Tag Archives: FAU Owls

Baseball: UTSA clinches AAC series victory over Florida Atlantic

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Ty Hodge.

Ty Hodge makes a play at shortstop Saturday as UTSA defeats the FAU Owls 7-3 at Roadrunner Field, beating the visitors twice in two days and improving to 22-7 on the season. UTSA is 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Drew Detlefsen belted two home runs and carried UTSA past the FAU Owls 7-3 on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field, clinching a series victory over one of the top-rated teams in the American Athletic Conference.

Both teams entered the series ranked among the AAC’s best in the NCAA Division I baseball RPI. UTSA was No. 71 nationally and FAU was No. 78, so the Roadrunners have likely earned some respect after coming from behind twice in two days to win.

On Friday, they fell behind 5-1 but rallied to claim a 10-7 victory. On Saturday, FAU jumped out to a 3-0 lead but could not hold off UTSA. Detlefsen and Caden Miller led the charge. Detlefsen hit a solo homer in the fourth and a three-run shot in the seventh.

Miller had sacrifice flies in the fifth and the seventh.

Starting pitcher Braylon Owens worked four innings and gave up three runs, giving way to relievers Christian Okerholm, Connor Kelley and Rob Orloski, who combined to shut out the explosive Owls the rest of the way.

Okerholm started the fifth inning and yielded three hits in 2 and 2/3. Kelley (1-0) earned his first victory of the season, striking out two and keeping FAU hitless for 1 and 1/3. Orloski pitched a clean ninth with one strikeout.

Righthander Tyler Murphy (2-2) took the loss, though he pitched well in stretches, going six innings, giving up four runs and eight hits.

Marshall Lypsey and Jake Duer, two of the top hitters in the AAC, had two hits each for the Owls. John Schroeder clubbed a two-run homer off Owens in the third inning to give FAU a 3-0 lead.

Records

FAU 19-8, 2-3
UTSA 22-7, 4-1

Coming up

FAU at UTSA, Sunday at noon
UTSA at TCU, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Notable

Detlefsen, a junior college transfer from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College, is batting .355 for the season. He leads the Roadrunners with eight home runs and 48 RBI in 29 games. He’s been hot this week with seven hits in 14 at bats, with three doubles and two homers. In a game against Texas State Tuesday, he exploded for four hits and seven RBI. He had four RBI on Saturday against FAU.

Baseball: Roadrunners win series opener against the FAU Owls

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UTSA celebrates after Caden Miller (34) hit a home run in the third inning. UTSA rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to beat Florida Atlantic 10-7 in American Athletic Conference baseball at Roadrunner Field on Friday, March 28, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA celebrates after Caden Miller (34) hits a home run in the third inning of a 10-7 victory over the Florida Atlantic University Owls. UTSA rallied from a 5-1 deficit to win the opener of a three-game series at Roadrunner Field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Freshman Caden Miller collected two hits, drove in four runs and bashed his sixth homer of the season Friday as UTSA rallied for a 10-7 victory over the Florida Atlantic University Owls at Roadrunner Field.

Falling behind 5-1 after two innings and trailing 6-3 entering their at bat in the bottom of the fourth, the Roadrunners kept battling and pulled out the victory in the first game of a three-game series against the Owls.

Andrew Stucky celebrates after scoring to cut FAU's lead to 6-5 in the sixth inning. UTSA rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to beat Florida Atlantic 10-7 in American Athletic Conference baseball at Roadrunner Field on Friday, March 28, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Andrew Stucky shows his emotions after scoring to cut FAU’s lead to 6-5 in the sixth inning. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s first home series in AAC play will continue with Game Two on Saturday at 4 p.m. and the finale on Sunday at noon.

Miller had a big day offensively and did a little of everything to help the team win. In the first inning, he was hit by a pitch and scored. In the third, he belted a two-run homer to trim FAU’s lead to 5-3.

He struck out looking in the fourth, but in the sixth, he roped a two-run double that highlighted a three-run outburst, giving UTSA the lead for good, 7-6. In the eighth, he was hit by a pitch again and scored in a most unconventional way.

On first base to lead off the inning, he moved to second on Mason Lytle’s single through the left side and to third on James Taussig’s sacrifice bunt. After another walk issued by FAU pitching, the bases were loaded with Norris McClure at the plate.

During McClure’s at bat, FAU catcher Ayden Garcia received a pitch behind the plate. As he was tossing it back to relief pitcher Kide Adetyui, Miller started sprinting toward home plate.

Adetyui threw home trying to cut off the run but sailed the ball high over the catcher’s outstretched glove, allowing Miller to score easily on what was scored as a throwing error, giving UTSA a 10-7 lead.

In the top of the ninth, UTSA reliever Robert Orloski retired three straight batters to end the game. Starting pitcher Zach Royse (2-3) was credited with the victory despite allowing six runs in six innings. Orloski worked the final 2 and 2/3 innings for the save.

Nathan Hodge. UTSA rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to beat Florida Atlantic 10-7 in American Athletic Conference baseball at Roadrunner Field on Friday, March 28, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA third baseman Nathan Hodge makes a play in the field during UTSA’s 10-7 victory over the FAU Owls. At the plate, Hodge walked twice and scored twice. — Photo by Joe Alexander

FAU reliever Steven Andrews (2-1) took the loss.

Marshall Lypsey highlighted FAU’s five-run second inning with a grand slam off Royse. Patrick Ward added a solo homer for the Owls in the eighth off Orloski. The Owls out-hit the Roadrunners, 10-7, with Lypsey, Ward and Brando Leroux getting two apiece.

Records

FAU 19-7, 2-2
UTSA 21-7, 3-1

Coming up

FAU at UTSA, Saturday, 4 p.m.
FAU at UTSA, Sunday, noon

Notable

With Miller’s two hits in three at bats, he raised his average to .322. UTSA freshman Jordan Ballin hiked his average to .357 with a two-for-three performance. He had RBI singles in the sixth and seventh innings.

UTSA women clinch an AAC regular-season title and a No. 1 tournament seed

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Jordyn Jenkins. 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

Jordyn Jenkins finishes cutting down the net at the Convocation Center after UTSA clinched the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Forget about all those losing seasons in years past. Turn down all the negative vibes. As of about 2 p.m. Saturday, the UTSA Roadrunners became champions. Undisputed champs. For real. They donned championship hats, danced in sprays of confetti and then cut down the nets at the Convocation Center.

Led by a subtle tour-de-force showing from star forward Jordyn Jenkins on Senior Day, the Roadrunners downed the FAU Owls 60-42 to win the American Athletic Conference women’s basketball title outright, establishing school records for wins in a season (25) and single-game attendance (2,250) in the process.

With only a Tuesday night road game at East Carolina remaining before the AAC tournament, the Roadrunners improved to an eye-popping 25-3 overall and to 16-1 in the conference. In addition, the team added to its burgeoning legacy in the program’s history by finishing the home schedule undefeated (13-0) for the first time since 1984-85.

“I think we all want to take a deep breath right now,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “It’s been a long journey, for sure. A lot of pressure, to be honest with you. Three quarters of the way through (the schedule) I think we knew we had a shot at this thing. I know the players have felt pressure.

“It’s been a pretty wonderful journey — and we’re not done yet. This is a pretty unbelievable experience for all of us.”

Next week, UTSA will enter the AAC tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Roadrunners have earned a double bye and will open play in the quarterfinals on Monday, March 10, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

In Fort Worth, they likely will need to win three games in three days to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament, which has always been the team’s ultimate goal. But for now, the Roadrunners will savor the present. And, by all measure, they have earned that luxury after winning eight games in a row and 18 of their last 19.

“I think this has been a goal of ours from the very beginning,” Jenkins said, “so finally tasting it is, like, surreal. I mean, like, confetti. What? But, no, it’s cool. Cutting the net down? All that. We kind of manifested this and have been working toward this goal. We’re now just living it.”

The festivities started early in the morning at the Convocation Center, with fans sitting in the parking lot, cooking food and listening to country music. A blow-up house in which kids could enter and bounce up and down on a sunny morning was part of the scene.

Inside the building, there was a distinctive bounce to the atmosphere, as well. By the time officials saluted seniors Jenkins and Nina De Leon Negron in a pre-game ceremony, fans had jammed the seats in the lower section.

Some were even watching from the upper section of seating, which has been unheard of at UTSA women’s basketball until this season, when the Roadrunners have suddenly become a talking point on social media.

Marketing has also been in overdrive, promoting the regular-season home finale as “The Last Dance,” with an image of Jenkins and De Leon Negron on a poster.

“I mean, I just feel like just celebrating this moment,” De Leon Negron said. “And, like, every single emotion I’ve been feeling, I feel like I never felt ’em before. It just feels like everything’s worth it. I’m just happy. I’m just really happy.”

Watching her teammates rolling on the floor in the confetti and all the fans mingling, shaking hands and making cell-phone photos, UTSA junior Sidney Love had a wide grin on her face, saying the championship had a spiritual meaning for her.

“It feels amazing,” Love said. “All our hard work just paid off. This is just a testament to that. We give all our glory to God, though. We got God first. It’s just an amazing feeling. He led us all the way here, and we’re going to keep going.”

For the Roadrunners, winning 89.3 percent of their games this season hasn’t always been as stress-free as Saturday’s clincher against the AAC’s last-place Owls, who never led. In fact, UTSA has won three in conference by two points.

In another, on the road against the second-tier Memphis Tigers, they trailed by 11 with 3:44 remaining, started a furious rally and ended up winning by nine. Reporters have asked the Roadrunners a compelling question in the wake of these gut-it-out victories. What makes them so tough?

“I don’t know,” Love said. “I just think we all have our eyes on the prize, and we’re all really determined to get to that goal.”

In the 68-team NCAA tournament, teams have two avenues into the field — either with an automatic bid as a reward for winning a conference tournament, or with an at-large bid.

In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings published Saturday morning, UTSA was ranked 73rd in the nation, with 20 non-power conference programs ranked higher, so it might be a long shot to think that the Roadrunners would have a realistic chance of getting an at-large bid.

Aston said UTSA and other top teams in the AAC should get consideration if they come up short of winning it all Fort Worth.

“I think the American is too good for a one-bid league,” she said. “I’m sorry. I can’t buy that, and I hope we get some recognition somewhere along the way.”

Regardless, the coach of the Roadrunners said she believes her team will be ready after being ousted in the semifinals last year. Aston’s best player said she is ready.

“I’m excited,” Jenkins said. “I know it’s going to be tough. Three games in three days. But, I played two games in two days twice this year. I feel like my body’s ready to get a third one in there.”

Records

Florida Atlantic 10-20, 2-15
UTSA 25-3, 16-1

Coming up

UTSA at East Carolina, Tuesday, 5 p.m.
(end of regular season)
UTSA at AAC tournament, in Fort Worth, March 10-12

Notable

The Roadrunners flexed their muscle as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation statistically, out-boarding the Owls 43-28, including 21-9 on the offensive glass. Because of the rebounding disparity, and also because of 19 FAU turnovers, UTSA took 20 more shots than the visitors. The Roadrunners were a modest 23 of 63 from the field. But the Owls were even more modest, 15 of 43.

Individuals

FAU – Guard Stefanie Ingram led the Owls with 17 points on six of 11 shooting. She hit four of six from three. The rest of the team couldn’t find the mark from behind the arc, shooting just two of 16. The Owls had only 10 players warming up before the game and all played

UTSA – Forward Jordyn Jenkins finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes. She also had two steals and two blocked shots. With Jenkins drawing attention from the defense, small forward Maya Linton hit three of the team’s seven three-point baskets and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Linton pulled down five boards on the offensive end. Sidney Love scored 10, all in the third quarter. Nina De Leon Negron, heralded in Senior Day ceremonies, finished with three points, six rebounds and three assists. Idara Udo and Cheyenne Rowe, key members of UTSA’s powerful frontcourt, each scored nine. Rowe hit three for five from the field, boosting her field goals to 12 for 20 over the last four.

First half

The Roadrunners hit four of their last six shots from the field to open up a 29-18 lead at halftime. Included in the spree were three three-point shots, one each by Maya Linton, Cheyenne Rowe and Jordyn Jenkins.

After Senior Day a Senior Day ceremony in the pre-game, one of the seniors, Jenkins, produced nine points, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the half. The other, Nina De Leon Negron, had three points, four rebounds and three assists.

UTSA women hope to clinch AAC title outright on Saturday

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Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Tulsa 64-53 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Jordyn Jenkins is averaging an AAC-leading 18.7 points for the Roadrunners, who have forged a 24-3 record with two games remaining in the regular season. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

In a pre-game ceremony set for 11:40 a.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center, the UTSA Roadrunners will honor forward Jordyn Jenkins and guard Nina De Leon on a Senior Day spiced with championship implications.

Afterward, the UTSA women will tip off at noon against the Florida Atlantic University Owls, hoping to win and clinch sole ownership of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament.

If they beat the Owls, they could lose in the regular-season finale on Tuesday at East Carolina and still finish ahead of both the South Florida Bulls and the North Texas Mean Green in the standings.

Nina De Leon Negron. UTSA women's basketball beat Sam Houston State 79-36 on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Point guard Nina De Leon Negron has contributed 9.6 points, 5.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds for the Roadrunners, who have already clinched at least a share of the AAC regular-season title. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Earlier this week, the Roadrunners claimed at least a share of the championship, and now they want it all in front of a crowd that school officials hope will eclipse the school record attendance of 2,000.

Jenkins, who is making a strong bid for AAC Player of the Year honors, ever-so-cautiously declined to speculate on how it would feel to clinch at home.

“I would always say I’m trying to stay grounded and stay in the present, because it’s easy to get ahead of myself and already see confetti and already (see myself holding) the trophy above my head,” she said Friday afternoon. “So, I just try to think about what I’m going to have for dinner tonight.”

The AAC women’s tournament opens in Denton at the Super Pit on March 8. It will shift to Fort Worth and Dickies Arena on March 9. UTSA, with a double bye through the first two rounds, will open in the quarterfinals on March 10.

What the Roadrunners have accomplished is nothing short of remarkable. Picked in the preseason to finish fifth in the AAC, they have won 17 of their last 18 games for a 24-3 record. Their record in conference is a robust 15-1. Moreover, they’re 12-0 at home going into their final regular-season home game.

Still, they won’t be assured of an NCAA tournament berth unless they can win three in a row in Fort Worth for the automatic bid. It’s a thought that is troubling to coach UTSA coach Karen Aston.

“After going through this, I think it is tragic that conference (regular-season) champions don’t get automatic bids,” she said. “I mean, I’ve been processing all of this. Like, how do you keep us out of the tournament, if we don’t win the conference tournament?

“This is a team that has sustained excellence for a really long period of time, which is how you win a conference. You (probably need) some luck somewhere along the way. Which, we probably did at Memphis. But you also have something in you, to get through this whole 18-game process.

“I think that’s what I appreciate the most (about the Roadrunners). I want for them to win the (AAC) tournament. I want them to go to the NCAA tournament so bad, for them. But I am more proud of this. Because it’s so difficult … It takes a really special group to do what we’re doing.”

Aston said she doesn’t even want to start thinking about what it will be like once the season is over and Jenkins and De Leon Negron have moved on in their careers.

While Jenkins bounced back from a knee injury that caused her to sit out all but the final 17 games last year, De Leon Negron traveled a hard road, moving from her native Puerto Rico to the United States as a teenager, speaking mainly Spanish at the time, and then forging her college career at three schools.

Last summer, De Leon Negron joined the UTSA program as a transfer from the University of the Incarnate Word, from one San Antonio-based NCAA Division I program to another.

“I’m just trying to enjoy the journey with this group,” Aston said. “It’s one of those teams you’re going to look back on and, like, they don’t make ‘em like this very often. This is a group that I told (them) a month or two ago that they better enjoy this, because it just doesn’t come around like this very often.

“What I will appreciate most (about Jenkins and De Leon Negron) is their leadership, and it’s been constant,” the coach added. “It’s been Nina coming in and getting her feet wet and understanding what the team needed and Jordyn becoming Jordyn again, really, after what she went through (last year).

“They almost like met in the middle. In the middle of the summer, and they realized that we could be special and that they were going to take the reins of that. I mean, it’s their leadership Their numbers are great. Their performances are great, and all of that. But what I will appreciate most are the efforts they’ve made off the court to make this team really special.”

De Leon Negron lauded Aston, describing her as a caring mentor for everyone on the team.

“I want to shout out coach,” De Leon Negron said. “And I know Jordy feels the same way. Because we talk about this all the time. But with transfers … and experiencing different coaches, I always tell the girls, like, we get (to have) a good year.

“We have a coach that just cares about everybody.”

Speaking directly to the coach in the news conference, De Leon Negron told Aston, “It’s kind of like I want to tell you, I really appreciate you and every time I feel like I’m not good mentally and I come into your office, you always make me feel better. So, just never change . So always keep being that person for everybody.”

Blushing at her lead guard’s comments, Aston said, “I’m too old to change.”

Records

FAU 10-19, 2-14
UTSA 24-3, 15-1

Coming up

UTSA at East Carolina, Tuesday, 5 p.m.
(end of regular season)
UTSA in AAC tournament quarterfinals, at Fort Worth, Monday, March 10, opponent and time, TBA

FAU men rout the UTSA Roadrunners, 94-74, in Boca Raton

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The FAU Owls bolted to a 15-point halftime lead, built it to as many as 29 in the second half and then cruised to an easy 94-74 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners Wednesday in men’s college basketball.

In an American Athletic Conference game played at Boca Raton, Fla., guard KyKy Tandy scored 26 points to lead five FAU players in double figures.

The Owls shot 65 percent from the field in the second half and 54 percent for the game against the short-handed Roadrunners, who once again played with only eight scholarship players.

Tandy took the lead role in the offensive binge, hitting nine of 11 shots from the field and eight of 10 from the 3-point arc.

For the Roadrunners, six-foot-six guard Damari Monsanto continued his hot shooting, scoring 21 points on seven 3-point baskets. The Wake Forest transfer finished seven-for-nine from beyond the arc.

Another hot hand for UTSA, Houston area native Marcus Millender, scored 19. But the Owls did a decent job on the South Alabama transfer, who was held to six of 17 from the floor. FAU also did a decent job with Primo Spears, who finished with 16 points on six of 16.

A turning point came late in the first half. After Monsanto buried his fourth three of the game on the fast break to pull the Roadrunners to within one point, the Owls took off on an 18-4 run to the buzzer.

FAU put an exclamation mark on the run when it inbounded from the baseline to Baba Miller, who delivered from the post for a 47-32 lead with 32 seconds remaining.

The Owls won the rebounding battle 28-9 in the opening half and 43-28 for the game against the Roadrunners, who are playing without two big men that they had in their original recruiting class last summer.

After his rebound and basket to end the half, the Owls had firm control of the proceedings. In the first minute of the second half, Millender knocked down a three to bring UTSA to within 12.

Just like that, the Owls struck back, going off on a 15-3 streak to make it a 24-point game. Consecutive triples by Tandy, a transfer from Jacksonville State, made it 62-38 with 16 minutes left.

The Roadrunners would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Just like the Roadrunners, the Owls have retooled their program with a new coach, John Jakus, who led his team to a victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys earlier in the season. Backing up Tandy, Kaleb Glenn produced 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Guard Ken Evans Jr. and 7-foot center Matas Vokietaitis scored 12 points each.

The 6-foot-11 Miller was a wonder on the floor, with multiple skills, as he finished with 10 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

Records

UTSA 9-11, 3-5
FAU 11-10, 4-4

Coming up

UTSA at North Texas, Saturday, 5 p.m.

Short-handed UTSA men are showing spark leading into a road test at FAU

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Marcus Millender. UTSA beat Temple 88-79 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore guard Marcus Millender is averaging 12.3 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals for the UTSA Roadrunners, who will play at Florida Atlantic on Wednesday after winning three of their last five in the American Athletic Conference. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA men’s basketball team isn’t blessed with a vast reservoir of talent. But the talented players they do have are capable of tapping into deep reserves of fortitude, which allows them to rebound from tough situations and compete at surprisingly high levels.

It’s a trait I noticed early in the season during the Roadrunners’ 1-3 start. During that stretch I remember asking guard Primo Spears about his level of optimism for the team in the wake of lopsided losses to Bradley and Little Rock.

Spears said he wasn’t worried because, as he said, his teammates’ talents would come to light soon enough.

Sure enough, the Roadrunners rebounded from their early struggles and started playing better, nearly knocking off the Saint Mary’s Gaels on the road in Moraga, Calif. They continued with two wins against North Dakota, a bizarre home-and-away played over a course of three days.

UTSA’s uptick in good fortune, as it turned out, seemed to stall out a bit as players returned from the Christmas break. In the Roadrunners’ last non-conference game, they stumbled. With a chance for a road victory and a four-game winning streak, they lost to the Army Black Knights, 77-74.

Then they were routed in the American Athletic Conference opener, losing 92-63 to the Tulane Green Wave. Another loss followed when they returned home. Seemingly on their way to a victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, their defense faltered late, and they lost 82-77.

For the most part, the Roadrunners have played well since then. Waging the good fight with a couple of their big men unavailable and now with guard Tai’Reon Joseph also sitting out, UTSA has won three of its last five in AAC play.

They capped the five-game stretch with a quality win at home Saturday, defeating the Temple Owls, 88-79. With the win, they again displayed promising stretches of disruptive defense and explosive offense, improving to 9-10 overall and to 3-4 in the American.

On the eve of road games this week against FAU and North Texas, I talked to Coach Austin Claunch this morning, telling him about my previous conversation with Spears and then asking him to help explain the source of his team’s resilience.

“I think we have an older team. We have a mature team,” Claunch said. “Obviously Primo is a guy who’s played a lot of college basketball and has been a part of a lot of our wins. You know, it’s a long season. You’re going to have ups and downs. You’re probably not going to go undefeated.

“There’s going to be moments of adversity that you have to overcome,” the coach continued. “I thought early in the year, (with a) brand new team, we were still working through some rotations and things we wanted to do schematically.”

Now, their offense looks good on most nights, with crisp ball movement and unselfish play. But at the same time, their defense is vulnerable with opponents shooting 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from three.

Also, broader questions loom. Such as, how long can they continue to win when they’re missing five scholarship players, with three of the absences left largely unexplained and two out with injuries?

“This is the time of year that everyone is banged up a little bit,” Claunch said. “You have bruises here and there. You know, Primo was actually questionable for the Temple game. He got banged up in practice the day before and gutted it out.”

Injured Roadrunners include center Mo Njie and reserve guard Paul Lewis, both with foot ailments. Lewis has been ruled out for the season, and Njie’s return is uncertain. Players whose status can only be described as not available at the moment are Tai’Reon Joseph, Jaquan Scott and Skylar Wicks.

Joseph was on the bench for the Temple game, though he wasn’t dressed out to play, as he missed his second straight game after a 19-point outburst against North Texas. Claunch said he hopes to know more in coming days on Joseph’s status. For the time being, the coach said he is questionable for FAU.

I have no updated information on Scott, a Mississippi State transfer, or Wicks, who came over from Incarnate Word. Scott, who had 14 rebounds at Saint Mary’s, has played in only six games. He hasn’t played in 10 of the last 11. Wicks has played in only 10 games and hasn’t seen action since Dec. 29 at Army.

In the meantime, UTSA will soldier forward in conference play, led by a smallish lineup comprised of Spears, Marcus Millender, Damari Monsanto, Raekwon Horton and Jo Smith.

David Hermes has been starting at center, with Smith coming in off the bench. Six-foot-five freshman Baboucarr Njie, Mo’s younger brother, also has been playing off the bench. Naz Mahmoud is getting spot duty, too, as the eighth man.

Not a great team, at the moment, but certainly a fun team worth watching.

Records

UTSA 9-10, 3-4
FAU 10-10, 3-4

Coming up

UTSA at FAU, Wednesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at North Texas, Saturday, 5 p.m.
Tulane at UTSA, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.
East Carolina at UTSA, Feb. 8, 7 p.m.

American Baseball Championship semifinals are underway in Clearwater

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The field in the American Baseball Championship has been trimmed to four, with the tournament semifinals set to commence today in Clearwater, Fla.

The Wichita State Shockers will play the top-seeded and regular-season champion East Carolina Pirates at 9 a.m. Central, followed by the Tulane Green Wave and the Florida Atlantic Owls 47 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

As many as four games could be contested today because the Pirates and the Owls will need to win twice to knock out their opponents.

East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin will be serving the second of a two-game suspension. If the Pirates win, he will be able to come back in the re-match.

The title game in the six-game conference tournament is set for Sunday at 11 a.m. at the BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater.

Today’s matchups

East Carolina (42-14) vs. Wichita State (31-27) – The Shockers enter the semifinals with tournament victories over the UAB Blazers (8-2) and the Pirates (14-4). Wichita State caught fire with a regular-season series win at UTSA has now won nine of its last 10 overall. The Shockers will need to win Saturday and again Sunday in the American title game to secure an NCAA tournament bid. The Pirates, based on their strong regular season, are likely a lock to make the national field. East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin will be serving the second game of a conference-mandated suspension.

Florida Atlantic (28-28) vs. Tulane (33-24) – The Tulane Green Wave look to be in good shape coming into the semis with four straight victories and a day’s rest. On top of that, the Tulane pitching hasn’t had to work quite as hard as some others this week after beating FAU 14-2 in seven innings on the run rule Tuesday. The Green Wave downed Charlotte 7-5 on Thursday. Both the Owls and the Green Wave will need to win the tournament in Clearwater to secure an NCAA automatic bid.

Notable

Both once-beaten East Carolina and Florida Atlantic stayed alive with victories on Friday.

Playing without All-American Trey Yesavage (injury) and Dixon Williams (one-game suspension), and also without coach Cliff Godwin (suspension), the Pirates beat Rice 8-7 Friday to stay alive. They opened the tournament by beating Rice, 12-4, on Tuesday and then losing to Wichita State, 14-4, on Thursday. Godwin was suspended for his actions in the 14-4 loss.

Florida Atlantic’s season has also been on the brink all week.

Sixth-seeded FAU took a 14-2 loss to Wichita State on opening day on Tuesday before bouncing back the next day to down the UTSA Roadrunners, 12-5. With new life, the Owls surged into a seven-run lead on the Charlotte 49ers Friday and then held on as Danny Trehey pitched shutout innings in the eighth and ninth to secure a 10-8 victory.

UTSA beats FAU 3-2 in 10 innings to clinch second in the American

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners scored on a catcher’s interference call in the top of the 10th inning and then held on in the bottom half to beat the Florida Atlantic University Owls, 3-2, Friday night to secure a second-place finish in the American Athletic Conference baseball race.

UTSA ace Ruger Riojas earned his 10th victory of the season when he closed the door in the last inning. With a base runner at third, he fanned FAU’s John Schroeder, who checked his swing but was called out.

Just about the same time that the UTSA-FAU game was going into extra innings in Boca Raton, the 13th-ranked East Carolina Pirates clinched the AAC title with a doubleheader sweep of the Rice Owls.

The Pirates completed their regular-season schedule by winning 15-5 on the run rule in eight innings and then adding a 6-4 victory in the nightcap. In the second game, East Carolina fell behind 4-2 but rallied to win.

In Boca Raton, UTSA led most of the way against FAU behind the pitching of Zach Royse and Daniel Garza. The home-team Owls made it interesting at the end, scoring twice in the bottom of the eighth to tie it.

Garza started the eighth and allowed a couple of hits to open the inning, putting runners at first and second base. At that point, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark called on his ace, Riojas, who replaced Garza.

Riojas appeared to have good stuff but Jalen DeBose greeted him by fighting off a pitch and blooping it into right field for an RBI single.

After a sacrifice bunt moved runners to second and third, Schroeder hit it hard down the line in left. The drive was caught by Caleb Hill, but it brought in the tying run to make it 2-2.

With Danny Trehey pitching for FAU, opposite Riojas for UTSA, neither team could score in the ninth inning. Trehey was good in the clutch. Following a two-out walk to Alexander Olivo, he struck out UTSA’s Caleb Hill to end the inning. Then it was Riojas’ turn, and he retired three straight.

The 10th inning was tense for both teams.

UTSA loaded the bases against Trehey on an error and a couple of walks. With two outs, injury-hobbled Tye Odom entered the game as a pinch hitter. On a 2-1 count, Odom swung and missed, but the home-plate ump called catcher’s interference.

FAU asked for a review, but umpires upheld the original call. Florida Atlantic catcher Andrew McKenna was ruled to have interfered with Odom’s swing.

With the bases still loaded and UTSA looking to improve on its one-run lead, Trehey got out of the jam when Mason Lytle flied to right field.

Not to be outdone, FAU tried to rally against Riojas, with Brando Leroux rapping a single to right field. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a fly ball to center. At that point, Schroeder stepped to the plate.

On a 1-2 count, he tried to check his swing on a ball that appeared to veer outside the strike zone, only to be called out.

Riojas (10-3) earned the victory with three scoreless innings of relief. The sophomore from Wimberley allowed two hits and one walk and struck out three.

Trehey (3-3) was the hard-luck loser. The 6-4 senior pitched two innings, did not allow a hit and gave up the winning run, which was unearned. He walked three and struck out three.

Records

FAU 25-27, 11-15
UTSA 32-21, 17-9

AAC leaders

East Carolina 19-8, 40-13
UTSA 17-9, 32-21

Coming up

AAC regular-season finale: UTSA at FAU, Saturday at noon
AAC tournament, Tuesday through next Sunday (May 21-26), at Clearwater, Fla.

Notable

With 14-1 and 3-2 victories at Boca Raton, the Roadrunners have clinched the series. They have won seven out of nine series in their inaugural season in the American.

Ruger Riojas keeps stacking up some staggering individual totals. In 24 appearances, he has pitched 64 and 2/3 innings. Riojas has struck out 70 batters and walked only 17. In yielding only 23 earned runs, his ERA for the season is 3.20.

He is 10-3 in the win-loss column, with seven saves. In a quick check of NCAA Division I statistics, he may be one of only two pitchers in Division I baseball with the 10-win, seven-save combination, the other being Nick Wissman of Dayton.

UTSA women down FAU 73-60 for first AAC road victory

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Freshman guard Aysia Proctor led four players in double-digit scoring with 17 points Wednesday night, lifting the UTSA Roadrunners women to a 73-60 victory on the road over the FAU Owls.

Playing in Boca Raton, Fla., UTSA bolted to a 20-11 lead after one quarter and then cruised to its first road victory in the American Athletic Conference.

Proctor, from San Antonio-area Clemens High School, paced the Roadrunners with seven of 11 shooting from the floor and three of four from 3-point distance.

Elyssa Coleman scored 16 points, while guard Kyra White added 12. Maya Linton contributed 10 points off the bench.

Records

UTSA 8-7, 2-2
FAU 5-10, 0-4

AAC men’s basketball gets an infusion of talent from Conference USA

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Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May. No. 24 Florida Atlantic beat UTSA 83-64 in men's basketball on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Dusty May and his FAU Owls won the Conference USA title and advanced all the way to the NCAA Final Four last spring. The Owls are now picked to win the American Athletic Conference in their first year as a member of the league. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With the departure of Houston, UCF and Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference, a compelling question looms. Will the glory days of AAC men’s basketball soon fade into the frayed and yellowed pages of history?

Or, with the arrival of six schools from Conference USA, including Final Four darling Florida Atlantic, has the AAC actually started to trek down a road to become a better league — from top to bottom — than it has been in recent years?

Steve Henson. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Steve Henson talked to reporters Monday in Dallas at the AAC media day. – File photo by Joe Alexander

“I think we’re going to have the best roster of coaches in men’s and women’s basketball that we’ve ever had,” Commissioner Mike Aresco said at the televised AAC media day on Monday morning in Dallas. “I think this conference is deeper than it’s ever been.

“We’ll lose Houston, and they obviously did a lot for the conference. When you really think about what Kelvin Sampson (the Houston men’s coach) meant and what he did for the conference, I want to really applaud him. But this conference is now deeper, and it will be better, than it was before.”

On a local level, another weighty question is being asked.

Can UTSA, picked to finish last in its first season in the AAC, ever contend on a consistent basis in what officials hope will become a conference that annually sends multiple teams to the NCAA tournament? Or, are fans of the Roadrunners destined to feel more misery than euphoria in the years ahead?

UTSA coach Steve Henson, whose teams have finished 10-22 in each of the past two seasons, brushed off the poll results and said he’s energized with a roster of players that turned over almost entirely from last year.

“We’re excited about those new guys,” Henson told an ESPN media crew. “We set out this summer, tried to get ’em in as early as possible. It was a little bit of a challenge to get ’em signed, to get ’em all committed, get ’em on board and get ’em to class.

“But the majority of them were around (campus) in the summer. We anticipated needing to do some team bonding, to facilitate some chemistry. But they kind of handled all that on their own. So that was exciting. That was issue No. 1, getting those guys to gel.”

Once coaches started to work with the new group, which features three strong post defenders, a few quick point guards and some wings that can run the fast break, the identity of the squad came into sharper focus.

“We like our versatility,” Henson said. “We’re an older group. We’re not alone in saying that, in this day and age. There’s a lot of older teams right now. But we think this group’s got a chance with our versatility and hunger and desire to do something special.”

Asked about the program in general, Henson said it’s an exciting time to be in UTSA athletics.

“It’s just an exciting time to be at UTSA,” he said. “We’re a young university. A young athletic department (with) a young football program that’s absolutely crushing it. Football in Texas — it’s kind of a big deal. We just try to piggy-back off that momentum. It’s a good basketball city with the Spurs traditionally. Renewed interest there with (rookie Victor Wembanyama) coming to town.

UAB coach Andy Kennedy. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Andy Kennedy and the UAB Blazers are picked to finish fourth in the AAC. – File photo by Joe Alexander

“So, it’s a great place to live. It’s a thriving university. If you drive near our campus, (there’s) construction everywhere. It’s one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. People don’t realize we’re the seventh-largest city in the country. Sounds like we’re closing in on No. 6. It’s just a fun place to be right now. A lot of excitement.

“People talk about the River Walk, which is great. If you visit San Antonio, you’re going to go to the River Walk. We’ve got our own separate area around our campus, which is thriving like crazy.”

At one time, Roadrunner basketball was thriving under Henson, who is entering his eighth season at the school. The team posted winning records in three of four seasons in one stretch and finished in the upper division of C-USA with Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace leading the way. Despite the Roadrunners’ recent struggles, Henson firmly believes UTSA basketball can become a contender again.

“Our kids are going to play extremely hard,” he said. “You know, the polls (picking UTSA for last place) are out. We’re not going to have to do a lot of putting that up on the walls. You know, our kids are going to see it. They’re going to use that as motivation. We won’t over-do that with them.

“They’re going to be hungry. They’re motivated. We literally had one kid cry when we offered him a scholarship, he was so thrilled to come in. (But) this group’s going to play hard. We’ve always played fast. This team is built to play fast. We have shooters. We’ve got three big guys on the interior that are all defensive-minded and talk. We’re excited about it.

“Again, this group will use the polls as motivation.”

Last year, the postseason tournaments served as a reminder that Conference USA teams entering the American would be competitive. For instance, after FAU won the C-USA, it turned around and beat AAC champion Memphis in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Columbus, Ohio. Then it went on to win 35 games en route to the school’s first berth in the Final Four.

Furthermore, both North Texas and UAB won berths in the National Invitation Tournament, and both kept winning until they met in the finals in Las Vegas. Once in the title game at the Orleans Arena, North Texas downed UAB, 68-61. In addition, Charlotte won the College Basketball Invitational, downing Eastern Kentucky, 71-68, in the finals at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Combined, the four teams posted a combined record of 117-35. In the AAC preseason poll, FAU was picked to win, with Memphis second, Tulane third and UAB fourth. UAB Blazers coach Andy Kennedy told ESPN on Monday afternoon that the new-look AAC will need to earn its respect in November and December.

“Ultimately, you make your hay in the non-league (games),” Kennedy said. “We’ve certainly challenged ourselves, and I’ve looked around at the other schedules around the league, and a lot of our teams are going to challenge themselves early. We have to win some of those games, so that when we get into the gauntlet of league play …

“People ask me all the time, I’ve coached in the Big East. I’ve coached 12 years in the SEC. And they say,
What’s the hardest league in the country?’ I say, ‘It’s the one you’re in.’ That’s how coaches look at it. So the league is going to be very, very challenging.

“I think if we can do what we need to do as a group, heading into conference play, we’re going to put ourselves into a position to be a multi-bid league.”

AAC Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Florida Atlantic (11) 167
2. Memphis (3) 159
3. Tulane 142
4. UAB 128
5. East Carolina 105
6. North Texas 100
7. SMU 97
8. Wichita State 90
9. South Florida 62
10. Tulsa 59
11. Rice 56
12. Temple 49
13. Charlotte 46
14. UTSA 14

Notes: First-place votes in parentheses. Florida Atlantic, UAB, North Texas, Rice, Charlotte and UTSA are set to play in the AAC for the first time this year after splitting away from Conference USA.