JT Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com
Even though the Artesia Bulldogs lost in the 2026 Nusenda Credit Union Class 4A boys championship game 71-62 against the Highland Hornets on Saturday, the Class of 2026 has already secured its place in school history.
They’ve stacked titles in multiple sports. And once more, they came within reach of another championship.
But championships aren’t what separate this team.
What makes this group different is simpler — and stronger. They play for each other. They care about each other. They love each other.
Every player on the team, from Charlie Campbell IV to Clay Kincaid, said the same thing: They love each other.
This team has lost games along the way, like they did on Saturday. That happens in sports, of course. But rarely have the stakes been this high, and the response been so consistent.
These kids have been playing together since they were little, working their way through youth sports in Artesia, growing up on the same fields and in the same gyms. They watched older Bulldogs win state titles and learned what was possible. Now a younger group is watching them, dreaming of doing the same one day.
Bulldogs coach Michael Mondragon says success breeds success, especially at Artesia High School, where athletes are encouraged to compete across multiple sports.
“When you are winning in other sports,” Mondragon said, “you gain experience that carries over. One thing that is unique about these guys is that Jack Byers is going to Arizona for baseball. It would have been really easy for him to say, ‘Coach, I don’t want to play basketball. I want to get ready for baseball and my scholarship.’
“Tootie McNeil could have said the same thing. He’s going to New Mexico Highlands on a football scholarship.”
But they didn’t. Campbell didn’t. Kincaid didn’t. Braylon Vega didn’t.
They stayed. They played. They committed.
“These guys love each other,” Mondragon said. “That’s the culture we have.”
Mondragon credits that culture to cooperation across the athletic department. Athletic director Jeremy Maupin, who also serves as head football coach, works closely with baseball coach Jackson Bickel and the rest of the staff. They text. They call. They support each other.
And it shows.
Mondragon said what Artesia builds — and how it builds it — starts at the top of the administration and carries all the way down.
“These guys are a special group,” he said. “It’s something we start when they’re really young, and we encourage them to do all they can do.”
No one knows what the future holds for each of them. Life has a way of scattering even the closest teammates.
But this group will live on in Bulldog lore.
Their Class of 2026 football helmet will hang on Bulldog Stadium wall. The trophy case will hold their basketball and baseball hardware.
And when they return someday to be honored, they’ll share stories only they can truly understand.
They’ll remember the championships.
But more than anything, they’ll remember the love they shared growing up together in Artesia, New Mexico.
JT Keith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or on X @JTKEITH1.
