Rice, HBU make big moves; TSU gets big win
Rice and Houston Baptist made splashes with the hires of baseball coaches Jose Cruz Jr. and Lance Berkman, respectively, over the summer, moves that are expected to improve each program. On the basketball court, Rice captured the Women’s National Invitation Tournament and the Texas Southern men won a First Four game.
Rice
In October, on the heels of an announcement of its move to the American Athletic Conference from Conference USA, Rice launched a $100 million fundraising effort by 2025 for athletics.
In football, Rice rallied with 14 points over the final minutes to beat Louisiana Tech 35-31 to finish Mike Bloomgren’s fourth season as coach at 4-8. Two of the Owls’ losses were in overtime. Rice’s most impressive win was 30-24 at UAB, handing the Blazers their first home loss in a conference game since restarting the program in 2017. Elijah Garcia was a first team all-conference defensive lineman.
The Owls (15-13) reached the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament in men’s basketball. Sophomore guard Travis Evee was C-USA Newcomer of the Year. Team-leading scorer Quincy Olivari made third-team all-conference.
Rice (23-4), the conference West Division winner, defeated Mississippi 71-58 for the championship of the WNIT. Senior center Nancy Mulkey (Cypress Woods) was named tournament MVP. For the third straight season, Mulkey was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. In April, Rice named Lindsay Edmonds as coach to replace Tina Langley, who left for Washington.
Cruz, a former Owls great, came aboard in June, replacing the fired Matt Bragga. The Owls went 2329-1, failing to reach the conference baseball tournament for the first time since 1993.
Freshman golfer Rodrigo Martin tied for sixth at the C-USA tournament. Conrad Russell and Sumit Sarkar qualified for the NCAA men’s doubles championship in tennis. Completing the transition from pole vaulter to thrower, senior James McNaney placed 20th in the javelin at the NCAA outdoor championship in Eugene, Ore.
Texas Southern
In beating Mount St. Mary’s 6052, it was only the second time the Tigers won in the round of the First Four. The Tigers earned the berth by routing top-seeded Prairie View A&M 80-61 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship game. Guard Michael Weathers was named firstteam All-SWAC and conference newcomer of the year.
An attempt to play a spring football season lasted only two games for the Tigers because of COVID-19 protocols. In the fall, the Tigers gave coach Clarence McKinney his first victories as Tigers coach, going 3-8, highlighted by a 35-31 victory over Southern at the Arlington Showdown.
First baseman Oscar Ponce and pitcher Kam Fields were named All-SWAC second-team in baseball. Fields was picked in the 20th round of the MLB draft by Tampa Bay. Long jumper Kenneth Pree competed in the NCAA outdoor nationals. Outside hitter Thalia Cordero Moreno was named first-team AllSWAC in volleyball.
Houston Baptist
The Huskies advanced past the first round of the Southland Conference men’s basketball team.
This month, Ron Cottrell picked up his 500th career win. Kicker Gino Garcia and punter Brady Buell were first-team All-SLC on an 0-11 football team.
Marcelo Trevino finished sixth in the conference tournament in men’s golf. Kaitlin Smith became a two-time defending SLC pentathlon champion. Denim Rogers placed 15th in the decathlon at the NCAA indoor nationals. Triple jumper Christopher Welch was SLC indoor athlete of the year.
Prairie View A&M
Earlier this month, Prairie View (7-5) won the SWAC football West Division for the first time since 2009 and played in the conference championship game, losing to Jackson State 27-10. Two days later, Panthers coach Eric Dooley left to take the position at Southern. Making the All-SWAC first-team were defensive lineman Jason Dumas and Drake Cheatum in the secondary.
For the third straight season, the men’s basketball team captured the SWAC regular season. Byron Smith received the Hugh Durham Award as mid-major coach of the year. The baseball team finished first in the SWAC West.