Celina, Walnut Grove Soccer Teams Carry Collin County's State Tournament Legacy Forward

Three Collin County soccer programs arrived in Georgetown this week carrying a tradition that stretches back to the pioneering teams from Plano Senior in the 1980s, when the Wildcats helped establish the county as one of Texas's most fertile soccer territories. Four decades later, Celina and Prosper Walnut Grove are writing new chapters in that story.

Celina's girls program entered the UIL 4A Division I state final Thursday with a 25-1-1 record, facing Salado (27-1) at Birkelbach Field. The Bobcats won four consecutive state championships from 2022 through 2025, defeating Davenport in last year's final to claim that fourth straight title. A victory Thursday would make five in a row, a streak that would rank among the most sustained runs in Texas high school soccer history at any classification.

While Celina's girls anchored Thursday's slate, Walnut Grove brought both its boys and girls programs to Georgetown with championship expectations of their own. The Wildcats boys arrived with a perfect 30-0 record, facing College Station (16-7-1) in the 5A Division I final Friday afternoon. Walnut Grove won the 5A Division I boys title in 2025, making this year's unbeaten run an attempt to defend that championship on the biggest stage.

The Walnut Grove girls were no less formidable, entering their 5A Division I final Friday morning at 23-2-1, matched against Comal Smithson Valley, which came in undefeated at 28-0.

Together, the three state final appearances in a single tournament are a reminder of how thoroughly the soccer culture seeded in Collin County decades ago has taken root across its newer communities. Plano Senior's early runs established that this corner of North Texas could compete for state titles. Celina and Walnut Grove, both schools serving communities that barely existed when those Plano teams were winning, are now the ones setting the standard.