The Cardinals finished in the bottom 10 nationally in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin for the third year in a row, but Carson Cunningham believes a team with four returning starters can make a run at matching last year’s six Southland wins.

After coach Jeff Dow led a turnaround during his first year at the helm last season, UIW returns a few key contributors but will be mostly relying on a crop of 11 newcomers, creating a feeling of uncertainty entering the 2020-21 season. 

The Roadrunners leaned on eight freshmen during an injury-plagued 6-23 season last year, closing the campaign on a 15-game losing streak. With a now-experienced young core expected to return, coach Kristen Holt is optimistic about the first steps toward a turnaround.

Senior guard Jhivvan Jackson is expected to only improve after ranking second in the NCAA with 26.8 points per game last year, giving the Roadrunners optimism about a bounce-back season in 2020-21.

With leading scorer and rebounder Christian Peevy among five players transferring out of the program during the offseason, UIW enters the 2019-20 campaign with another young roster. The greatest source of hope is the notion that last year’s struggles have hardened the returning players enough to produce better results. 

A veteran group that returns its four leading scorers and seven leading rebounders from last season is hoping new coach Jeff Dow can spark a turnaround after last year’s squad finished 5-24 and 5-13 in Southland Conference games.

Last year, the guard duo of Jhivvan Jackson (22.9 points per game) and Keaton Wallace (20.2) formed one of the highest-scoring pairings in the nation. Both return as juniors in 2019 poised to lead an experienced Roadrunners squad to another step forward.

In many cases, UTSA women’s basketball coach Kristen Holt anticipated what was about to happen. The players who stayed were the ones who were caught off guard.