MVP: Alexandria Pollard was a talented post threat at Bossier Parish, even dating back to her time at Cy Fair High School and should bring some much-needed inside strength to the Islanders.

Ceiling: Unfortunately you can’t talk about a title repeat with this squad. Considering the player losses since last season and all of the newcomers, this squad will be searching for cohesiveness and simply finishing in the top eight of the league. That should be enough to put the Islanders in the Southland Tournament.

Floor: One just needs to take a look at all of the offense that’s no longer around. If the newcomers don’t succeed in filling it up, it’s possible that the offense scuffles early and the squad fails to finish in the top half of the Southland and potentially misses the post-season altogether.

Projected Starting Five

Makinna Serrata
G | 6-0 | Jr. | Tilden, Texas

Eliyjah Pricebrooks
G | 5-3 | Fr. | Las Vegas, Nev.

Alecia Westbrook
F/C | 6-1 | So. | Kansas City, Mo.

Alexandria Pollard
C | 6-3. | Jr. | Houston, Texas

Lynn Tamis
C | 6-3 | R-So. | Amsterdam, Netherlands

ROYCE CHADWICK
Head Coach

 

Impact First-Year Player: Eliyjah Pricebrooks 

Game of the Year: Abilene Christian

 

Season Preview

Following making history, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders may have to just make the best of it.

The Islanders look like a rebuilding program after capturing the school's first Southland Conference championship and posting a 23-7 record in 2019-2020.

The program lost several players who were instrumental in leading the Islanders to a 17-3 league mark. The squad won 13 of its last 14 games and seven straight to close the season.

The only thing missing was the post-season, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. By virtue of winning the league crown, the Islanders earned a double-bye to the semifinals of the tournament and were looking to ride the momentum of its huge campaign to an NCAA Tournament bid.

Instead of searching for a crown, this season's version of the Islanders will simply try to find some consistency.

The top veteran is sophomore Alecia Westbook (5.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 30 blocks).

Others returning are junior Makinna Serrata (3.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg), sophomore Hayle Campbell (3.0 ppg), senior Giana Wright (2.1 ppg), sophomore Olivia Dowden (1.4 ppg) and junior Torrionna Nesbitt (2.1 ppg).

With the veterans having posted limited statistics, that leaves much of this edition of the Islanders resting with the production of newcomers.

Junior Alexandria Pollard, a 6-foot-3 center, averaged 8.2 points and 8 rebounds as a sophomore at Bossier City Community College.

Lynn Tamis, a 6-foot-5 center, will give the inside game another option. She redshirted last season after transferring from Indiana State.

Freshmen include Jade Thompson, Eliyjah Pricebrooks, Paige Allen, Mireia Aguado, Nabaweeyah McGill and Delayna Gillard.

Pricebrooks, a guard, set records at her Las Vegas high school with 512 assists and 85 victories.

Allen scored more than 2,000 career points during a high school stint in Kansas City.

From Spain, Aguado averaged 16 points for the Catalan national team. McGill, a 6-foot-2 forward, led her high school squad to four state title appearances and one championship.

How hard-hit was the program by player losses since last season?

Here's the list: Alexes Bryant (12.6 ppg), LaJaneira Robinson (7.6 ppg), Dee Dee Evans (6.1 ppg), Emma Young (9.7 ppg), Dalesia Booth (12.6 ppg) and Tiara Mathews (4.8 ppg).

Bryant, Evans, Young and Booth combined for 232 assists last season. That tells to the scoring versatility and the roster's unselfishness in creating a memorable campaign.

While the past won't be forgotten, it won't help the new-look squad, which figures to have its fair share of challenges.