Last April, we began the spring by celebrating the University of Florida men’s basketball team’s third national title in program history.

It was one of eight stories that stood out to me from the 2025 spring sports season. Plus, with Trenton softball’s second straight championship last May, we had bookend titles.

Unfortunately, the defending national champion Gators lost to Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but we did end this spring with three state high school championships.

The trio is among my top seven moments from the 2026 spring seasons, which I am listing chronologically.

Bronson and Buchholz softball

The Bronson and Buchholz softball teams were two of 12 area teams that made the FHSAA state playoffs.

Bronson (11-12) earned an at-large bid in the Rural state playoffs, marking the Eagles’ first playoff appearance in over 20 years.

“For Bronson to make the postseason, especially for the first time since 2003 under Coach Judy Beauchamp, it’s a big deal,” second-year Bronson coach Jeff Blankenship said following the invite. “It speaks directly to this group’s work ethic and their willingness to improve every single day.”

Bronson also had its first college softball signee in six years when Madison Dean signed with Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.

Buchholz (17-10) received an at-large bid to the Class 6A state playoffs. It was the Bobcats’ first postseason appearance since 2014.

“We’re excited to get this program back to the postseason for the first time in 12 years,” said Buchholz coach Will Hooper, the FACA District 7 Class 6A Coach of the Year. “It’s a big step forward. We’ve had talented players come through here, but this group has taken it to another level, especially with how young we are, including seven freshmen contributing.”

Track & Field

The University of North Florida hosted the FHSAA Track and Field state championships over 4 days in May, and there were several individuals and teams who brought home medals.

The Oak Hall boys 4×800-meter relay team of seniors Andrew Eisner, Benjamin Gallogly, and Matthew Silva and freshman Henri Pelletier finished second in the state with a time of 8 minutes, 8.03 seconds.

Saint Francis Catholic Academy senior Dominick Diaz finished first in the boys pole vault with a vault of 4.50 meters (14 feet, 9 inches).

“Being state champion was a very gratifying experience, like all my hard work finally paid off,” Diaz said. “It’s difficult vaulting in Gainesville because poles are hard to come by and I had to practice at Santa Fe…”

Oak Hall senior Estella Collante finished third in both the 800- and 1600-meter runs, while the Eagles’ girls 4×800 relay team of Collante, seventh-grader Reese Allen, junior Lola Murfee, and sophomore Alexis Thur de Koos finished fourth in the state with a time of 9:45.63.

The Buchholz boys track team only took five athletes to the Class 4A State Championships in Jacksonville and finished 10th with 16 points.

In the 1600 meters, sophomore Andrew Sides had a 9-second personal best and placed third overall in a time of 4 minutes, 12.55 seconds. That was the fastest time ever by a Buchholz sophomore.

Suwannee (Live Oak) senior Ryleigh Hermanson won a Class 2A state title with a first-place finish in the 1600 (5:01.00), beating her nearest competitor by 3.08 seconds.

Trenton baseball

Riding the momentum of the program’s first final four in boys basketball, the Trenton baseball team was able to make it back to Fort Myers for a third consecutive year.

The Tigers (23-6) swept Dixie County (Cross City) in the FHSAA Rural Region 4 Semifinals, followed by a sweep of Williston in the region final.

They shut out defending state champion Holmes (County (Bonifay), 8-0, in the state semifinals but suffered a heartbreaking loss to Union County (Lake Butler), 10-9 in eight innings, in the state championship game.

Union County (Lake Butler) baseball

The Union County baseball team won its first state title since 2012.

The Tigers (24-7) swept Madison County in the regional semifinals and defeated Lafayette (Mayo) in two games in the regional final to advance to their first final four since winning it all 14 years ago.

They defeated Cottondale, 2-0, in the state semifinals and were one strike away from losing to Trenton in an all-Tigers final.

However, Union County scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings, then walked it off in the bottom of the eighth inning to win it 10-9.

Buchholz baseball

Last year, Buchholz advanced to its second straight state championship game and finished with a state-best 33 victories.

With seven college signees, plus eventual FACA District 7 Class 6A Player of the Year, Roen Kresak, this year’s team had high expectations. However, the Bobcats got off to a slow start and won just two of their first six games.

However, they got hot after spring break and won 16 of 17, including their fourth straight district title and a 2-game sweep of top seed Pace on the road in the 6A-Region 1 Final.

Like Trenton, the Bobcats advanced to their third straight final four.

Buchholz (25-8) defeated Martin County (Stuart), 3-2, in 9 innings, at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers in the Class 6A state semifinals. They finished as state runners-up for the third straight year following a 5-1 loss to repeat state champion St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale).

Trenton softball

For the second consecutive year, Williston gave Trenton all it could handle in the FHSAA Rural-Region 4 Final. The host Tigers edged the Red Devils, 2-1, en route to their third straight state title.

In Longwood, Trenton held off Madison County, 1-0, in the state semifinals behind University of Florida commit Addison Allaire’s 16 strikeouts.

The Florida Dairy Farmers Rural Player of the Year had a home run and drove in four runs in a 13-1 victory in five innings against Liberty County (Bristol) in the title game.

Columbia (Lake City) softball

Columbia completed the Tigers’ trifecta by winning their first state title since 2013.

After outscoring their three regional opponents, 31-3, to advance to the Class 4A final four, Columbia faced a similar situation as Union County in the state semifinals.

The Tigers (29-3) had the bases empty down two runs with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. However, Columbia managed five hits in its final at-bat and scored three runs in a walk-off 6-5 win.

In the title game, Columbia built a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 win against Lake Wales.

It was a great way to end the school year and you can expect to see some of these moments among my top stories of 2025-26 this Friday.