and 5A D2 champion was a clear favorite to win its third-straight championship. It was set to start a three-game series against Chisholm Trail in the bi-district round of the playoffs on Wednesday.
An ineligible athlete forced the Mustangs to forfeit out of the playoffs.
Grapevine will no longer compete in the postseason. Its quest for a three-peat is over before it began.
The Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District was notified by the University Interscholastic League, the governing body of high school sports in Texas, of a ruling against the Mustangs on Tuesday. They were deemed ineligible for the 2026 playoffs less than 24 hours before first pitch.
The decision stems from a self-reported violation. Grapevine used an ineligible player during the regular season.
“UIL can confirm that on April 29, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD self-reported the participation of an ineligible Grapevine High School player during the 2025-2026 baseball season. Per the UIL Constitution & Contest Rules, the minimum penalty is forfeiture of all games in which the player participated. As a result, Grapevine High School has withdrawn from the UIL state baseball playoffs.”
The unnamed athlete did not meet the specific requirements outlined in Section 442 of the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules, which requires athletes to be a “resident of the attendance zone in which the participant school being attended is situated.” Although he was initially deemed eligible based on the information provided by the district, the Mustangs take full responsibility for the eligibility error.
It is unclear as to why the athlete was retroactively deemed ineligible or who the athlete might be. Either way, he played in games that was not allowed to play and Grapevine must now forfeit those games.
As a result, the reigning state champions were kicked out of the playoffs on Tuesday night. Colleyville Heritage will fill Grapevine’s spot in the bi-district round to face face Chisholm Trail. Denton Ryan, the fifth-place finisher in District 6-5A also made the postseason as the No. 2 seed in D1.