The University has been in transition from NAIA to NCAA Division I for three years, and the future is already looking bright for the Huskies.
While the University is not in a position to take home a national championship in the near future, they are taking the appropriate steps to become a contender in all its sports.
After a few years as an Independent, the Great West Conference looks to be a smart stepping stone for the University moving into a legitimate conference with automatic qualifiers and should improve recruitment. The Huskies have already seen vast improvements in talent with in a short period of time. The recruitment has brought not only talented freshmen but transfers as well.
The volleyball team found talent in freshman outside hitter Heather Leaverton from Pearland High School. Leaverton was the only player to start every match this year, and her hard work earned her Second-Team All Conference honors. The team also picked up junior defensive specialist Cami Stastny, a transfer from Temple College who had 43 digs for the Huskies this year.
Women’s soccer saw a lot of improvement through high school recruitment. Head coach Misty Jones found three standout athletes in freshman midfielders Cindy Hedden, Brandi Hart and Arielle Rodriguez. Hedden scored three goals during the season, all of which were game winners. Hart and Rodriguez had two goals, with Rodriguez adding two assists and Hart adding four.
Men’s soccer, who recorded a few upsets this season, is excited about freshman midfielder Francisco Diaz, who was one of the team’s offensive leaders this season. He finished the season with two goals on 15 shots on goal and one assist.
The men’s basketball team is having its best season since transitioning to the NCAA, finishing as the second seed in the conference tournament and the success is due to transfers, freshmen and senior post Mario Flaherty leading the way.
The spotlight all season long has been on junior forward Andrew Gonzalez, who transferred from San Jacinto College. Gonzalez is the conference leader in points per game with 18.8 and leads the team in minutes per game with 33.8, 3-point field goals with 32 and field goals with 173 made. Freshman Miles Dixon became a strong offensive presence during his first college season as he picked up 19 3-pointers, 66 field goals, 62 rebounds, 44 assists and 16 steals.
More than any other program, women’s golf has seen how much NCAA recruitment can help.
After finishing second in the conference last season, the team, headed by coach David Shuster, has not only recruited well but picked up big recruits from foreign countries.
Freshman Balbina Guajardo from Monterrey, Mexico, is tied with freshman Gala Olcese from Milan, Italy for the best round of the season with a 73. Guajardo’s average is only 1.2 strokes behind team leader sophomore Paige Gibson. Guajardo also has had three top-five finishes this season. Olcese is averaging an 82 this season with one top-five finish. Freshman Kelsey Lou-Hing from Trinidad & Tobago has only competed in one event this year but finished with an 81. Her best round was a 78 and she finished in the top 10. The team was in Jacksonville, Fla., from March 8-9 for the North/South Collegiate Tournament and came in first out of 11 teams.
The softball team is going into the season positively and, along with the baseball team, has a roster dominated by young players and transfers.
For softball, junior shortstop Molley Mlcak, who transferred from Galveston College, has had a good offensive season so far. She is batting .311 and leads the team with 14 hits, three doubles, eight RBI’s and tied with junior catcher/third baseman Kaitlin Southerland with 21 assists. Freshman pitcher Keely Shuler has had a good season with a 2-1 record, a 1.89 ERA, four earned runs and 17 strikeouts.
In baseball, junior pitcher/outfielder Viron Hackney, who transferred from San Jacinto College, is batting .429 with nine hits. He has one double, one triple, seven RBI’s and leads the team with two home runs and a .857 slugging percentage. Junior pitcher Jamie Storey, who transferred from Midland College, has a 1-1 record with a 2.93 ERA. He has given up 14 hits and five earned runs in 15.1 innings.
Once the University leaves the Great West Conference and moves into a conference that has automatic qualifications such as the Southland Conference or the Sun Belt Conference, recruitment for big-name athletes will become much easier.
Recruitment can only improve when you play legitimate competition and have the possibility of playing on national TV. The University has already made the correct moves by scheduling games against schools like Duke University, the University of Michigan, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Nebraska.
With only two years left in the probation period, there maybe some national headlines in the future for the University’s athletic programs.
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