Southlake Carroll Baseball fighting to preserve playoff streak started in 1999
A few weeks ago Southlake Carroll baseball was in “uncharted water.”
The program has won three state championships since Larry Vucan was promoted to head coach in 2016 and five in total. And in the UIL Texas high school baseball playoffs, the Dragons have been a staple over decades, having last missed the playoffs in 1998.
But with seven remaining games in district play, a squad that is usually a district frontrunner, found itself on the verge of elimination after falling 4-5 to Eaton. An extraordinarily young team, with up to eight sophomore starters, had lost seven of eight District 4-6A games.
“But it’s not from a lack of effort or focus, or from not buying in,” Vucan said. “None of that was every present.”
Vucan said young players were in a psychological rut and were experiencing, for the first time, the intense pressures of varsity high school baseball.
“You’re playing for your community. You’re playing with more passion,” Vucan said. “You play with the people who are in the hallways with you. There’s a little bit more to that investment.”
It seemed like a few key plays kept changing the trajectory of winnable games, according to Vucan. One example includes a 5-1 loss to Byron Nelson, when sophomore starting pitcher AJ Bonnette gave up one hit, a grand slam, in seven innings of work.
“After every loss in the locker room, there were a lot of emotions,” Bonnette said. “Emotions were really high, but it was always, ‘Keep working. We’ll fight, we’ll figure this out.’”
Vucan said everyone was a bit frustrated, but the team simply kept the same process and took accountability for their performance.
“It wasn’t like we’re getting blown out every game,” sophomore Camden Dean said. “We were always right there. So, we’re always still hopeful. Because we knew, we could come back, and we know we still have time to do it.”
The turning point
After the Eaton loss, every single district game remaining could’ve been the difference between extending a historic, 27-year playoff streak or losing it.
And from that point, the team started stacking much-needed wins; the Dragons took a 3-1 win over Eaton to split the series, starting what would turn into a seven game win streak.
The team’s fate completely flipped. But even a streak of that caliber didn’t fully lock up a spot. In fact, the Dragons didn’t even control their own destiny. Justin Northwest, the last place team in District 4-6A, stunned Timber Creek 4-0 to give Southlake Carroll some control.
If Northwest beats Timber Creek in its regular season finale Friday, Southlake Carroll will advance, but if Timber Creek wins, the Falcons and Dragons will clash for the final District 4-6A playoff spot Saturday.
Nothing is guaranteed, but the streak has given Carroll a fighting shot. With a smaller enrollment than District 4-6A foes, the Dragons would enter the Class 6A Division II bracker, if they earn the opportunity.
What was the difference maker?
To start the run, the team didn’t drink what Vucan calls a “magic potion” that all of a sudden got them back to winning ways.
A handful of tide-turning plays that lost Carroll games suddenly started to go the Dragons’ way, and what would’ve been close losses started becoming hardfought wins.
“We just kept the foot down on the pedal and kept grinding,” Vucan said. “And eventually, the baseball gods repay you for work invested.”
The sophomores at Carroll all play travel and select ball — many of them are uber talented with prior success. But in what Vucan calls an unforgiving game, sometimes players don’t get immediate results in high school baseball and have to embrace delayed gratification.
“It’s not all rainbows and sunshine,” Vucan said.
He emphasized that the team is still young and inexperienced. But slowly and surely, a group of underclassmen are starting to reap the rewards of patience and persistence.
“The difference is probably that they’re starting to believe that their work is paying off,” Vucan said. “And the reason they believe that is because they’ve invested, they put the time in to believe that.”
Leading the charge for the Dragons is Dean, the 2025 Star-Telegram Newcomer of the Year. He made varsity his freshman season, which is a rarity, and is now posting a team high .380 batting average. He’s also taking on a heavy pitching workload with 32 innings pitched so far this season.
“He’s an exceptional human,” Vucan said. “Because I think his highs are low, and his lows are high. I think the essence of his success is that he maintains a very balanced approach.”
Another key player has been Bonnette, who has a strong 1.31 ERA in 32 innings. According to him, the team stayed competitive by trusting the process and “never giving up.”
“We knew that we’re a young team, but we know that we have all the talent in the world to go out and compete or beat anyone,” Bonnette said. “So, just coming out every day and being consistent in our work has really provided the experience that we need to get to this point.
Playoffs on the horizon?
After extending the win streak to eight against Argyle Liberty Christian in a non-district ramp up game, the team is more confident than ever.
They’ve endured a challenging District 4-6A schedule — Vucan calls the group the “little SEC.” Keller (14-1 District 4-6A), Euless Trinity (11-4) and Byron Nelson (10-5) have had stellar seasons.
Vucan doesn’t have specific championship expectations. Winning eight games in a row doesn’t automatically mean the team is a favorite to go to Round Rock.
But what he does take pride in is the fact that Carroll has earned a seat at the table. The Dragons have an opportunity that was far from guaranteed — and now, anything can happen with it.
“No matter what happens from this point forward, our kids have put the time and energy and effort into it to deserve an opportunity, and all we would ask is that opportunity, and we’re grateful for that,” Vucan said. “And if we seize upon that opportunity, then we’ll seize upon the next one and see how that goes.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 10:10 AM.
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