By JARED JONES/Sports Editor
Spring showers bring sports for hours at UT Tyler. A new semester also brings new questions to be answered. Here’s a preview of the main sports taking place during the Spring semester plus one big question those teams need to answer.
Baseball
– Head Coach: Brent Porche
– Last Season (Conference Record): 39-19 (34-14)
– When you look at a team that puts up double digit runs in 26 out of 50 regular season contests it would be fair to believe that this would be the stat of one of the most prolific set of bats in the country. And in that case that assumption would be correct, with the Patriots finishing the 2023 season 6th in the country in total runs. But only one team was able to truly best head skipper Brent Porche’s team. The very same team that bested them in last season’s South Central Regionals: The Angelo State Rams. Reloading was not an issue this offseason, with UTT boasting a top-30 JUCO recruiting class in the nation. But can UTT or anyone in the conference truly rock the Rams come May?
– Big Question: Can this explosive offense continue and push them over the hump?
Softball
– Head Coach: Mike Reed
– Last Season: 62-6 (39-2)
– The head bench boss for the Patriots Mike Reed continues his tenure with one of the most consistent programs in the country fresh off of a 60-plus win season without a single loss at Irwin Ballpark. Then #2 North Georgia handed UTT a 0-2 loss in the DII College World Series in what was their third game in two days in the finals.
– Big Question: Can they return to the promised land and finish the job?
Men’s Golf
– Head Coach: Michael McMunn
– The move to Division II competition has been a great transition for the Patriots with a championship appearance in the Lone Star Conference Championship that was capped off with an upset against #1 Midwestern State in semifinal play before coming up short in the championship to #2 Oklahoma Christian. A notable showing was made by now-sophomore Luke Emerson who sealed the deal with a birdie in the semifinals. UTT returns five players to the 2024 roster from that conference finalist team including two on the roster with east Texas roots via Lindale’s Luke Emerson and former Sulpher Springs Wildcat Carter Lewis.
– Big Question: Can the returners follow-up and continue program consistency?
Women’s Golf
– Head Coach:
– The road to Stockton, California for the NCAA DII West Regional Championship for the Patriots goes thru a Lone Star Conference that is arguably the toughest in the country, with six LSC teams including UT Tyler in the top 15 of the NCAA DII West Region rankings. But the Patriots are generating momentum approaching the Spring stretch. The team saw top half finishes in three of their five events this season. A solid year so far yes, but more will be needed in a bloodbath of a conference. Only six events remain until tourney time with their next two outings being in the Lone Star State after an October trip to Hawaii so the time to make a push is now.
– Big Question: Can the Patriots make a name for themselves in a competitive conference?
Men’s Tennis
– Head Coach: Chris Bizot
– Last Season: 20-3 (8-0)
– A team that went 7-0 last year against ranked opponents last season and a heartbreaking loss in the NCAA DII Round of 16 is enough to put a chip on any team’s shoulder at the turn of the calendar. That chip will be put to the test with the Patriots making their 2024 debut in an exhibition in south Texas against Lamar. Not to mention this team being lead by the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year in Chris Bizot it’s safe money to bet that UT Tyler is looking end their back-to-back streak of Round of 16 defeats.
– Big Question: Will they use missing the ITA Cup as fuel in 2024?
Women’s Tennis
– Head Coach: Chris Bizot
– Last Season: 12-10 (6-4)
– In their recent trip to the ITA Regional Championships the aroma of hope is in the air. With stellar performances from the likes of Mukan Gupta and Allison Schwartz in doubles play has formed a Rose City dynamic duo that has become part of the foundation of Chris Bizot’s team. Gupta and Schwartz have already placed their name into the history books while helping welcome UT Tyler DII play with a splash. The duo became the first in the school’s DII tenure to reach the ITA South Central Regional championship. Bizot’s roster is young, only harboring a Grad and Senior respectively, and the future is bright at the Summers Tennis Center.
– Big Question: Will Bizot’s second tenure bring more glory in the DII era?
