A Sea of Red
Nobody who was there will forget how it ended.
McCombs Field, Austin. A perfectly timed fastball from freshman Haley Schmitt. A quick throw from catcher Maddie Smith down to first base. The runner picked off to seal it. Out. Game. Title. And the Section came apart.
A sea of red erupted in the stands, every Tiger fan on their feet, while the team stormed the pitching circle to celebrate. Seven to two over Forney. UIL 6A Division II state champions. Again.
This did not happen by accident.
These Tigers went 39 and 5, the most balanced team in the state, and they closed the year on a 22 game winning streak. They pummeled their way through the state tournament and finished the job in the title game. Around the softball world, people know the veteran lineup by a single nickname: “Death Valley.” In the championship, that lineup put up 10 hits, and somewhere in there came home run number 97, a 6A record and the most in the entire country. The nation’s most powerful offense saved its best for last.
Haley Schmitt, 2026 Division II State Championship MVP
But this title belonged to the freshman in the circle. Haley Schmitt pitched a complete game, eight strikeouts, five hits, two runs, and took home championship game MVP. A freshman, in the biggest game in Texas. Remember the name.
“It’s just the perfect finish to everything we’ve worked for,” Coach Meghan VanEtta said.
A Place in History
This one carries extra weight because of where it sits in the story. Add the 2026 title to the championships in 2015 and 2019, and the Tigers now hold three state titles in eleven years, the most of any 6A school since 2010. Consistency, excellence and resiliency, season after season, against the best competition Texas can put on a field.
A few of these names will stay with Katy for a long time.
Seniors Ella Kate Smith, known as EK, and Maddie Smith ride off into the sunset as the best in Texas. And the future is already taking shape. Junior Evie Willemssen returns, and so does sophomore Abby Eldridge, who tallied a home run and three RBI. Both look to launch another championship run in 2027.
The athletic department put it as well as anyone. “This team represented everything that makes Katy athletics special,” Executive Director of Athletics Lance Carter said, “toughness, discipline, teamwork and an unwavering belief in one another.” What they accomplished against elite competition, he added, earns them a place among the great teams in Texas high school softball history.
So here is to the 2026 Katy Tigers. Three state titles in eleven years. The best in Texas. And a sea of red that will be telling this story for a long time.
Go Big Red!
