iStockphoto / Kreativorks/Joe_Potato/Clay Hayner
Southlake Carroll High School on the northeast outskirts of Ft. Worth, Texas is celebrating what is arguably the most coveted title in all of Texas high school sports. One year after finishing in second place in the annual Texas High School BBQ State Championship, Southlake Carroll HS won it all.
The event was held last weekend with over 90 schools competing in the 2026 Texas High School BBQ State Championship with each school having to qualify to compete in the state championships. In Texas where BBQ is sacred, this unique competition is helping foster the next generation of iconic pitmasters.
Southlake Carroll High School Wins 2026 Texas High School BBQ State Championship
The Texas High School BBQ State Championship is a relatively new competition with the state championship only existing in its current form since 2021. It is not officially sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League (yet) and thus schools do not earn points toward the statewide Lone Star Cup standings which recognizes the top high schools across 1A/2A/3A/4A/5A/6A in a competition that awards points for academics, sports, and musical achievements.
However, from where I’m sitting, the Texas High School BBQ State Championship is as prestigious as it gets.
Carter Yates of Dave Campbell’s College Football Podcast was on hand for the crowning of this year’s champion. He shared a video on X (neé Twitter) that has amassed over 335K views and was taken just moments before Southlake Carroll High School was announced as the 2026 winner of the Texas High School BBQ State Championship.
We’re moments away from crowning the Grand Champion of the Texas high school BBQ State Championships.
92 schools have entered. Only 1 can win. pic.twitter.com/qOdeVVuiR2
— Carter Yates (@Carter_Yates16) April 25, 2026
After Southlake Carroll HS’s ‘O.G. BBQ’ team was crowned champion, Carter spoke with the winners about their achievement. He asked them when they had the feeling they could actually win this year. One of the team members said they “only got two 2nd places, dessert and ribs” adding that they knew there was a chance they could win but had no idea where they would end up.
Texas State Championship BBQ Press Conference with your Grand Champion Southlake Carroll Dragons🐲
This school dominates Friday Night Lights and the Saturday Afternoon Smoke.
“They’re a group of overachievers from robotics to band, not just BBQ.” pic.twitter.com/hbyYAAln7d
— Carter Yates (@Carter_Yates16) April 26, 2026
Southlake Carroll High School were runner-up / reserve champions in the 2025 Texas High School BBQ State Championship, coming in second place to the ‘Bad to the Bone Smokers’ from JB Alexander HS (Loredo). The 205 Pitmasters-Charcoal from Dr. Gene Buton College & Career Academy (Rockwall) finished in 3rd place last year.
How Does The Texas HS BBQ State Championship Work?
At the very top of the TX HS BBQ’s website under the rules page the message reads ‘Rules-Know Them!’ because they certainly don’t want any disqualifications. These young pit masters start competition hours before the sun comes up and nobody wants to be DQ’d on competition day because of a rules infraction, or worse yet, cook bad BBQ.
The rules are fairly straight forward. Contestants range from 9th-12th grade, a HS teacher/staff member must travel with the team and be present at all competitions. Mentors must be approved by the high schools. Each team must have one Class ABC fire extinguisher on-site for cooking competitions. Alcohol is prohibited for obvious reasons.
Going on, the teams are not allowed to bring/eat any of the same food they are cooking on competition day. So if they are cooking up brisket they cannot bring brisket to eat, to avoid any confusion. All ingredient preparation must be done at school and cannot happen on-site. No “mixing, measuring, cutting, or any other form of preparation” is allowed prior to 6am on competition day. And all preparation in hotel rooms is prohibited.
There are more rules!
Coaches and mentors are prohibited from entering the cooking areas once competition begins at 6am. They must remain outside of the cooking area until 3:10pm. Camper vans and RVs are prohibited from competition areas. However, box trailers that are specifically designed for BBQ competitions are allowed.
Everything MUST be cooked on site with a minimum of 1 student and maximum of 5 present on each team. Finished items cannot be shared between teams, which seems like a shame. Multiple teams can represent each school but recipes must differ for beans and dessert.
Gas and electric starters are *only* allowed to ignite the wood used to smoke the meat. They cannot be used to finish/torch/char any dishes. Brisket is the final cutoff time and must be turned in by 3pm, ribs at 1:30pm, chicken at 12pm, beans at 10:30am, and dessert by 9am.
For the complete list of rules, visit the TexasHSBBQ website.