Preseason MVP: A Conference USA All-Freshman team selection last year, Mikayla Woods averaged 15 points and 5.8 rebound per game before suffering a torn ACL that will sideline her until December. 

The Ceiling: Kristen Holt has her sights set on rising from last to eighth in Conference-USA. If eight experienced sophomores take significant steps forward, meshing with JUCO transfers to fix UTSA’s struggles in defense, rebounding and 3-point shooting, the goal may be attainable. 

The Floor: With continuity and improved health, the Roadrunners will certainly be better than last season. But unless the returners translate a year older into a year better, UTSA can still finish at or near the bottom of Conference-USA.  

Game of the Year: Louisiana Tech

Projected Starting Five

Mikayla Woods
G | 5-6 | So. | Pflugerville, Texas

Karley Larson
G | 5-9 | So. | Underwood, Iowa

Karrington Donald
G | 5-7 | Sr. | Humble, Texas

Adryana Quezada
F | 5-10 | So. | Frisco, Texas

Yuliyana Valcheva
F | 6-1 | Jr. | Varna, Bulgaria

Kristen Holt
Head Coach

Impact-First Year Player: Junior F Yuliana Valcheva

Season Preview

In an ideal world, UTSA coach Kristen Holt would love to rotate 10 or 11 players. She wants a Roadrunners team that can push tempo, score in transition, and press full court in a man-to-man defense.

Last season’s UTSA team looked nothing like that. Holt’s third year at the helm of the Roadrunners was plagued by so many injuries that she said “we really weren’t practicing much” during the final three months of the season. With maybe six players available, UTSA was limited to three-on-three drills.

The result was a 6-23 season, including a 2-16 record in Conference USA. The Roadrunners lost their last 15 games by an average margin of 25.4 points, with only the season finale decided by single digits. The eight freshmen on the roster were called on to contribute far sooner than Holt anticipated.

“I’m going on my 25th season (as a coach), and I've never been around a team that's had so many injuries,” Holt said. “It was a little bit demoralizing for those young kids, and it was hard for them to bounce back, because they were just looking around like, ‘Who do we have today?’”

The Roadrunners’ defense (75.8 points per game) was the worst in the conference by nearly seven points per game, and UTSA also ranked last in rebounding margin (minus-6.0) and 3-point shooting percentage (26.5 percent).

But Holt finds reason for optimism. All eight freshmen return as experienced sophomores this season — something not to be taken for granted in a program that lost five players to transfer entering the 2019-20 season. The only players on the way out this year are due to graduation, leaving a still-young core that has persisted through last season’s adversity.

“I didn’t see them playing much, and now all of a sudden they’re thrown in starting, and they’re thrown into doing things that I never imagined them doing,” Holt said. “We’re not going to stay the same. We’re not going to get worse. We can only get better.”

Holt sets what she calls a “realistic goal” for this season: jumping from last to eighth in the 14-team Conference USA to qualify for the league tournament.

Mikayla Woods is expected to lead the charge when she returns from an ACL injury in early December, earning a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman team last year after averaging a team-leading 15.0 points per game.

“She does it all, and she’s even getting a lot of rebounds,” Holt said. “Just a kid that gets steals, makes things happen for us defensively. She’s quiet, she’s not much of a leader out on the floor as far as talking, but she definitely can play.”

Senior Karrington Donald will be a 3-point threat and the leader of the team — the first captain Holt has named during her UTSA tenure.

Sophomore Adriana Quezada returns after averaging 13.4 points and a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per game last year, and 6-foot-1 JUCO transfer Yuliana Valcheva is expected to fill gaps in defense and rebounding.