The Success Train is rolling full speed down the tracks for Wylie ISD athletics, and the girls basketball coach hopes his team hops on.

So far, two punches on the ticket.

The Lady Bulldogs will showcase the 2026-27 team beginning Thursday as they host the Stanley Whisenhunt Classic in the WHS gym. One of three teams in Pool A, Wylie opens play at 10 a.m. against Hawley, with a 10:30 a.m. Friday matchup against Joshua next. Games after that depend on outcomes.

Wylie opened its season Saturday with a 40-28 win over Canton (29-8 last season), then took down Seminole (31-5 last season), 52-40.

Seminole beat Amarillo Palo Duro 47-40 in a non-district game in 2025. PD eliminated Wylie 46-35 in the first round of the playoffs to end a 29-6 season.

Duane Hooper, a Wylie graduate and basketball standout, is leading the Lady Bulldogs for the fifth season. He has a 56-12 record over the past two seasons after going 32-34 his first two campaigns after leaving Hermleigh.

Once a West Texas power, Wylie had fallen in a rut with three straight losing seasons - winning just 13 games from 2020-22 - as a Class 5A team before Hopper got Wylie back to 19-14 in 2023.

GOOD START AFTER DISAPPOINTING FINISH

Hopper likes what he has seen from his team so far, though, like most coaches will say very early in the season, there is work to do.

Wylie is playing without junior post Jenna Stricklin, who has been a force on the Lady Bulldogs’ final four volleyball team.

Her return will make Wylie better.

“The girls have played really good defense,” Hopper said of allowing 34 points a game on average. “We gave up 40 against Seminole … the second half we gave up more than we probably should have, but I’m proud of their defensive effort. And just the physicality.

“Both teams were physical,hands-on defense, man-to-man, get up in there. I thought we handled that really well.”

Hopper wants Wylie to shine on defense.

“The old saying, defense travels,” he said. “We’ll need some offense. The name of the game is to put the ball in the hole but defense will give us a chance in every game if we play well enough.”

The Lady Bulldogs are in a similar situation as tennis and volleyball. Wylie is dominant in district play. WHS scored more than 60 points in seven of eight wins and three times topped 70. The closest game was a 16-point win at Wichita Falls Legacy.

Palo Duro was fourth in its district but came away a first-round winner.

“Playoffs is just a different animal,” he said. Wylie was matched with a “really loaded district, so whoever you get first round is going to be tough. Hopefully, this summer and this fall and this season we grow mentally into that aspect. We know it’s coming - tough game, first round.

“We’ve got to be ready for it mentally.”

SENIOR-LED TEAM

Wylie has six seniors on the varsity roster, the most Hopper has had to work with since his return to his alma mater.

Those are Brianna Cokonougher, Thereza Enduki, Londyn Franklin, Ava Jarrett, Reese Wilson, and Chloe Villeda, who currently is not playing due to a summer injury.

“We hope to have her back by the end of the season,” Hopper said.

Franklin and Enduki are four-year players.

“That’s good leadership,” the coach said of having a half-dozen seniors.

Stricklin, Sophomore Brianna Biggerstaff, and juniors Kaelyn Briley and Grace Chavez are letterwinners who will add punch and depth to the team.

While Franklin and Enduki are the most likely offensive threats, Hopper likes the Lady Bulldogs’ balance.

“I think we’re well-rounded. We can get points from a lot of girls. Londyn Franklin, if you were to watch us, your eyes would turn to her immediately. She knows how to score at all different levels,” he said of his senior. Enduki also will put numbers in the scorebook.

“They’ve played in big games, so they’ve seen it all,” Hopper said.

“I think this is the best shooting team we’ve had. We’ve got some girls who can hit 3-pointers. We have post presence inside. I think we’re well-rounded,” the coach said. “The starters don’t always have to fill it up. We might have some help from our bench.”

FAST AND PHYSICAL

Wylie obviously wants to play well before the home crowd, but what does Hopper want to get out of his team this weekend?

“I want us to play fast and physical. We’ve done that these past two games, so hopefully with some crowd energy we’ll do it even better at home,” he said. “I also want to see us execute a little bit better offensively.

“But when we host a tournament, we want the stands to be full and the girls to have fun. This is a special moment for the girls and the student body.”

Of course, girls basketball has competition, with football playing Friday night and volleyball on the court Saturday afternoon. Wylie at least starts with two morning games.

Hopper is not complaining about so much going on.

“I think success breeds success,” he said. “When I was playing at Wylie, that’s how it was in every sport. You just showed up and we expected to win.”

That mentality is returned now that Wylie is settling in at the more demanding Class 5A level.

“We’re expecting it now,” Hopper said.

WHO KNEW?

Hopper now is 10 years removed from his playing days at Hardin-Simmons University, where he excelled on the court.

Looking back, did he expect to be coaching Wylie girls’ basketball?

“No, I didn’t envision me being at Wylie,” he said, smiling.

His aim in college was to become a federal probation officer, like his grandfather.

“As I got to my junior and senior years, I knew basketball was coming to an end and I didn’t want to give it up,” he said. “But I wasn’t good enough to keep playing.”

He got a chance to coach at Wylie in the summer, including with girls coach Kurt Richardson.

“I fell in love with coaching girls. They just get after it. They work hard. They will run through a wall for you,” Hopper said. “And there is great tradition here at Wylie for girls basketball.”

STANLEY WHISENHUNT CLASSIC SCHEDULE

Thursday
10 a.m. - Pool A, Wylie vs. Hawley
11:15 a.m. - Pool B, Cisco vs. Lubbock-Cooper
12:30 p.m. - Pool C, Seminole vs. Arlington Martin
1:45 p.m. - Pool A, Hawley vs. Joshua
3 p.m. - Pool B, San Antonio Sotomayor vs. Cisco
4:15 p.m. - Pool C, Frisco Wakeland vs. Martin
5:30 p.m. - Pool B, Sotomayor vs. Lubbock-Cooper

Friday
10:30 a.m. - Pool A, Wylie vs. Joshua
11:45 a.m. - Pool C, Wakeland vs. Semiole
1 p.m. - Five bracket play games begin, the last at 6 p.m.

Saturday
9:45 a.m. - Semifinal
11 a.m. - Semifinal
1:30 p.m. - Third-place game
2:45 p.m. - Championship game