With the start of the new semester, UTA sports return as basketball continues its regular season while track and field, baseball and softball gear up for their spring seasons.

Men’s basketball

After falling 98-75 to Grand Canyon University in the Western Athletic Conference tournament last season, the team looks to carry its preseason momentum into the rest of the schedule as it makes a push for another appearance.

Before the team’s three-game win streak, the Mavericks saw a 69-63 loss to Tarleton State University to open the regular season. The team has a chance to get its first win of the season against Tarleton at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at College Park Center.

The Mavericks will meet California Baptist University two more times during WAC play. The team’s first matchup this season evened the all-time series at 3-3, with the remaining games starting Jan. 31 and Feb. 26.

The Mavericks’ final home game will be against Utah Valley University at 2 p.m. Feb. 21 at College Park Center. The game will serve as a Senior Day matchup honoring UTA’s graduating players in a conference showdown.

The team will look ahead to the WAC tournament, with a chance to cap off the season with a championship push. The tournament will run from March 11 to 14 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Women’s basketball

The women’s basketball team continues regular-season play, sitting at a 6-10 record. The team will open the spring semester against Utah Tech University at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at College Park Center. The all-time series is currently tied 3-3.

The Lady Mavericks look to wrap up their regular season with a Senior Day home game against Abilene Christian University on March 7. After this game, the team heads straight into the WAC tournament from March 11 to 14 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Despite a rough start, head coach Shereka Wright looks to lead the Lady Mavericks into another tournament championship match and berth into the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The 2024-25 season was capped with a single win in the WNIT and a loss to the University of North Texas to knock UTA out of the tournament.

Track and field

Track and field will start its indoor season with the Arkansas Invitational on Friday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The team will follow up with the Robert Platt Invitational from Jan. 30 to 31 at the Yeoman Fieldhouse in Houston.

The team will conclude its regular season with two more meets. The final meet takes the team to Lubbock, Texas, to compete in the Jarvis Scott Invite from Feb. 13 to 14 at the Sports Performance Center.

Following these events, the Mavericks will aim to finish strong at the WAC championship from Feb. 27 to 28 in Spokane, Washington, looking to earn a bid to the NCAA Championship, which runs from March 13 to 14 in Indianapolis.

Baseball

The baseball team will start its 2026 season facing off against Northwestern State University on Feb. 13. The team will face a tough early challenge against Texas Christian University on Feb. 17 at Globe Life Field. The Mavericks will face the Horned Frogs again April 29 at Lupton Baseball Stadium.

The team will be on the road for a three-game series, where they will get a taste of Southeastern Conference play, pitted against the University of Arkansas from Feb. 27 to March 1 at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The team will wrap up its season with a final series in the WAC tournament from May 19 to 23 at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona.

Softball

The softball team will have its season opener in the New Mexico State/UT El Paso Tournament from Feb. 6 to 8 in Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas.

The team will then host the Dream City Invitational from Feb. 13 to 15 at Allan Saxe Field. The Mavericks will face the University of Wisconsin, The University of Tulsa and Iowa State University, with an opportunity to build some momentum in front of a home crowd for the first time this season.

The team looks to extend its all-time four-game win streak against UT San Antonio in the UTSA Tournament from Feb. 27 to March 1 in San Antonio.

The team will wrap up its 2026 campaign with the three-day WAC Tournament from May 6 to 9 in Stephenville, Texas. The Mavericks also have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Regionals, which will take place from May 15 to 17.

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WINCHESTER, Va. – After a week in Florida leading into the spring semester, the Franklin & Marshall’s women’s track & field team competed at Shenandoah’s Kaye & JJ Smith Invitational. The Diplomats got the January portion of their schedule off to a great start with a pair of school records, with four other marks that rank in the top 10 in program history.

Tara Silverman broke the school record in the 3,000 meters that was formerly held by All-American and F&M Hall of Famer Sheena Crawley ’13. Silverman finished in a time of 10:19.87. Teammates Annalise Kauffman (11:01.19) and Georgeia Hodgson (11:36.98) finished second and sixth in that same event.

Lauren Dunnigan once again broke her own school record in the 60 meter dash as she finished with a time of 7.75 seconds during the finals of that event. That is currently the second-fastest time in the Centennial Conference this season. Dunnigan was also the individual champion in the 200 meter dash as her time of 26.56 seconds was the second-fastest in school history. Dunnigan capped her day with a time of 9.15 seconds to take first (her third event title of the day) in the 60 meter hurdles.

The Diplomats finished with five individual titles on Sunday as Jordyn Collie won the 400 meters with a time of 1:05.42. Her performance highlighted seven Diplomats in the top 10 of that event, as Avery Canady (1:06.33) and Abby Bachman (1:06.52) took the silver and bronze positions. Collie was also the team’s top finish in the 800 meters (2:33.68), with Bachman (2:44.52) and Sophia Bloom (2:53.15) each turning in top 10 individual finishes.

Amanda Imhauser and Hayden Adams both had busy days in their return to competition. Imhauser was third in the 60 meter hurdles (10.24) and long jump (4.84m), sixth in the high hump (1.35m) and shot put (9.30m), and seventh in the 200 meters (29.14). Adams took third in the pole vault as she cleared 3.20 meters to rank second in school history. She added a fifth-place showing in the high jump (1.38m). Max McCoy led the Diplomats in the both throwing events as she took third in the shot put (11.13m) and fourth in the weight throw (12.07m). Both of those marks were top 10 performances in school history.

Women’s track & field will return to competition this Saturday, January 17 when the team travels to Catholic’s Cardinal Classic.

Franklin & Marshall Event Winners / Top 10 Performances

60 Meters

1. Lauren Dunning (7.75) – school record

200 Meters

1. Lauren Dunnigan (26.56) – second in school history

3,000 Meters

1. Tara Silverman (10:19.87) – school record

Pole Vault

3. Hayden Adams (3.20m) – second in school history

Shot Put

3. Max McCoy (11.13m) – ninth in school history

The Cardinals (3-0, 0-0 MIVA) limited the Highlanders (0-4, 0-0 EIVA) to a 0.80 hitting clip while averaging .391 themselves, along with a team block total of 15.5 compared to NJIT’s 3. The evening saw just one lead change, three points into the fourth set, as NJIT recorded an attack error at the end of a Patrick Rogers serve.

Rogers led the way as he matched his kill total from the evening prior, tallying 16 while hitting .522, along with six digs, two assists and a team-leading three aces. Ryan Louis was credited with 11 kills on a .318 clip, two aces, four digs and a career-high seven block assists. Wil Basilio earned nine kills, three digs and four block assists.

Ball State’s defense halted the Highlanders at the net, aided by Jacob Surette who recorded a career-best nine block assists, Louis’ seven and Braydon Savitski-Lynde’s five. Savitski-Lynde also completed five kills while hitting .522. Freshman libero Adir Ben Shloosh led the men with eight digs.

Lucas Machado’s hustle was on full display throughout the match, dishing out 37 assists with three kills.  

The Cardinals led by as much as 14 in the opening set, highlighted by an 8-0 run which brought them to set-point. After three-straight points by the Highlanders, Rogers punched a kill to finish it, capping off a set that saw Ball State hit an efficient .688 clip.

Set two was a different story, as the score tied seven times until NJIT’s late momentum pushed them just enough to claim the set.

The men’s squad was unfazed, easily taking sets three and four. Rogers swatted nine kills between the two sets, and claimed two of his three aces in set four, with one of those bringing the Cardinals to match point. Surette’s four block assists were also instrumental, including back-to-back blocks assists by him and Basilio.

In his first career appearance with the Cardinals, sophomore Jason Harris put the exclamation point on the weekend with the final kill of the match, finishing with two.

The Ball State men’s volleyball program ride this momentum into next week when it travels to Phoenix, Ariz. for the First Point Collegiate Challenge Tournament at the Phoenix Convention Center. The men square off against No. 1 UCLA Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. ET, followed by No. 9 Stanford Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. ET.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team defeated Harvard 3-1 Saturday night to close out the final round of the 61st ASICS Invitational. The Gauchos open the 2026 season undefeated, having also beaten Kentucky State and Maryville earlier in the tournament. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Harvard opened the gate with a first-set win, taking it 25-22.  The Gauchos hit just 0.074 in the first and were unable to collapse Harvard’s early lead. 

The Gauchos finally clicked during the second, bringing it home 25-18. Santa Barbara and Harvard stayed even through the second, with neither team managing to gain more than a three-point lead until the set’s finale. At 19-18, Santa Barbara went on a six-point scoring run that brought them directly to victory. 

Santa Barbara shone in the third, capturing a 25-14 success for their cleanest win of the match. The Gauchos made off with a 7-2 head start and stayed at least three points ahead at all times. Senior Owen Loncar sealed the set with a service ace.

Finally, the Gauchos closed out the match by winning the fourth and final set 25-19. They held a slight initial lead before springing multiple points ahead of the Crimson. 

Santa Barbara revived their hitting percentage after the grim first set, hitting 57% in the remaining three. As a team, they dug 42 digs and made ten aces.

George Bruening put on a hitting masterclass, annihilating 26 kills and hitting .455. He tied his career record in kills and made ten in the fourth set alone. Ben Pearson delivered the match’s second highest kill count with nine, while Riggs Guy lasered eight. Guy also placed a career-best six assists. 

Cole Schobel achieved all over the court, popping 42 assists,  five kills, and a block. He also led the match in service aces with four, hit .714, and tied Jason Walmer for the match-high dig count at nine. Joe Wallace followed with seven digs and freshman Dylan Pilkvist made a team leading 5 block assists

 

UP NEXT

The Gauchos will continue home play for their next match, hosting The Master’s University on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the Thunderdome.