Kearsley High School athletics are in full swing for the 2026-27 school year, and football is the centerpiece of the fall season: the Hornets sit 1-1 after a 51-0 season-opening win at Sterling Heights and a 34-13 loss at Bay City Central, with their Flint Metro League opener coming Friday, September 11, at Linden. This guide to Kearsley High School sports covers the current football season, the fall swim schedule, what to expect from wrestling, basketball, baseball, softball, and track and field, and a fact-checked look at the dates and names of the greatest championships in Kearsley history.
Football: the 2026 season so far
The Hornets opened the season with a dominant 51-0 shutout on the road at Sterling Heights on August 27, then fell 34-13 at Bay City Central on September 3. League play begins Friday, September 11, when Kearsley visits Linden at 7 PM. Home games are played at Kearsley High School on Underhill Drive in Flint, and kickoff times are 7 PM.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Aug 27 | Sterling Heights | Away | Final: W 51-0 |
| Thu, Sep 3 | Bay City Central | Away | L 34-13 |
| Fri, Sep 11 | Linden | Away, Linden HS, 7 PM | Upcoming |
| Fri, Sep 18 | Flushing | Home, Kearsley HS, 7 PM | Upcoming |
| Fri, Sep 25 | Swartz Creek | Home, Kearsley HS, 7 PM | Upcoming |
| Fri, Oct 16 | Metro League crossover | Opponent TBD | To be confirmed |
The 2026-27 Flint Metro League round-robin also has Kearsley playing at Fenton and hosting Holly later in the season; dates for those games will be posted on the official Kearsley Hornets schedule as they are finalized.
Girls swimming and diving: fall season
Kearsley fields a varsity girls swimming and diving team that competes in the Genesee County area, with home meets at the Kearsley High School pool on Underhill Drive. The lone confirmed fall dual for 2026 is a meet against the Fenton Tigers on October 2 in Fenton, MI. The full 2026 pool schedule is posted on the Hornets athletics site (ArbiterLive schedule), and it is updated throughout the season as dual meets are confirmed.
Wrestling and basketball: winter season
Wrestling and boys and girls basketball are winter sports at Kearsley, and they are currently outside of the active season. The winter competition calendar typically opens in early winter and runs through February, with conference matchups shared in the Flint Metro League. Schedules for the 2026-27 wrestling and basketball seasons will go up for wrestling on kearsleyhornets.org and the MHSAA Kearsley school page before the first competitions, and this post is refreshed each season with the latest results.
A quick note on the 2025-26 finishes we could verify: a mid-season snapshot in early February 2026 put the Kearsley varsity boys basketball team in fifth place in the Flint Metro League at 7-4 in league play (8-7 overall), and the Metro League published its 2025-26 all-league wrestling selections. As for the winter and spring 2026 standings for girls basketball and other sports, we could not verify final numbers and will post them here as they are confirmed rather than guess.
Baseball, softball, and track and field: spring season
Baseball, softball, and track and field return in the spring at Kearsley. Two spring 2026 highlights are worth noting as the teams get ready for their next season. On April 9, 2026, the Kearsley softball team defeated Corunna 42 to 25 in a combined 67-run game that broke the MHSAA record for the most combined runs in a single game, with 42 runs ranking among the highest single-team totals in state history. On the baseball side, early-season league results included a poured 8-3 win in game one of a doubleheader against Waterford Mott on April 9. The boys and girls track teams also compete each spring in the Flint Metro League.
Spring schedules for 2027 baseball, softball, and track will be published by the district and the Hornets athletics site coming into the season. This post will be updated each run with confirmed dates, opponents, and venues rather than estimates.
Notable past championships in Kearsley history
Kearsley High School's greatest championship hardware belongs to its bowling program, a rugby powerhouse at the state level:
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Boys bowling: a run of D2 state titles
The boys won MHSAA Division 2 team state championships four years in a row: 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, taking the 2026 title with wins that included a semifinal over St. Clair Shores Lake Shore at the February 27, 2026 finals.
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Girls bowling: 11 Division 2 titles
The Hornets have won 11 MHSAA Division 2 girls state championships, including the first in 2012, six straight from 2014 through 2019, and titles again in 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2026. The 2024 title came over Bay City John Glenn, and the 2026 title followed a rally from an 0-2 quarterfinal deficit against Tecumseh on the way to the final. Their only recent miss was 2025, when Swartz Creek took the title.
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Wrestling: two-time state champion
Wrestler Chris Diehl was a two-time individual state champion at Kearsley before competing at the University of Michigan, and MLive later named him among the five greatest Kearsley athletes since 2000.
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Basketball: a Flint Metro record
Paul Adas was a first-team All-State selection in 2012 after scoring 1,049 building career points, the most ever by a Kearsley player.
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Football: Flint Metro conference dominance
The football program has won Flint Metro League (formerly the Big 9) conference championships over the years, including an undefeated 8-0 league season in 1998.
How to follow the Hornets
The best places to check schedules, scores, and roster updates are the official district athletics site at kearsleyhornets.org, the MHSAA school page, and the team schedules on MaxPreps. Results here are compiled from those sources and local reporting and are current as of September 4, 2026; schedules and scores can change, so confirm details before attending.
Cheer for the Hornets, home in the district
3049 Egleston Ave sits in Genesee Township, in the same Kearsley Community Schools district as Kearsley High. If you are watching the Hornets and thinking about living closer to the action, explore the area.