7-19-26 roundup: Pro football, baseball, auto racing, soccer and rodeo, Legion baseball, High school athletics
By Richard Walker
The return of high school athletics is less than a month away as athletes will begin practice the last week of July.
Here is the 2026-27 N.C. High School Athletic Association schedule by sport for the upcoming school year:
Cross Country
First Practice: Jul. 29
First Contest: Aug. 10
Regionals: Oct. 30-31
State Championships: Nov. 6-7
Girls Golf
First Practice: Jul. 29
First Contest: Aug. 10
Reporting Deadline: Oct. 14 at 9 p.m.
Regionals: Oct. 19-20
State Championships: Oct. 26-27
Football
First Practice: Jul. 29
First Scrimmage: Aug. 7
Week 1: Aug. 21 (regular season continues weekly through Oct. 30)
Playoff Seeding: TBD
1st Round: Nov. 6
2nd Round: Nov. 13
3rd Round: Nov. 20
4th Round: Nov. 27
Regionals: Dec. 4
State Championships: Dec. 10-12
Boys Soccer
First Practice: Jul. 29
First Contest: Aug. 10
Seeding: Oct. 29
1st Round: Nov. 2
2nd Round: Nov. 5
3rd Round: Nov. 9
4th Round: Nov. 12
Regionals: Nov. 17
State Championships: Nov. 19-21
Girls Tennis
First Practice: Jul. 29
First Contest: Aug. 10
Individual Pre-Regionals: Oct. 5
Individual Reporting Deadline: Oct. 12 at 3 p.m.
Individual Regionals: Oct. 16-17
Individual State Championships: Oct. 23-24
Dual Team Seeding: Oct. 9
Dual Team 1st Round: Oct. 12
Dual Team 2nd Round: Oct. 14
Dual Team 3rd Round: Oct. 19
Dual Team 4th Round: Oct. 21
Dual Team Regionals: Oct. 27
Dual Team State Championships: Oct. 30-31
Volleyball
First Practice: Jul. 29
First Contest: Aug. 10
Seeding: Oct.15
1st Round: Oct. 17
2nd Round: Oct. 20
3rd Round: Oct. 22
4th Round: Oct. 24
Regionals: Oct. 27
State Championships: Oct. 30-31
Flag Football
First Practice: Aug. 31
First Contest: Sept. 9
Seeding: Oct. 28
1st/2nd Round: Oct. 31
3rd/4th Round: Nov. 7
Regionals: Nov. 11
State: Nov. 14
Cheerleading
Invitational: Dec. 5
Basketball
First Practice (Non-Football schools): Oct. 19
First Practice (Football schools): Nov. 2
First Contest (Non-FB): Oct. 28
First Contest (FB schools): Nov. 11
Seeding: Feb. 20
1st Round: Feb. 23
2nd Round: Feb. 25
3rd Round: Feb. 27
4th Round: Mar. 1
Regionals: Mar. 3-6
State Championships: Mar. 10-13
Indoor Track
First Practice: Nov. 2
First Contest: Nov. 11
Reporting Deadline: Feb. 4 at 9 p.m.
State Championships: Feb. 9-12
Swimming & Diving
First Practice: Nov. 2
First Contest: Nov. 11
Reporting Deadline: Jan. 23 at 11:59 p.m.
Regionals: Jan. 28-30
State Championships: Feb. 3-6
Wrestling
Dual Team Seeding: Jan. 28
Dual Team 1st/2nd Round: Jan. 30
Dual Team 3rd/Regionals: Feb. 3
Dual Team State Championships: Feb. 5-6
Boys and Girls Individual Reporting Deadline: Jan. 28
Boys and Girls Individual Regionals: Feb. 12-13
Boys and Girls Individual State Championships: Feb. 18-20
Baseball / Softball
First Practice: Feb. 15
First Contest: Mar. 1
Seeding: May 10
1st Round: May 11
2nd Round: May 14
3rd Round: May 18
4th Round: May 21
Regionals: May 25-29
State Championships: June 2-5
Girls Soccer
First Practice: Feb. 15
First Contest: Mar. 1
Seeding: May 6
1st Round: May 10
2nd Round: May 13
3rd Round: May 17
4th Round: May 20
Regionals: May 25
State Championships: May 27-29
Lacrosse
First Practice: Feb. 15
First Contest: Mar. 1
Seeding: May 6
1st Round: May 11
2nd Round: May 14
3rd Round: May 18
4th Round: May 21
Regionals: May 26
State Championships: May 28-29
Boys Golf
First Practice: Feb. 15
First Contest: Mar. 1
Reporting Deadline: Apr. 28 at 9 p.m.
Regionals: May 3-4
State Championships: May 10-11
Boys Tennis
First Practice: Feb. 15
First Contest: Mar. 1
Individual Pre-Regionals: Apr. 19
Individual Reporting Deadline: Apr. 26 at 3 p.m.
Individual Regionals: Apr. 30 – May 1
Individual State Championships: May 7-8
Dual Team Seeding: Apr. 23
Dual Team 1st Round: Apr. 26
Dual Team 2nd Round: Apr. 28
Dual Team 3rd Round: May 3
Dual Team 4th Round: May 5
Dual Team Regionals: May 11
Dual Team State Championships: May 12-15
Boys Volleyball
First Practice: Feb. 15
First Contest: Mar. 1
Seeding: May 6
1st Round: May 8
2nd-4th Rounds: May 11-15
Regionals: May 18
State: May 22
Track & Field
First Practice: Feb. 15
First Contest: Mar. 1
Reporting Deadline: May 1 at 9 p.m.
Regionals: May 7 or 8
State: May 12-15
Legion baseball
N.C. state tournament pairings (at Gastonia Sims Legion Park):
(Friday, July 24)
Game 1- Host/Gaston Braves 12-13 vs. Area 4 No. 2/Shelby 20-10, 1 p.m.
(Saturday, July 25)
Game 2- Area 3 No. 1/Rowan County or Union County vs. Area 2 No. 2/Beulaville or Wilmington Red, 10 a.m.
Game 3- Area 4 No. 1/Cherryville 24-5 vs. Area 1 No. 2/Wilson 16-9, 1 p.m.
Game 4- Area 2 No. 1/Beulaville or Wilmington Red vs. Area 3 No. 2/Rowan County or Union County, 4 p.m.
Game 5- Game 1 winner vs. Area 1 No. 1/Garner 24-2, 7 p.m.
(Sunday, July 26)
Game 6- Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9 a.m.
Game 7- Game 4 loser vs. Game 5 loser, 11:30 a.m.
Game 8- Game 6 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 9- Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Game 10- Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m.
(Monday, July 27)
Game 11- Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 12- Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 loser, 4 p.m.
Game 13- Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m.
(Tuesday, July 28)
Game 14- Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 15- Game 13 loser vs. Game 14 winner, 7 p.m.
(Wednesday, July 29)
Game 16- Game 13 winner vs. Game 15 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 17 (if necessary)- If Game 13 winner loses Game 16, 7 p.m.
Junior Legion
The 2026 Junior Legion state tournament pairings at Cherryville’s Fraley Field:
(Saturday, July 18)
Game 1- Area 4 No. 2 Shelby 16-6 vs. Area 1 No. 1 Wilson 15-0-1 – Wilson 6-2
Game 2- Area 1 No. 2 Washington 15-4 vs. Area 2 No. 1 Castle Hayne 11-8 – Castle Hayne 13-2 in 5
Game 3- Area 2 No. 2 Beaufort 11-4 vs. Host/Area 4 No. 1 Cherryville 15-5 – Cherryville 16-4 in 5
(Sunday, July 19)
Game 4- Shelby vs. Beaufort – Shelby 15-6 (Beaufort eliminated)
Game 5- Cherryville vs. Washington – Cherryville 9-6 (Washington eliminated)
Game 6- Wilson vs. Castle Hayne – Castle Hayne 8-2
(Monday, July 20)
Game 7- Shelby vs. Wilson, 10 a.m.
Game 8- Cherryville vs. Castle Hayne, 1 p.m.
Game 9- Game 8 loser vs. Game 7 winner, 4 p.m.
(Tuesday, July 21)
Game 10- Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, noon
Game 11- if necessary, 3 p.m.
Note: Bracket would be altered IF Game 2 loser wins Game 5
Pro football
The Carolina Panthers July 31 Fan Fest schedule:
5:00 pm: Gates open and Team Store
5:30 pm: Pre-practice entertainment begins
6:30 pm: Players begin on-field warmups
7:30 pm: Practice begins
Approx. 8:45 pm: Practice ends and autograph session begins
Post practice: Fireworks and laser show begins
PSL Owners will have access to pre-sale tickets on Thursday, July 9 at 10 a.m., while tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 10. Tickets are $5 each, with proceeds benefitting Carolina Panthers Charities.
Here is the Panthers’ full 2026 schedule:
(preseason)
Aug. 6 – Arizona (at Canton, Ohio), 8 p.m.
Aug. 15 – at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Aug. 21 – at Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 28 – Houston, 7 p.m.
(regular season)
Sept. 13 – Chicago, 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 – at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Sept. 27 – at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 – Detroit, 8:20 p.m.
Oct. 8-12 – BYE week
Oct. 18 – at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Oct. 25 – Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Oct. 29 – at Green Bay, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 8 – Denver, 1 p.m.
Nov. 15 – at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Nov. 22 – Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Nov. 30 – at Tampa Bay, 8:15 p.m.
Dec. 6 – at Minnesota, 4:25 p.m.
Dec. 13 – New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Dec. 20 – Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Dec. 24-28 TBA – at Pittsburgh, TBA
Jan. 3 – Seattle, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9-10 TBA – Atlanta, TBA
Pro soccer
The 2026 Charlotte FC schedule:
(6-6-3 record)
Saturday, Feb. 21 at St. Louis (T 1-1)
Saturday, Feb. 28 at L.A. Galaxy (L 0-3)
Saturday, March 7 Austin (W 3-1)
Saturday, March 14 Miami (T 0-0)
Saturday, March 21 New York Red Bulls (W 6-1)
Saturday, Apr. 4 Philadelphia (W 2-1)
Saturday, Apr. 11 Nashville (L 1-2)
Saturday, Apr. 18 at New York (W 2-1)
Wednesday, Apr. 22 at Orlando (L 1-4)
Saturday, Apr. 25 at Nashville (L 2-4)
Saturday, May 2 at New England (L 0-1)
Saturday, May 9 Cincinnati (T 2-2)
Wednesday, May 13 New York (L 0-1)
Saturday, May 16 Toronto (W 3-1)
Saturday, May 23 New England (W 1-0)
Wednesday, July 22 Atlanta, 8:00 PM
Saturday, July 25 at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 1 at Chicago, 8:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 15 Columbus, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Aug. 19 at Toronto, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 22 DC, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 29 at Atlanta, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 5 Houston, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Montreal, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 12 at Cincinnati, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 19 at DC, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 26 Chicago, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 10 Dallas, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 14 at Columbus, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 17 at Philadelphia, 2:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 24 at Portland, 10:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 28 Montreal, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 31 Orlando, 1:00 PM
Saturday, Nov. 7 at Miami, 4:00 PM
(U.S. Open Cup)
Wednesday, Apr. 15 Charlotte Independence (W 6-0)
…at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex
Tuesday, Apr. 28 Atlanta United FC (L 0-2)
…at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex
Pro baseball
Durham 3, Charlotte 2: A run in the seventh broke the 2-all tie and gave Durham the win in the finale of the six-game series. After a day off on Monday, the Knights begin a six-game home series against Norfolk that begins on Tuesday night at 7:04 p.m.
Here is the full Charlotte Knights’ 2026 schedule:
(50-45 record, 42-33 1st half, 8-12 2nd half)
-1st half
March 27-29 Durham 3-0 (W 19-2, W 2-1 in 11, W 4-3)
March 31-April 5 at Nashville 1-4 (L 3-7, W 9-3, L 0-4, L 6-7, ppd, L 5-7)
April 7-12 Memphis 3-3 (L 4-9, W 7-3, L 1-4, W 9-8 in 10, L 4-6, W 13-4)
April 14-19 at Jacksonville 2-4 (L 0-3, L 2-3, L 3-5, L 1-4, W 2-0, W 9-4)
April 21-26 Nashville 4-3 (L 1-5, W 9-4, W 3-2 in 10, W 11-9, L 5-12, W 16-6, L 1-5)
April 28-May 3 Gwinnett 3-3 (L 7-10, W 10-9, L 5-9, L 3-4, W 21-1, W 10-9)
May 5-10 at Jacksonville 3-3 (W 5-3, L 6-8, W 16-1, W 8-5, L 5-6, L 1-6)
May 12-17 Norfolk 3-3 (L 6-9, L 8-9, W 4-1, W 4-1, L 10-11, W 15-3)
May 19-24 at Gwinnett 4-2 (W 5-4, W 4-3, L 3-7, W 4-3 in 10, L 1-5, W 3-2)
May 26-31 Jacksonville 3-3 (W 4-0, susp, L 3-6, W 12-5, W 12-4, L 6-15, L 5-6)
June 2-7 at Durham 6-0 (W 6-1, W 18-7, W 11-6, W 4-3, W 7-5, W 12-5)
June 9-14 Oklahoma City 3-3 (L 3-6, L 1-10, W 9-8, W 12-7, L 7-11, W 4-3)
June 16-21 at Buffalo 4-2 (L 5-9, W 5-1, W 4-0, W 10-5, L 2-4, W 5-0)
-2nd half
June 23-28 Rochester 2-4 (L 9-10, W 10-2, W 7-6 in 11, L 2-6, L 1-3, L 4-9)
June 30-July 5 at Memphis 2-4 (L 5-10, W 2-0 in 8, L 6-8, L 3-4 in 11, W 8-6, L 1-2 in 11)
July 7-12 Nashville 3-3 (W 8-2, L 3-6, W 9-2, L 9-11, L 2-4, W 12-4)
July 17-19 at Durham 1-2 (L 2-8, W 7-5, L 2-3)
July 21-26 Norfolk
July 28-August 2 at Nashville
August 4-9 Durham
August 11-16 at Rochester
August 18-23 at Scranton-WB
August 25-30 Memphis
September 1-6 at Gwinnett
September 8-13 Buffalo
September 15-20 at Norfolk
Here is the full Gastonia Ghost Peppers’ 2026 schedule:
(45-33 record, 40-23 1st half, 5-10 2nd half)
-1st half
April 21-23 at High Point 1-2 (W 3-1, L 5-6, L 0-5)
April 24-26 High Point 3-0 (W 4-3, W 18-8, W 9-2)
April 28-May 3 at York 4-2 (W 14-2, ppd, W 2-1, W 5-4, L 4-5, W 10-2, L 3-9)
May 5-10 Southern Maryland 1-5 (L 2-3, L 11-18, L 2-12, L 4-5, W 7-3, L 1-14)
May 12-17 at Long Island 3-3 (L 3-6, L 3-11, W 10-0, L 4-6, W 8-6, W 6-5)
May 19-20 Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 9-4, W 6-2, W 9-6)
May 22-24 at Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 17-4, W 8-4, W 12-4)
May 26-28 at Lexington 3-0 (W 10-6, W 3-2, W 3-1)
May 29-31 Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 6-3, W 10-7, W 9-2)
June 2-7 Lancaster 2-4 (W 11-2, L 1-3, W 14-3, L 3-4, L 8-9, L 5-17)
June 9-14 at Lexington 3-3 (L 13-15, L 6-8, W 7-5, L 9-10, W 7-1, W 12-8)
June 16-21 Staten Island 6-0 (W 10-4, W 9-6, W 26-3, W 11-4, W 12-3, W 13-8)
June 23-28 at Lexington 4-2 (W 4-3, W 6-3, W 7-4, W 8-6, L 5-12, L 4-9)
June 30-July 2 Lexington 1-2 (L 7-9, L 1-11, W 14-6)
-2nd half
July 3-5 Charleston, W.Va. 2-1 (L 13-16, W 10-3, W 13-9)
July 7-12 at Hagerstown 1-5 (L 4-13, L 4-14, L 5-6, L 3-10, W 7-3, L 6-13)
July 14-19 Lexington 2-4 (L 2-9, W 16-5, W 12-11, L 0-9, L 5-7, L 2-6)
July 21-26 at Charleston, W.Va.
July 28, 30-31-Aug. 2 Hagerstown
Aug. 4-6 Southern Maryland
Aug. 7-9 at Lexington
Aug. 11-16 at High Point
Aug. 18-23 Charleston, W.Va.
Aug. 25-30 at Southern Maryland
Sept. 1-6 High Point
Sept. 8-10 Lexington
Sept. 11-13 at High Point
Auto racing
Here is the full 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule with race winners in parentheses:
Feb. 4 — Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (Ryan Preece)
Feb. 15 — Daytona 500 (Tyler Reddick)
Feb. 22 — Atlanta (Reddick-2)
March 1 — Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (Reddick-3)
March 8 — Phoenix (Ryan Blaney)
March 15 — Las Vegas (Denny Hamlin)
March 22 — Darlington, South Carolina (Reddick-4)
March 29 — Martinsville, Virginia (Chase Elliott)
April 5 — off weekend
April 12 — Bristol, Tennessee (Ty Gibbs)
April 19 — Kansas (Reddick-5)
April 26 — Talladega, Alabama (Carson Hocevar)
May 3 — Texas (Elliott-2)
May 10 — Watkins Glen, New York (Shane van Gisbergen)
May 17 — All-Star Race (Dover) (Hamlin-2)
May 24 — Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte) (Daniel Suarez)
May 31 — Nashville, Tennessee (Hamlin-3)
June 7 — Michigan (Hamlin-4)
June 14 — Pocono in Long Pond, Pennsylvania (Hamlin-5)
June 21 — San Diego (Corey Heim)
June 28 — Sonoma, California (Shane van Gisbergen)
July 5 — Chicagoland (Chase Briscoe)
July 12 — Atlanta (Blaney-2)
July 19 — North Wilkesboro
July 26 — Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis)
Aug. 2 — off weekend
Aug. 9 — Iowa
Aug. 15 — Richmond, Virginia
Aug. 23 — New Hampshire
Aug. 29 — Daytona, Florida
Sept. 6 — Darlington
Sept. 13 — Gateway in Madison, Illinois
Sept. 19 — Bristol
Sept. 27 — Kansas
Oct. 4 — Las Vegas
Oct. 11 — Charlotte Roval
Oct. 18 — Phoenix
Oct. 25 — Talladega
Nov. 1 — Martinsville
Nov. 8 — Homestead, Florida
Rodeo
Professional Bull Riding Unleash the Beast tour schedule for Greensboro-based Carolina Cowboys:
Feb. 1 – Golden 1 Center Sacramento- Austin Gamblers (L 173.90-256.90)
Feb. 21 – Progressive PBR Jacksonville- Florida Freedom (L 158.70-169.25)
March 22 – Ram Trucks PBR Indianapolis- Nashville Stampede (W 88.70- 0.00)
(DNQ for playoffs)
Team Challenge playoff results
March 29 at Albuquerque: Semifinal- (No. 1 Missouri Thunder def. No. 4 Florida Freedom 83.65-0.00)
April 17 at Billings: Semifinal- (No. 2 Austin Gamblers def. No. 3 Kansas City Outlaws 87.10-84.50)
April 26 at Tacoma: Championship- (No. 1 Missouri Thunder def. No. 2 Austin Gamblers 254.75-171.35)
Upcoming events:
Sept. 18-20 – Greensboro First Horizon Coliseum Complex
Golf
The Rutherford County Sports Hall Of Fame (RCSHOF), presented by Hardin’s Drug, in conjunction with Golf Sponsors Forest City Honda and Chick-fil-A of Forest City, is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 T. Max Champion Memorial Golf Tournament.
The tournament will be held on Friday, July 31 at the Apple Vally Golf Course in Lake Luke, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Registration fee is $100.00 per player or $400.00 for a team of four and covers the green fee, cart usage and lunch.
First prize for Gross and Net Winners is $600.00 per team. Other prizes will be awarded based on the number of entries. Proceeds from the event go to support the RCSHOF Scholarship Fund and registration deadline is July 21.
For information or to register, please visit the RCSHOF website: https://www.rcshof.org/ or call Randy Page at 828-429-7773.