UTSA’s Claunch to open the season against a ‘Phi Slama Jama’ legend

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Thirty-five-year-old UTSA coach Austin Claunch cut his teeth on the game of basketball in Houston, a decade or so removed from the crowd that grew up with ‘Phi Slama Jama’ in the 1980s.

Back in the day, while center Hakeem Olajuwon was perfecting the “Dream Shake” in the post under Coach Guy V. Lewis, he was flanked by the likes of Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, Larry Michaux and Michael Young.

At the University of Houston, the Phi Slama Jama Cougars reached the NCAA Final Four in 1983 and 1984 and established an identity that is remembered fondly today, even in an era when Coach Kelvin Sampson’s team always seems to arrive in March with 30 wins and a No. 1 seed.

All of which brings us around to Claunch and the second installment of his UTSA basketball reclamation project.

Young, once a burly, highly-skilled, left-handed shooting guard for the Cougars, is now in his second year as head coach of the nascent Houston-based program at the College of Biblical Studies.

His team, in its third year of existence, will be the opposition in the season opener for Claunch’s Roadrunners at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Convocation Center. Claunch said it’ll fun for him to coach against a guy with Young’s chops.

“Just understanding what he and those (Houston) teams did for the city,” Claunch said. “I would expect their team to play a lot like he did, just that pace, in that frenetic offensive style.”

“It’s going to be an interesting challenge on night one (for us), where (we’re) still trying to iron out some things defensively, and not turn the ball over … and be clean. I would imagine that they’re going to come in and push the pace.”

With 11 newcomers, the Roadrunners haven’t scratched the surface yet in becoming the team they hope to be.

They’ve lost twice to teams in the Southland Conference, first faltering in a neutral-site, closed scrimmage against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, and then coming up short with a spirited second-half comeback against the Incarnate Word Cardinals.

Claunch said his practices since the UIW exhibition have been good and that he’s excited for the week, which will include a home game Friday against SIU-Edwardsville.

“I just think we have a clear vision of what we need to do,” the coach said. “We’re much more clean on the things we expect. Our non-negotiables. And, obviously, when the lights turn on, you got to go perform. As coaches, we’ve got to have our guys better prepared.

“We certainly want to show that same fire and aggression that we have in practice, show that when the lights come on … I would expect to see that wholeheartedly on Wednesday and Friday.”

One bit of positive news for the Roadrunners has been the return to form of guard Austin Nunez, who sat out the UIW game with an undisclosed ailment.

A 6-foot-2 guard, the Arizona State transfer is expected to give the team a veteran presence, as well as a speed component.

“He’s been in (practice) all week and he looks great,” Claunch said. “He’ll be full go come Wednesday. He’s looked good. Listen, if (the exhibition) had been an NCAA tournament game, we probably would have gotten him out there.

“He really wanted to play, but knowing what we have coming up, what lies ahead, it was important for us to (hold him out). He’s such a competitor, and he’s only got one speed. He’s 100 percent every time he’s in the game.

“So, sometimes as a coach, you got to protect ’em from themself. He’s looked great in practice, and he’s ready to go. He’s excited for Wednesday.”

Nunez came out of high school in San Antonio at Wagner in 2022, when he averaged 28.5 points and 6.2 rebounds.

He spent his first season in college at Arizona State, transferred to Ole Miss the next year and then returned to Arizona State last year.

Coming up

Wednesday – College of Biblical Studies at UTSA men, 6 p.m.
Thursday – UTSA women at Texas Tech, 6 p.m.
Friday – SIUE at UTSA men, 12:30 p.m.
Saturday – UTSA women at Houston, 7 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners men on Friday will host SIU-Edwardsville, an Ohio Valley Conference team that won 22 games and reached the NCAA tournament last season.

UTSA’s Aston hopes for a new arena to bolster her program’s continued success

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Karen Aston. The UTSA women's basketball teams celebrates at the Convocation Center after winning the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday, March 1, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston took over a team in 2021 that had just won two games. Last spring, in her fourth season on campus, the Roadrunners won a school-record 26 and the American Conference regular-season title. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Coming off a season that illuminated meteoric growth in UTSA women’s basketball, university officials over the summer awarded Coach Karen Aston with a five-year contract extension that will run through 2029-30.

It was an easy decision to make.

In 2020-21, the year before the coach arrived at UTSA, the Roadrunners were way down with a 2-18 record. Under Aston’s guidance, they won seven games in her first season and 13 more the next year.

The Roadrunners won 18 in 2023-24 and a school-record 26 last year, to go along with an American Conference regular-season title. Obviously, the next big hurdle to clear will be an NCAA tournament berth.

But after what the Roadrunners have accomplished lately, that doesn’t seem like a bridge too far.

Talking with the media on Monday, a few days before her teams opens Thursday night in Lubbock against Texas Tech, Aston outlined areas in which she’d like to see UTSA women’s basketball continue to grow.

The first thing she mentioned was a new competition arena.

“One area, and this is a giant, big-picture item, but obviously I would love to see a new arena one day, or some type of renovation to the Convocation Center, just because I think it would make a considerable difference down the road,” she said.

“However,” the coach added, “short term, we’re going to open up a new practice facility (next year) and I think that’s going to be a huge stride for both basketball programs, not just women. I mean, volleyball included.”

While there aren’t any concrete plans for a new competition arena, the practice facility is scheduled to open next November.

“It’s a game changer for us to have places to practice at any point (in the day) and not have accommodation problems like we do have right now, so I’m thankful that that’s going to open up,” she said. “I think it’s going to enhance our program.”

After setting records for attendance last season, Aston wants her team to remain one that fans continue to embrace.

“Big picture, I think there’s a lot to that,” she said. “You want to stay consistent with how your product looks. Our team is going to look a lot different (this season) as far as the people that are in the spots — the starting spots, the people that come off the bench.

“Our team’s going to look dramatically different because the players are different. But you hope that the style and product … stays the same. (That) people enjoy watching the team play and watching our young ladies compete.”

Over the offseason, Aston lost some key players to the transfer portal, including Sidney Love and Aysia Proctor.

She said she’d like to see renewed emphasis on fundraising to grow the team’s capacity to compensate athletes.

“We talk about culture, and that’s an easy word to talk about, but but it’s hard to sustain sometimes. You know, especially with the portal and having new teams just about every year.

“I didn’t even anticipate our team being as new as it is this year. We had some injuries. We had unexpected transfers that I didn’t anticipate. So our team looks a little different.

“You have to maintain a culture that goes along with that. A playing style. A way of doing things. So I hope we can stay consistent with that and stay competitive.”

Aston’s comments on fundraising echoed those offered last weekend by football coach Jeff Traylor.

“I think the last piece of being able to (remain competitive) is continual fundraising. You know, Jeff talks about it. And I think every coach that sits down in the chair that I’m in right now is going to talk about that.

“It’s the landscape that we live in. So I think that for us to stay competitive in the league that we’re in, we have to be competitive with rev share (revenue sharing), and that’s fundraising on everybody’s part, including mine.

“I mean, we have to do whatever the job pertains to, to bring the players in here, or retain players that make big leaps (in performance). You know, I anticipate a couple of (our) players this year making really big leaps.

“For us to stay competitive, we need to retain ’em. So I think that stays in the forefront until something changes in the landscape.”

Women’s college basketball: San Antonio area athletes in NCAA Division I

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Mia Hammonds. The UTSA women's basketball team beat St. Mary's 90-38 in an exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Mia Hammonds, a 6-3 UTSA sophomore from Steele High School, is expected to play a leading role for the defending champions in the American Conference. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Editors note: Texas State guard Deja Jones and Houston guard Kayla King have been added to the original list, bringing the total of San Antonio area players in Division I women’s basketball to at least 23.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

At least 23 athletes from the San Antonio area are expected to suit up this season in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.

Moreover, at least 10 will play for teams in power conferences, including headliners such as redshirt junior Carleigh Wenzel at Virginia Tech, senior Sidney Love at Texas Tech, sophomore Rian Forestier at Southern Cal and redshirt freshman Arianna Roberson at Duke.

Love is a transfer from UTSA in her first year at Texas Tech of the Big 12.

With full disclosure, this list might not be complete with names of every women’s basketball player from the city in Division I. We might have missed a few. At the same time, we feel like we’ve identified most of them, while promising to add names as new information comes to light:

San Antonio area women in NCAA Division I basketball:
2025-26 season

Averi Aaron, Louisiana Tech, 6-1 sophomore forward from Boerne HS

Hailey Adams, Rice, 6-1 redshirt junior guard from Clark HS

Rian Forestier, Southern Cal, 5-11 sophomore guard from Brandeis HS

Mia Hammonds, UTSA, 6-3 sophomore guard from Steele HS

Natalie Huff, Southeastern Louisiana, 5-7 redshirt freshman guard from Clark HS; transfer from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Madison Hurta, Houston Baptist, 5-9 sophomore guard from New Braunfels (homeschool)

Christeen Iwuala, Ole Miss, 6-3 senior forward from Reagan HS, also, Waco Midway; transfer from UCLA

Vivian Iwuchukwu, Southern Cal, 6-2 sophomore forward from Cole HS, also from Montverde, Fla.

Deja Jones, Texas State, 5-9 graduate student guard from East Central HS, transfer from Indiana State, previously at UTSA

Kayla King, Houston, 5-10 freshman guard from Judson HS

Sidney Love, Texas Tech, 5-8 senior guard from Steele HS, transfer from UTSA

Amira Mabry, Tulane, 6-0 senior forward from Judson HS

Kalysta ‘Bird’ Martin, Texas Tech, 6-2 sophomore guard from Providence Catholic School

Mia Ramos, Southeastern Louisiana, 5-7 freshman guard from Brandeis HS

Alexis Parker, Lamar, 5-9 senior guard from Brandeis HS; transfer from UTSA

Aysia Proctor, North Texas, 5-8 junior guard from Clemens HS; transfer from UTSA

Aaliyah Roberson, TCU, 6-2 junior forward from Clark HS

Arianna Roberson, Duke, 6-4 redshirt freshman from Clark HS

Taylor Ross, UTSA, 6-0 sophomore forward from Brennan HS

Jordyn Weaver, Tulane, 5-11 graduate student forward from Wagner; transfer from Queens University (N.C.)

Sedelia Wilson-Larkin, Incarnate Word, freshman forward from Saint Mary’s Hall

Sammie Wagner, Oregon, 6-1 redshirt junior guard-forward from Reagan HS

Carleigh Wenzel, Virginia Tech, 6-0 redshirt junior guard from O’Connor HS and Antonian HS

Men’s college basketball: Identifying San Antonio-area athletes in NCAA Division I

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With the college basketball season set to tip off Monday, it’s time to roll out the annual list of San Antonio-area athletes in NCAA Division I.

Zach Clemence

Zach Clemence, a San Antonio native, scored 20 points in Texas A&M’s 95-88 exhibition victory over Arizona State.

First, we’ll take a look at the men, noting as usual that we likely don’t have everyone from San Antonio on this list. At the same time, we feel like we’ve identified most of them, while promising to add names as new information comes to light:

San Antonio area men in NCAA Division I basketball
2025-26 season

L.J. Brown, UTSA, a 6-2 redshirt senior guard from Johnson HS

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Minnesota, a 6-8 junior forward from Warren HS, a transfer from Colorado State; previously at Arkansas-Little Rock

Kendrick De Luna, Cal State-Fullerton, a 6-10 junior forward from TMI Episcopal

Damarion Dennis, Wyoming, a 6-1 sophomore guard from Veterans Memorial High School, a transfer from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Kingston Flemings, Houston, a 6-4 freshman guard from Brennan HS

Caleb Gaston, Houston Christian, a 6-7 junior forward from MacArthur HS

Christian Green, Stephen F. Austin, a 6-6 guard/forward from Veterans Memorial; transfer from Trinity University

Kaden Gumbs, Texas State, a 6-2 junior guard from San Marcos High School

LaTrell Hoover, Texas Tech, a 7-0 freshman forward from Clemens HS

Vincent Iwuchukwu, Georgetown, a 7-1 senior center, formerly of Cole HS, La Lumiere, Ind., Montverde Academy, Fla., Southern California Academy, a transfer from St. John’s; previously Southern Cal.

Langston Love, Georgetown, a 6-5 grad student guard from Steele HS, Montverde Academy, Fla.; a transfer from Baylor

Jordan Mason, Temple, a 6-3 senior guard from Clark HS, a transfer from Illinois-Chicago; previously at Texas State

Former Cole High School standout Vincent Iwuchukwu is playing for the Georgetown Hoyas.

Austin Nunez, UTSA, a 6-2 senior guard from Wagner HS, a transfer from Arizona State; previously Mississippi and Arizona State

Juan Reyna, Santa Clara, a 6-3 graduate senior guard from Antonian; also Duncanville HS; a transfer from Jackson State; formerly of Alabama State, Campbell and UTSA

Aidan Richard, Holy Cross, a 6-6 sophomore forward from Reagan HS

Athletes from San Antonio who played in high school out of the area

Zach Clemence, Texas A&M, a 6-11 grad student forward, San Antonio native, from Sunrise Christian (Kan.), a transfer from the University of Kansas

UTSA’s Claunch laments ‘unacceptable’ effort against UIW

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Dorian Hayes. UTSA men's basketball played Incarnate Word (UIW) in an exhibition game on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman Dorian Hayes started at point guard and finished with eight points and five rebounds. .- Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Austin Claunch started his postgame news conference Saturday afternoon with an admission. “I got to be honest,” the coach of the UTSA men’s basketball team said. “I thought we were going to play better.”

A week after coming up short in a closed scrimmage against Stephen F. Austin, the Roadrunners lost again, this time in front of an announced 1,361 fans on their home court.

In an exhibition billed as the “San Antonio Challenge,” the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals showed they were the best NCAA Division I men’s team in the city at the moment.

Coach Austin Claunch at UTSA men's basketball practice at the Convocation Center on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. - photo by Joe Alexander

Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch wasn’t happy with the outcome of Saturday’s exhibition, saying the Cardinals were better ‘in every facet’ of the game. – File photo by Joe Alexander

They ran up leads as large as 21 points in the first half, fended off a UTSA rally after intermission and won 87-76.

In a surprisingly strong performance from a team in the lower-rated Southland Conference, the Cardinals out-shot, out-rebounded and clearly out-hustled the Roadrunners, who play in the American.

Claunch credited UIW coach Shane Heirman and his players for their effort.

“We knew they were going to be really, really good,” Claunch said. “They’re obviously picked near the top of their league, and (they have) a lot of returners on a team that won (19) games last year, projected to win at least that many this year and be really good.

“But, for us to start the way we did (in) the first eight minutes of the game, there’s no excuse for that, (and) it falls back on the head coach. Falls back on everybody. I mean, it’s everyone involved. I’m the head of the operation, and I’m pissed. I’m pissed, and we need to go meet right now as a (coaching) staff.”

With a smaller team, UIW out-rebounded UTSA, 51-36. In the first half, when they built leads as large as 32-11 and 39-18, the Cardinals shot a sizzling 54 percent from the field. The Roadrunners, in turn, shot only 32 percent in the first 20 minutes.

“We got to do better,” Claunch said. “I mean, this is unacceptable, to have that effort in front of our home crowd. There was a good turnout, too.

“It’s just they were better in every facet of the game. More prepared. Better coached. Tougher. Better disciplined. Better energy.”

The coach ended his opening statement with a vow. “You’ll see a different team in 10 days,” Claunch said.

UTSA opens the regular season on Nov. 5 at home against the Houston-based College of Biblical Studies.

UTSA freshman guard Dorian Hayes said he saw some positives in the experience, knowing that the Roadrunners did make a run in the second half.

“I think some positive takeaway is that when we did go down, we did show some fight,” said Hayes, who finished with eight points and five rebounds in 29 minutes. “So I do think in the future, that could be good for us.

“It shows that we can embrace adversity, and I do think that we do have some guys who came off the bench and really gave us positive minutes. It just shows that they could flourish in their roles, and it doesn’t matter if they’re starting or if they’re coming off the bench.”

According to the statistics, the two most productive players among the Roadrunners were players who didn’t start — shooting guard Brent Moss and power forward Daniel Akitoby. Both led the team in the plus/minus column with a plus seven.

Moss, a 6-6 junior transfer from Barton College (Kan.), finished with a team-high 14 points on five of 11 shooting from the field. The native of The Bahamas, who moved to Lima, Ohio six years ago, also had a couple of rebounds to go along with three steals.

Akitoby, a 6-9 transfer from Morgan State, had eight points and four rebounds in only 10 minutes.

Among the UTSA starters, guard Jamir Simpson scored 12 points and Kaidon Rayfield added 10. Simpson hit a couple of threes from beyond the arc.

“I think Brent played really well tonight,” Hayes said. “He’s the one that really got us going defensively. Like, as far as energy, he’s the one that really stepped up. He forced a backcourt (violation) and got a couple of steals, hit some big-time shots. I really think he was the spark for today’s game.”

Highly-touted TCU transfer Vasean Allette, battling through illness and injury recently, finished with two points and six assists in 16 minutes. Austin Nunez, a former schoolboy star at Wagner High School in San Antonio, was out with an undisclosed injury and did not dress out.

Love Bettis led five UIW players in double figures with 16 points. Davion Bailey added 15, including four of nine from three-point range. The Cardinals shot 44.9 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from distance.

First half

Led by guards Davion Bailey and Harold Woods, the fast-breaking Cardinals raced to a 49-33 halftime lead.

UIW controlled the pace with its hustling style, out-rebounding UTSA, forcing mistakes and then running off their defense.

The Cardinals held an 18-7 lead at intermission on fast break points. In rebounding, they led 24-16.

Bailey led the Cardinals in the half with 13 points. The 6-foot-4 guard hit four of his eight attempts from beyond the three-point arc.

Woods, a 6-5 senior, scored 10 points on five of nine shooting. For the half, the Cardinals shot 54.5 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from distance.

Starting lineups

The Roadrunners started guards Dorian Hayes and Jamir Simpson, forwards Kaidon Rayfield and Macaleab Rich and center Stanley Borden.

The Cardinals went with Marcus Glover, Tahj Staveskie, Davion Bailey, Jordan Pyke and Harold Woods.

Nunez and Pierce Spencer, two point guards, are both expected to be ready to play for the season opener. Nunez has played previously at Arizona State and Ole Miss. Spencer played for Claunch at Nicholls State.

UTSA romps to a 106-51 victory over Texas A&M-San Antonio

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Mia Hammonds. UTSA women's basketball beat A&M-San Antonio 106-51 in an exhibition game on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Mia Hammonds, a sophomore from Steele High School, led UTSA with 24 points. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Sophomore forward Mia Hammonds scored a game-high 24 points Saturday as the new-look UTSA women’s basketball team stormed to a 106-51 exhibition victory over the NAIA Texas A&M-San Antonio Jaguars.

UTSA is opening a new era in women’s basketball, playing without Jordyn Jenkins, a two-time conference player of the year. Jenkins played out her eligibility after last season, when the Roadrunners won a conference title and constructed a 26-5 record.

“Hard to believe it’s already basketball season,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “It came pretty fast for us. We were really looking forward to playing in a game today … In my opinion, we’re kind of a blank canvas. I think we’ll kind of make our own path.

“It’ll be different than last year. I’m looking forward to seeing how they grow.”

Third quarter

With the UTSA defense continuing to pressure A&M-San Antonio into mistakes and missed shots, the Roadrunners rolled 25-10 in the quarter behind sophomore center Emilia Dannebauer’s seven points.

UTSA, limiting the visiting team to 25 percent shooting for the game, took an 81-41 lead into the fourth period. It was the game’s largest lead to that point. The Roadrunners were shooting 37.1 percent through three periods.

Halftime

UTSA sophomore wing Mia Hammonds came alive with 12 points in the second quarter as the Roadrunners expanded their lead to as many as 29. They went into the dressing room at intermission leading 56-31.

Jayda Holiman hit a three-pointer off the wing and Idara Udo muscled inside for a layup to cap a decisive 22-2 run late in the quarter.

First quarter

The Jaguars jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the opening two minutes, only to see the Roadrunners retaliate. By the end of the period, the Roadrunners had pushed out in front, 25-18, behind six points each from senior Cheyenne Rowe and freshman Adriana Robles.

The Roadrunners started the game with Ereauna Hardaway at point guard. Damara Allen and Mia Hammonds played on the wings, with Cheyenne Rowe and Idara Udo down low.

Pregame

The UTSA women are on the court, preparing to host the NAIA Texas A&M-San Antonio Jaguars at the Convocation Center. The game is part of the San Antonio Challenge, with the UTSA men set to host Incarnate Word later this afternoon.

Notable

UTSA had nine players dressed and warming up to play in the pre-game, including Emilia Dannebauer, Damara Allen, Mia Hammonds, Sanaa Bean, Jayda Holiman, Adriana Robles, Cheyenne Rowe, Idara Udo and Ereauna Hardaway.

Not dressed were Sema Udo, Siena Guttadauro, Saher Alizada, Nyayongah Gony, Taylor Ross and Maya Linton.

A&M-San Antonio established its athletic program in 2020. The Jaguars played their first season of men’s and women’s basketball last year. A&M-San Antonio women finished 18-12 and 14-10 in the Red River Athletic Conference. The Jags’ coach is Chris Minner.

Face in the crowd

Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox attended the game and sat in one of the courtside seats. He spent most of the intermission taking pictures with fans.

UTSA men try to reverse fortunes by following ‘the code’

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Baboucarr Njie. UTSA basketball Rowdy Jam on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA sophomore Baboucarr Njie and his older brother, Mo, are two of UTSA’s four players returning from last year. UTSA finished 12-19 in 2024-25, in Austin Claunch’s first season as coach. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Over the past few weeks, members of the UTSA men’s basketball team have talked about what has been described as their three “pillars” philosophy.

“Embrace adversity. (Strive to) be a great teammate,” they say. And, finally, “earn the right to win every day.”

It’s what one player has called “the code” to live by as the Roadrunners try to reverse the fortunes of a program that has suffered through four straight losing seasons.

“At the end of the day, we want to be able to win a championship and make it to March Madness,” UTSA sophomore Baboucarr Njie said at the American Conference tip-off event a few weeks ago. “I feel like living by the code each and every day, we’ll be able to get there.”

Most players this year are new to UTSA.

On the 15-player roster that will be unveiled Saturday afternoon in a home exhibition against the University of the Incarnate Word, 11 have never suited up in a game for the Roadrunners.

Playing the second game of an exhibition doubleheader — the UTSA women will tip off against Texas A&M-San Antonio at 1 p.m., followed by the men against UIW at 3:30 p.m. — the team will take the floor at the Convocation Center.

It’ll be opening day in an effort to convince skeptics in their own fanbase that they can re-write a troubling narrative that has been dogging Roadrunners men’s basketball for more than a dozen years.

Ever since UTSA started football and departed from the Southland Conference, men’s basketball has struggled.

The Roadrunners, starting in 2012-13, have stacked 10 losing seasons out of 13 in leagues ranging from the Western Athletic Conference (for one year), Conference USA (for 10) and the American (for the last two).

Even though most players in coach Austin Claunch’s second year on campus have just arrived on campus, at least one player says that they all know the story.

“Obviously UTSA hasn’t had very great seasons in the past couple of years, and our team knows that,” former San Antonio schoolboy standout Austin Nunez said. “So, we’re trying to (come in) with a different mentality, of just trying to go at whoever is in front of us.”

The game against UIW will not count on UTSA’s record. But it’s a jumping off point to the regular season, which will open Nov. 5 at home against the College of Biblical Studies.

The first game against NCAA Division I competition will come on Nov. 7 against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Ever since the release of the American’s preseason poll a few weeks ago, UTSA players have been irritated with being picked 11th.

“My expectations are to win 20 games,” said Nunez, an all-state player at Wagner High School. “And, you know, you win 20 games and you’re in a great spot. That’s definitely the goal.”

The Roadrunners won 12 games last year and only 43 over the past four years, so a 20-win season would be a breakthrough.

“That’s something the school hasn’t done in a long time,” Nunez said. “Getting there is going to put us in the spot that we want to be in. And from there, we got to just take care of the rest.”

Claunch said his players, who have been together practicing since June, are eager to get their season started.

“Guys are just ready to go,” Claunch said. “Guys are ready to play. It’s kind of time of year that you’re in that scrimmage-exhibition kind of mode, and guys are excited to see somebody else (on the court).”

Mo Njie, a 6-foot-11 grad student, returns as one of the leaders of the team.

After going through Claunch’s offseason last summer, Babourcarr Njie’s older brother knows all about the pillars of success and, particularly, about the meaning of embracing of adversity.

He sat out most of last year with a foot injury.

Asked to explain the second pillar, to describe what it means to be a good teammate, center Mo Njie said it mostly boils down to just doing the right things on a day-to-day basis for the benefit of everyone in the locker room.

“Really, it goes on and off the floor,” he said. “Looking out for each other through ups and downs. Somebody dives on the floor, be the first person to sprint over and pick him up. Clapping for them, your know.

“Whether you’re playing or not, having a good mentality. Being positive. Have positive body language. Just being a good person overall. It doesn’t really take much to be a great teammate, but it’s something that is very under mind for a lot of people.”

What about earning the right to win, and doing it on a daily basis?

“You know, winning is not easy,” Mo Njie said. “You got to be able to come in every single day. You got to be disciplined. You got to be consistent and you got to be able to do whatever it takes to win. That means the little things, too.”

The little things?

“Guys got to get into the gym every day and get extra shots,” he said. “Communicate with each other on an elite level in practice. It’s going to mean a lot in the big games.

“Like, we got a lot of big games coming up in Alabama, Colorado and whatnot, so, going into those environments, we’re going to have to do the little things to put us on top in those games.”

Coming up

The San Antonio Challenge will tip off on Saturday at the Convocation Center, with Texas A&M-San Antonio playing the UTSA women at 1 p.m., followed by Incarnate Word against the UTSA men at 3:30 p.m.

Fresh off a historic season, UTSA baseball plays its Fall World Series

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Robert Orloski. Game 1 of UTSA baseball's fall series on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Robert Orloski rocks and fires Friday afternoon in Game 1 of UTSA baseball’s fall series at Roadrunner Field. – photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA baseball team achieved a number of firsts last spring in a historic season under Coach Pat Hallmark. Hallmark’s Roadrunners won a school-record 47 games. In winning the American Conference regular-season title, they earned the program’s first berth in the NCAA tournament since 2013.

Once there, the Roadrunners won a regional for the first time in school history. In a stirring weekend in the Capital City, the Roadrunners beat Kansas State and then knocked off the NCAA tournament’s No. 2-seeded Texas Longhorns twice to win the Austin Regional.

The best season in school history came to an end on the West Coast, with the team losing two straight to the 15th-seeded UCLA Bruins.

On Friday at Roadrunner Field, Hallmark’s team split up into sides and played the first game of the annual Fall World Series. Game 2 is set for Saturday afternoon at 3. Game 3, if necessary, would be Sunday at 1 p.m.

UTSA, continuing the fall schedule, hosts Alvin CC on Friday, Oct. 31. UTSA will close out its fall slate, facing off against Navarro on Friday, Nov. 7.

Andrew Stucky. Game 1 of UTSA baseball's fall series on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Catcher Andrew Stucky, who emerged as a key player in UTSA’s run of success last spring, catches in the first game of the Fall World Series. – photo by Joe Alexander

Conor Myles. Game 1 of UTSA baseball's fall series on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Lefthander Conor Myles works the first game of a three-game weekend intrasquad series at Roadrunner Field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Defending champion UTSA women are faced with injury concerns

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The defending conference champion UTSA Roadrunners were happy Tuesday night with the turnout to their annual preseason potluck supper with fans and boosters. In Coach Karen Aston’s first year on campus, she said only about 10 people attended.

Leading into her fifth season, the event has grown, with dozens of people in the stands watching practice and later gathering at tables spread out over one of the side courts at the Convocation Center.

There, they shared laughs, pasta and other assorted home-made dishes.

Clouding an otherwise light mood, a ripple of concern centered on a growing number of injuries leading into Saturday’s home exhibition against Texas A&M-San Antonio, which will be followed by a regular-season opener on Nov. 6 in Lubbock against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

In an afternoon practice that lasted less than an hour, only eight of 15 players on the roster were active and going through drills on halfcourt offense.

Among those sitting out were young standouts Taylor Ross and Sema Udo, who were both wearing leg braces and walking with the aid of crutches. Another concern is forward Maya Linton, one of the best defensive players in the American.

Aston didn’t want to go into the specifics on the injury situation.

“We’ll make some announcements,” the coach said. “We’ve got some season-ending injuries. So we’ll make probably a collective announcement before our first regular-season game.

“We don’t want to do it right now. We don’t want to disclose the information before we go to Lubbock. But we will do it. We’re not going to try and keep anything from anybody because they’re season ending.”

Junior center Idara Udo was the only starter from last year’s 26-win team to participate in practice on Tuesday.

Others working out were returning players Mia Hammonds, Damara Allen and Emilia Dannebauer, plus transfers Ereauna Hardaway and Jayda Holiman and freshmen Adriana Robles and Sanaa Bean.

Among the other notables sitting out the practice was Cheyenne Rowe, who was wearing a walking boot. Both Rowe and Linton were major contributors on a team that forged a 17-1 record in conference last season.

Starters from last year who have moved on in their careers are Jordyn Jenkins, Nina De Leon Negron and Sidney Love. While both Jenkins and De Leon Negron are pursuing professional careers, Love is now playing for UTSA’s opening-day opponent — Texas Tech.

UTSA men aim for success with a bigger, more physical team

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Daniel Akitoby. UTSA basketball Rowdy Jam on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Daniel Akitoby, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward, comes to UTSA from Morgan State University. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA coach Austin Claunch is hardly one to dwell on old news, but evidence exists that his first season as head coach of the UTSA Roadrunners wasn’t as disheartening as the record would indicate.

The Roadrunners finished 12-19 overall, and they tied for ninth among 13 teams in the American Conference at 6-12.

But for context, consider that two of his players were lost for the season due to injury and three others left the program prior to the final game for non-injury related reasons.

For most of the last few months, the Roadrunners played with post players that were 6-feet-10 and 6-9.

In the end, they traveled to Frisco for the conference tournament as the 11th seed — with eight on scholarship — and nearly knocked off the sixth-seeded East Carolina Pirates before falling, 70-65.

It was a painful end, though almost fitting, as UTSA was 1-8 in games decided by single digits since the first week of February.

“I think any time you play through the league one time, it’s important,” Claunch said in his office Friday afternoon. “Every league is different. I think this is a physical league. It’s a strong league.

“It’s a relatively athletic league.

“So, with us (recruiting) more size and athleticism (this season), hopefully that can manufacture more wins, by way of getting to the free-throw line more, offensive rebounding better and defensive rebounding better.

“We just need to be a more physical group.”

As anyone who attended the Rowdy Jam event for fans on Thursday night can attest, UTSA is a much bigger team than last year, with taller and longer athletes at every position.

The Roadrunners are set to play their one and only closed scrimmage of the fall on Saturday and then will host Incarnate Word on Oct. 25 in an exhibition.

UTSA’s season opener is Nov. 5 at home against the College of Biblical Studies, a third-year program based in Houston coached by former University of Houston star Michael Young.

Claunch seems pleased with his team’s progress since he welcomed most of the new players to campus in June.

“We’re building our identity on both sides of the ball, what we want to do, how we want to play,” Claunch said. “I think we’re starting to see it a little more. Just getting the shots we want to get offensively, the pace that we want to play, you know, how we want to execute.”

A focus for the Roadrunners during summer workouts centered around defense after last year’s squad finished 12th in the American in points allowed and field goal shooting and 11th in three-point percentage.

“Defensively we’re looking at, obviously, improving from where we were last year, (working on) how we’re going to guard the ball screen,” the coach said. “I just think we got to use our collective length better than we did last year.”

Guard Vasean Allette, a junior transfer from TCU, appears to be the player to watch this season.

“I still really don’t know who’s going to start,” Claunch said. “We’ll look at some different things tomorrow (in the scrimmage). I think we have a really deep team. I think we have to lean into that.

“I think we got to embrace the fact that we’re really deep and understand that that’s going to be a big part of our success.”

UTSA roster

Dorian Hayes 6-5 freshman guard
Kaidon Rayfield 6-8 freshman forward
Austin Nunez 6-2 senior guard
Vasean Allette 6-2 junior point guard
Brent Moss 6-6 junior guard/forward
Pierce Spencer 6-3 graduate guard
Macaleab Rich 6-7 junior guard/forward
Jamir Simpson 6-5 graduate guard
x-LJ Brown 6-2 redshirt senior guard
x-Mo Njie 6-11 graduate center
Daniel Akitoby 6-9 graduate forward
Stanley Borden 7-0 graduate center
Matheo Coffi 6-8 freshman forward
x-Baboucarr Njie 6-6 sophomore forward/guard
x-Jackson Fazande 6-3 redshirt sophomore forward