Hockaday Athletics: SPC Championships, a Lacrosse Dynasty, and the Path to College Sports

Quick Answer for Busy Parents

Athletics is one of Hockaday’s Four Cornerstones, and the program backs it up. Hockaday fields 26 teams across 14 sports in the Southwest Preparatory Conference. Its lacrosse program won four straight SPC titles from 2022 through 2025 and state titles every year from 2021 through 2025, and soccer, volleyball, and swimming have recent championships too. Eleven members of the Class of 2026 now compete in college, part of 105 collegiate athletes in eight years.

Athletics as a Hockaday Cornerstone

When Ela Hockaday named her Four Cornerstones in 1914, she put Athletics right beside Character, Courtesy, and Scholarship. More than a century later, Hockaday still describes athletics as the effort to lead a healthy, active, balanced life, one that welcomes challenge and asks for sportsmanship in victory and in defeat.

That philosophy shapes how sport fits into a Hockaday girl’s week. Athletics isn’t an add-on for a few recruits; it’s part of the school’s definition of a complete education. For an all-girls school, it also carries a quieter message. Girls here lead the teams, captain the boats, and fill the stands for each other. That’s one reason Hockaday stands out among top single-sex schools with innovative programs.

The Sports Hockaday Offers

Hockaday offers 14 sports and 26 teams: Basketball, Cross Country, Diving, Fencing, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, and Volleyball. Most compete for SPC championships, the conference that gathers the leading independent schools of Texas and neighboring states. Crew and fencing compete for titles beyond the SPC structure.

Hockaday’s SPC Championship Record

Hockaday publishes its full championship history, and a few programs stand out for recent strength.

The Lacrosse Dynasty

No Hockaday program has been more dominant lately than lacrosse. The team won SPC championships in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 and won state titles every year from 2021 through 2025, adding to earlier state crowns in 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2018. That success shows up in college rosters too: five lacrosse players from the Class of 2025 alone went on to play at Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Georgetown, and Tufts.

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From Hockaday to College Athletics

Hockaday treats college athletics as a team effort among the athlete, her family, and the College Counseling office, which helps students weigh what role sport should play in the college search and navigate eligibility and recruiting. The results are substantial: eleven members of the Class of 2026 continued their athletic careers in college, adding to 105 collegiate student-athletes from the previous eight years.

Recent Hockaday athletes have rowed at Columbia, Georgetown, and UCLA, run for MIT and Princeton, played volleyball at Duke and Johns Hopkins, and competed in soccer at Stanford and MIT. Rowing alone sent five members of the Class of 2025 and four from the Class of 2026 to college teams.

What Hockaday Athletics Means for Your Daughter’s Application

Hockaday doesn’t ask applicants to be varsity-ready in fifth grade. What it does value, because Athletics is a cornerstone, is a girl who embraces challenge, works hard on a team, and handles both winning and losing with grace. Those qualities come through in the interview and the questionnaires far more than a list of trophies does.

Showing Athletic Commitment Authentically

• Describe what sport has taught your daughter, not just what she’s won.
• Let her talk about teammates and coaches in her interview. It reveals character quickly.
• If she’s new to a sport, curiosity and effort count. Hockaday offers 14 to explore.

Balancing Sport and Scholarship

Hockaday’s academics are demanding, and a serious athlete needs strong time management to thrive. If that’s an area of growth, the difference between academic coaching and tutoring is worth understanding before her first SPC season.

A Cornerstone Worth Building On

At Hockaday, athletics is less about the banner on the gym wall than the young woman it helps form. If your daughter loves to compete, or simply loves being part of a team, she’ll find a place here. Our admissions interview preparation helps her talk about that part of her life with confidence.

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