Photos Of Chip & Joanna's Teen Son Duke Show How Much He's Changed (& Grown In Height)

Chip and Joanna Gaines have been mainstays of HGTV since their hit series "Fixer Upper" premiered in 2013. Fans of the show have gotten to watch Chip and Joanna's kids grow up — and they're growing up fast. Notably, Chip and Joanna have confessed that they eventually came to regret putting their little ones on TV, though the fact remains that some of them aren't quite so little anymore. The pair's oldest, Drake Gaines, went off to college in 2023, with their second-oldest, Ella Gaines, following suit in 2025. And while more recent photos of Ella show how much she's changed since her days as an HGTV kid, her and Drake's younger brother Duke Gaines, who turned 17 in May 2025, isn't too far behind.

A January 2026 Instagram post made by Chip not only highlights the Gaines family's deep affinity for baseball, but also shows just how much Duke has grown since first appearing on "Fixer Upper." In one of the photos Chip shared, Duke can be seen winding up for a pitch. Compare that to a separate photo Chip posted of Duke and his siblings on Instagram back in 2018, and it really just goes to show how much can change in eight short years — something all parents, the Gaines' very much included — know all too well.

"Knowing that [the older kids] will be gone in the next few years, I've made a conscious decision to create micro-moments, to feel in the now with our family, just be really more intentional with our time together," Joanna said in a January 2025 interview with People, adding, "And hopefully, try and slow it all down a bit!"

According to the baseball scouting website Five Tool, HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines' son Duke Gaines is a left-handed pitcher and center fielder playing for Valor Preparatory Academy in the family's home base of Waco, Texas. Duke's project graduation year is listed as 2027, and the website reports that as of February 2026, he remains uncommitted as far as college ball is concerned. That being said, we wouldn't be too surprised if he ended up going a similar route at older brother Drake Gaines.

Drake himself played baseball for Valor Prep before going on to do the same at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas — not too far from Waco. According to UMHB's athletics website, Drake unfortunately had to miss the 2024 season as the result of an injury. However, he was able to take the field in 2025, with the position player getting two strikeouts while giving up five hits cross five pitching appearances.

Drake and Duke's father Chip opened up about his family's relationship to baseball in his aforementioned January 2026 Instagram post. "Baseball has been a constant in my life since I can remember — first with my dad, learning the game and the lessons that came with it, and now getting to pass that same love on to my own boys," he wrote. The "Fixer Upper" star and Magnolia co-founder continued, "It's where I first learned to work hard, play for the people next to me, and believe in something bigger than myself."