Houston County baseball looks for back-to-back state titles on 10-year anniversary of first title win
Houston County baseball can make school history by winning a 6A state championship two years in a row on the 10-year anniversary of the program's first championship season.
HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – HOCO Baseball has been dominant in the last 10 seasons to say the least. The Bears have won the 6A State title in four of the last nine seasons, not including the COVID year in 2020, when the team was ranked 25th nationally.
The Bears haven’t always been this great though. In 2009, HOCO was averaging less than 10 wins a season, but in 2013, the Bears jumped to a .500 record. That’s when the mindset changed.
Head Coach Matt Hopkins has been with the program for 16 seasons, taking over as head coach back in 2019.
“To think we talked about it years ago that we wanted to try to build a program that people knew, like a Columbus, or a Parkview, a Loganville, some of those programs that have just won and they’re known around the state,” Hopkins told 41NBC’s Justin Dierkes on Monday. “Their culture, along with their winning, go hand-in-hand. The fact that what they built is bigger than a team. I tell our guys all the time, there’s really good teams, and there are really good programs. Good teams graduate, good programs never do.”
Hopkins says good players lead by example and that young players stepping up to fill the shoes of graduating seniors has led to success.
“If we want to get better, the guys from last year have to get a little better, and some new guys have to fill their role of the guy that stepped up this year,” he said. “What I’ve noticed is when you get your leaders to lead with your front, the other kids aren’t as bitter at the older kids and they are much more likely to pass on what we’ve done in the past, and it created more of a family atmosphere.”
Senior left-handed pitcher Carson Small transferred to Houston County after losing to the Bears as a freshman at Veterans High.
“It felt really great to grow over the years and just contribute in any way I can,” Small said. ” It means the world to me that my teammates trust me to be the leader that I’m supposed to be in this year, and I have to fill in some roles from some dudes that we lost last year. I just have to fill in that leadership role.”
Senior catcher Eli Stevens also steps up to the plate when it comes to being a leader on a player-led squad. His older brother played catcher on the 2014 team that won that first state title.
“I think a servant leadership is very underrated,” Stevens said. “I think a lot of leaders now a days are just pushing people around; that’s their way of leadership. I think I want to be the guy that everyone can come to with just life things. I think leadership off the field is just as important as leadership on the field. I think it translates well.”
The 2024 Bears are off to a 5-1 start.
“I’m excited to see what this team becomes,” Hopkins said. “It’s an exciting brand of baseball, and we are playing a different brand. Every year’s different. This team’s really fast; we’re really trying to use that to our advantage. They’re really buying in and it is exciting to see.”
The Bears are coming off the best season of their storied program in 2023 with a record 36 wins and a record number of runs and hits. They’re eager to break more records, including winning back-to-back state titles for the first time in program history.
They’ll make their way to Hoover, Alabama this weekend for the Perfect Game High School Showdown. They’ll play Headland (AL) at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.
