The Wylie Pirates weren’t expected to lose in the bi-district round of the state playoffs.

A year with high expectations after 2020’s run to the final four, Wylie is now regrouping. The Pirates finished tied for second in District 9-6A last season.

While the team’s ambition is to win district, head coach Stephen Pearce wants the Pirates to think about the short-term.

“We don’t address a lot of goals,” Pearce said. “We mainly just focus on getting better every day. We’d like to say we want to win the district and make a playoff run, but that doesn’t happen without improving every day in practice.”

Wylie returns six rotation players from last year’s team, with only three seniors on the roster. Despite the relatively young squad, Wylie gained a lot of experience needed from the end of the last season. With a taste of the postseason under their belts, the players feel good about the group they have.

“We’re really excited about the team this year,” Pearce said. “We’ve got one freshman and one sophomore practicing with the varsity team right now and almost nothing in seniors this year. We do have a lot of veteran experience, though, from last year and feel pretty good about this season.”

One area where Wylie feels like it’s going to stand out is the team’s depth. While none of the Pirates rank among the top recruits or players in the area, coach Pearce and his program have been known to maximize the team’s output from every player.

“It’s going to be a great effort from us this year,” Pearce said. “We don’t have just stars across the roster, but we have enough depth returning that we feel good about. Jordan Hudgins and Donaven Davis will probably get the most touches, but we have plenty of contributors.”

For the full story, see the Nov. 10 issue of The Wylie News. Support your community newspaper for less than $40 a year.

By Kyle Grondin • [email protected]