{"id":202802,"date":"2026-03-13T10:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/202802\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T10:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:37:14","slug":"north-crowley-aims-to-bring-state-title-back-to-fort-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/202802\/","title":{"rendered":"North Crowley aims to bring state title back to Fort Worth"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT WORTH<\/p>\n

When North Crowley boys basketball head coach Tommy Brakel started his news conference Thursday, he took a moment to introduce his players.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t just the athletes on the podium. He went in numerical order and introduced the entire roster. It was a fitting move for a coach who raves about the importance of putting the team above the individual.<\/p>\n

And that selflessness is one of the main reasons North Crowley (34-3) is set to face San Antonio Brennan (33-3) at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Alamodome in the Class 6A Division I state championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley guard Kameron Price (2) almost loses the ball between Duncanville guard Jirehn Mitchell and forward Jairus Ingram (14) during the first half of a UIL Class 6A Division I boys semifinal basketball game at Wilkerson Greines Activity Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

\u201cWe preach that every year as coaches, that if you\u2019ll [be selfless], then this could be the reward at the end,\u201d Brakel said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t always work out that way, but this year, they have made a lot of individual sacrifices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brakel said a handful of players could have transferred, but they put points per game on the back burner to have a shot at something special: North Crowley\u2019s first state title since its sole championship in 2008.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley head coach Tommy Brakel cuts down the net after his team defeated Duncanville in a UIL Class 6A Division I boys semifinal basketball game at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

The Panthers have had plenty of good teams with championship expectations; they have 12 regional semifinal appearances since their last title.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve won 27 or more games in 17 of those seasons, including this year. But in the gauntlet that is DFW basketball in the UIL\u2019s largest class, it was tough to break through.<\/p>\n

Plenty of those teams were talented just like the 2025-26 squad, yet this one finally got the Panthers back to state, with a bit of luck and late-game heroics in a state semifinal against Duncanville. In Class 6A basketball, that\u2019s usually what it takes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery team is unique,\u201d Brakel said. \u201cEvery team has its own challenges. Every team writes its own story. And this team has definitely written a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley wing Bennjamin Jones (0) defends against Duncanville guard Jirehn Mitchell (3) during the first half of a UIL Class 6A Division I boys semifinal basketball game at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

With its novel almost complete, North Crowley is ranked No. 2 in Class 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches<\/a> and No. 13 nationwide by MaxPreps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The story began with a fierce non-district slate that included some of the nation\u2019s top teams, such as No. 8 Wisconsin Lutheran. And next, the Panthers went unscathed through District 3-6A, one of the toughest groups in Texas, which contains No. 16 Mansfield Lake Ridge and two very competitive squads in Crowley and Mansfield.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, North Crowley will fight for a storybook ending against what is arguably its toughest challenge yet: No. 4 Brennan. The Bears have several high-level players, including UTEP signees Donovan Criss and 7-footer Delano Tarpley.<\/p>\n

Brennan is also extremely well-rounded, with six players averaging more than 9 points per contest. The Bears can beat teams in a variety of ways and have a chip on their shoulder; they\u2019ve never won a title in four state appearances and have made the tournament in three of the past four seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve played a national schedule, and you\u2019re going down there into their town,\u201d Brakel said. \u201cBut, you know, this team has accepted all challenges along the way, and this is another challenge, and it\u2019s a big challenge, but we\u2019ll be up for the task.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brennan can take advantage of Tarpley\u2019s size, with Trey Hall being the Panthers\u2019 tallest player at 6-foot-7, but North Crowley\u2019s speed and shooting will be tough on Tarpley, too. Brakel said they\u2019ll aim to stretch the floor and pull Tarpley away from the rim.<\/p>\n

North Crowley players to watch<\/p>\n

Leading the offense and setting the tone is junior guard Isaak Hayes<\/a>, a versatile force who commands the opposition\u2019s best defender. He has offers from TCU, Kansas State and more. Even when his shot is off, he can be just as impactful as a facilitator.<\/p>\n

He averages a team-high 18.2 points per game and shoots 37.3% from 3-point range with the ability to shoot from well beyond the line. He dishes out 4.65 assists per game, too.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley guard Isaak Hayes (22) puts one in against Duncanville during the first half of a UIL Class 6A Division I boys semifinal basketball game at Wilkerson Greines Activity Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Hayes said there is only one thing on his mind: Winning the last game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t win, none of this will matter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Joining him in the backcourt is junior Kameron Price, who exited in the final moments of Tuesday\u2019s game. Price will be ready to go Saturday, which is good news for the Panthers, since he has been the ultimate glue guy.<\/p>\n

Price isn\u2019t a big-time scorer, as he averages 6.6 points, but he leads the team with 2.5 steals, 7 charges, and a stellar 4.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. On top of that, he often accepts the toughest defensive assignments.<\/p>\n

Another player with a tough job on defense is 6-foot-7 senior forward Trey Hall, who often needs to contain the opponent\u2019s big man. He leads the team with 14.5 points, 1.9 blocks and 8.9 rebounds per game.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley wing Trey Hall (11) pushes ahead of Allen’s Bennett Mosley (13) during the first half of a UIL Class 6A Division I boys regional final basketball game at Thomas Coliseum in Haltom City, Texas, on Friday, March 6, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Helping him out with physicality and energy is 6-foot-5 senior Alex Barther II<\/a>, who transferred to North Crowley ahead of his senior year. He has made a huge impact with 12.5 points per game while shooting 39.3% from distance.<\/p>\n

Barther, who also grabs 5.7 rebounds per contest and has offers from TCU, Texas A&M and more, said going to state is unbelievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s something that only so many people get to do in a lifetime,\u201d Barther said. \u201cWe\u2019re blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonathan Fox, who averages 6.8 points with a high motor and highlight reel-caliber dunk ability<\/a>, said he wanted to win for Fort Worth \u2014 the city hasn\u2019t won a state title since 2008 and hasn\u2019t been represented in a boys basketball title game since Northwest\u2019s appearance in 2018.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley guard Jonathan Fox (21) screams in reaction after making a dunk on a Coppell defender in the UIL 6A D1 regional semifinal at Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Miles Meador Photo Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to take heart and effort,\u201d Fox said. \u201cIntegrity. We\u2019ve got to put everything on the floor to win this.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a team, they are about to experience a trip to San Antonio that only a fraction make. Brakel said he hopes the basketball gods shine on the Panthers one more time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited for them, because I don\u2019t think that they realize exactly what it\u2019s going to be like until you\u2019ve experienced it,\u201d Brakel said. \u201cAnd if we\u2019re lucky enough to play well for 32 minutes and go pull this thing off and come home with a state championship, there\u2019s nothing more gratifying, after all the work that you\u2019ve put in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley head coach Tommy Brakel reacts in the final seconds against Duncanville during the second half of a UIL Class 6A Division I boys semifinal basketball game at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly is a high school sports editor and reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He graduated from TCU in 2023 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in journalism and served as TCU 360\u2019s sports editor. Connect with Charles on Twitter or via email.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT WORTH When North Crowley boys basketball head coach Tommy Brakel started his news conference Thursday, he took…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,69130,118,117,33522,77276,80017,80016],"class_list":["post-202802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-basketball","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-high-school-basketball","tag-north-crowley-basketball","tag-north-crowley-fort-worth","tag-north-crowley-state-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}