Breckenridge Texan

By Alex Kielar/Breckenridge Texan

The UIL released its 2026-2028 district realignments earlier this month, reshaping the competitive landscape for Breckenridge athletics. Both football and basketball are shifting districts, where they will see new opponents, longer travel and tougher paths to the postseason. The Breckenridge Texan sat down with athletic director and head football coach Casey Pearce and head boys’ basketball coach Brent Lucas to break down what the next two years will look like for the Buckaroos.

Football’s drop to Class 3A Division II brings a fresh start and a steep climb. Pearce didn’t mince words about the challenge ahead, not hiding the reality of the new landscape.

“We’re in the best district in the region, for sure,” he said. “Without a doubt.”

The Buckaroos join Henrietta, Holliday, Jacksboro, Merkel and Wichita Falls City View in the new District 4-3A II, a group Pearce described as deep, athletic and experienced. Several programs return playoff-tested rosters.

Pearce pointed immediately to Henrietta as one of the toughest draws.

“Henrietta’s kind of got a loaded group right now,” he said. “They’ve got a running back who rushed for 2,500 yards last year as a sophomore. So if that’s the case, they must have some pretty good linemen.”

Holliday and Jacksboro are familiar opponents from recent years, and Pearce expects both to remain strong. City View, he said, brings the same athleticism that has defined the program for years. Merkel, meanwhile, arrives after a successful run in its previous district.

“They were two rounds deep last year in the bracket they’ve been in,” Pearce said. He also acknowledged that the Bucks will have to earn respect in the new district.

“People are going to look at us as being one of the weaker opponents until we prove to some people we can play,” Pearce said. “Our non-district schedule kind of sets us up to try to have some success early.”

2026 Buckaroo Football Schedule (click to enlarge)

Senior-heavy roster enters final run

Buckaroo wide receiver Ryan Waller avoids a Sweetwater Mustang after catching a 37-yard pass in the 2025 game at Sweetwater. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Bucks will lean heavily on a large senior class – one Pearce has coached since they were in sixth grade.

“This whole junior class, they’ve stuck it out,” he said. “It’s the biggest group we’ve had in about four years. That’s the first group I’ve had from sixth through twelfth. We’ve got about 17 seniors who have played all the way through.”

Pearce highlighted Conor Salazar as a player making a comeback after suffering a major injury two years ago. The upcoming senior, who also plays guard for the Buckaroos basketball team, is expected to contribute at receiver during football season.

The head coach also pointed to key pieces in the upcoming junior class – Ryan Waller and Cooper Wimberley – and expressed hope that the linemen group would make strides.

“That group of linemen – we’ve got to get them to really come on,” Pearce said. “If we can get that done, we’ll be okay.”

Younger players could also push into varsity roles, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. Pearce noted that the freshman group is “very average right now, but a big group of offensive linemen,” and said their commitment in the weight room could accelerate their development.

Quarterback competition and key losses

Pearce said that Hudson Woodward and Wimberley will battle for the starting quarterback job after last year’s three-player battle with Joseph Juneau. Last season’s late-year shift at the position, which ended with Juneau starting, was revealed by Pearce to have been influenced by an injury.

Buckaroo quarterback Hudson Woodward hands the ball off to Hayden Mendoza in the Oct. 31 game against the Sweetwater Mustangs. Both Woodward and Mendoza will be returning Buckaroos for the 2026 football season. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

“Nobody knows this, but Hudson kind of had a crazy injury. Going into the Tolar game, he couldn’t even lift his arm,” he said. “It went away in about four weeks, but had that not taken place, it might have looked different for us…He was going to start against Tolar.”

The Bucks will also need to replace major contributors at running back and on the defensive line. Pearce said losing Jaime Cruz and Christian Flores in the backfield leaves open the question of whether the team will platoon or find a single featured runner, depending on who emerges.

On defense, the graduation of Douglas White creates a hole up front.

“He was a factor,” Pearce said. “He forced people to do some things that allowed Hayden (Mendoza) and Glenn Thibodeaux to be effective.”

Still, Pearce believes players like Mendoza, Gunnar Pearce, Tucker Baugh, Hunter Davis and upcoming sophomore Jackson Tyson can help anchor the defense as the Bucks transition into the new district.

Basketball returns to a brutal northern district

In basketball, the Buckaroos and Lady Bucks are moving to District 6-3A and will face a new slate of opponents farther north than this season. Alongside Breckenridge in that district are Bowie, Henrietta, Holliday, Jacksboro, Vernon and Wichita Falls City View – a slate nearly identical to the one Lucas faced when he arrived in 2020.

“It was tough then, and I don’t expect anything different,” Lucas said.

What makes this reclassification even more challenging is the timing, as the Buckaroos are graduating eight seniors – including several major-minute players. That leaves a significant experience gap as they step into one of the deepest 3A districts in North Texas, which includes teams bringing back strong younger cores.

“We’re losing eight seniors, and four or five of them played major minutes. That’s going to be a humongous challenge,” Lucas said.

The departing group includes major-minute players Douglas White, Christian Flores, Jaime Cruz and Joseph Juneau, and reserve players Bry Armstrong, Andrew White, Luis Palacios and Gavin Harrison.

The Bucks will get a bit of a preview of next season this week, as their bi-district matchup on Tuesday, Feb. 23, against Holliday at Bowie High School gives them a taste of a new court and opponent on their 2026-27 schedule.

Lucas pointed to the strengths of programs like Holliday, City View, Henrietta, and Jacksboro, while noting that Vernon and Bowie are down this season but are expected to surge with a strong younger group.

The head coach described that the basketball realignment is tougher than football this time around.

“Vernon taking the place of Merkel makes it tough,” Lucas said. “They’re a big 3A with good athletes…Holliday’s always Holliday. They’re fast, they’re disciplined and they’re guard-heavy. They extend their zone out and make you prove you can hit shots.”

Lucas described City View as always being a problem, and despite losing a strong group of kids, they are still very good.

“Jacksboro is tough. We played them earlier this year and beat them right before Christmas,” Lucas said. “That’s a tough schedule to be a part of. Every one of those teams is good.”

Buckaroos boys’ basketball coach Brent Lucas goes over plays with the team during the Jan. 31 game against Tolar. (Photo courtesy of Calvin Best/BISD)

Young core must grow up quickly

With so many seniors departing, Lucas is already identifying the players who will be asked to grow up quickly.

He pointed first to Damien Reynolds, who will be a senior next year after spending this season on JV.

Cooper Wimberley goes for a layup in a recent Buckaroo basketball game. Wimberley was mentioned as a key player in the upcoming football and basketball season by Breckenridge coaches. (Photo courtesy of Calvin Best/BISD)

The coach said Reynolds will have to embrace a much larger role, explaining, “He’ll have to be somebody that steps into that role, embraces it and gets better.”

Lucas also praised Ramses Picasso as a player the Bucks will rely on heavily.

“He’s hard-nosed, he hustles and he does exactly what you ask him to do,” Lucas said. He also highlighted Isaac Flores, the younger brother of Christian Flores.

“He’s a hard worker, too,” Lucas said. “He’s quick – he’s not big, but he gets after it.”

Lucas also pointed to current sophomore Cooper Wimberley as another player who will benefit from more varsity minutes, after his minutes dwindled a bit late in the season.

“We’re in a crunch, and he’s kind of hit the wall a little bit so to speak,” he said. “He still does good things, but he’s just not getting as much experience as I’d like him to get right now. He still comes in and does good things for us on defense, and things of that nature, so he’ll turn the corner. It’s just going to take him a while; he needs more time to make that happen.”

Another current sophomore that Lucas sees stepping into a big role next season is Truett Trammel.

“He’s a scorer, so he’ll be the guy we need to hit shots from the perimeter for us,” he said. “He’s just a hustler, too. We need guys like that to mature, for one, and then two, realize that now you’re in varsity and it’s about what you’re told to do…If you can’t do that, then it’s not going to work very well for us.”

Together, they form a young core that will be thrown into one of the toughest districts in the region, with very little varsity minutes experience.

“We’ll have a big experience gap compared to some of those teams. It’s going to be a humongous challenge,” Lucas said. Still, he emphasized that the Bucks won’t shy away from the competition. “We ain’t afraid of nobody. We get after people.”

The shared travel challenge

Both programs will face heavier travel loads over the next two years.

Basketball’s district is centered around the Wichita Falls area, with most trips stretching beyond 90 minutes.

“Every team we play, we’ve got to travel pretty far. Jacksboro is the closest one, but the rest are around 90 miles,” Lucas said. “That part of it, I’m definitely not excited about.”

While basketball faces long trips north, football’s postseason geography may be even more extreme. Pearce said the bi-district matchups could take Breckenridge far west.

“Probably the closest we would play a bi-district game would be Midland,” he said. “Or Lubbock, El Paso to San Angelo – that’s the next district we play to. A lot of desert in between.”

District travel itself is manageable, with Henrietta being the longest trip at roughly two hours, but the playoff map underscores how spread out 3A-II has become.

Spring realignment still to come

While football and basketball now know their district paths for the next two years, Breckenridge will learn its spring sports districts later this spring when the UIL releases its remaining realignments. Pearce said those decisions typically arrive around spring break, often as track, baseball and softball seasons begin to ramp up. Depending on how the numbers fall, the Bucks and Lady Bucks could remain in their current alignment or shift north or south, creating yet another layer of change for the athletic program as it heads into the next phase.

A daunting era ahead

Both coaches recognize the challenge of entering deeper districts while replacing large senior classes. Despite those challenges, they both expressed confidence in their upcoming class and their willingness to compete.

The next two years will test the Buckaroos across every sport, none more than football and basketball. Both Pearce and Lucas believe their teams are ready to embrace it.

Cutline, top photo: Breckenridge Independent School District athletic director and head Buckaroo football coach Casey Pearce talks to the team during the Sept. 26 game in Tolar. The Buckaroos upset Tolar’s homecoming game, coming out top 19-12. With the redistricting, Tolar is no longer on the Buckaroos’ schedule. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)