SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State University Athletic Department today announced the hiring of Vinay Patel to lead the ASU Rams men’s basketball program as its new head coach.

Patel brings 17 years of coaching experience to ASU, most recently serving as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where he led the Rangers to a 20-9 overall record and one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA Division II last season.

“We are so excited to have Coach Patel join Angelo State as the next head men’s basketball coach, said ASU Director of Athletics James Reid. “Vinay brings a wealth of experience and success to the university and program, including time spent in the Lone Star Conference. Coach Patel’s background and commitment to excellence make him a great fit for our Athletic Department and university. We are excited to welcome him and his family into the Ram Fam!”

Prior to NWOSU, Patel spent four seasons at Oklahoma City University and compiled an overall record of 82-42. He led the Stars to a Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament championship in 2018-19 and a share of the regular-season championship in 2017-18. The Stars advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Tournament two years in a row while making the tournament all four years.

Patel was named the Sooner Athletic Conference and Oklahoma Sports Net Coach of the Year in 2018 when the Stars finished with a 24-9 mark and ranked No. 8 in the NAIA.

“I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to be the next head coach at Angelo State University,” Patel said. “I would like to thank President Ronnie Hawkins and Athletic Director James Reid for allowing me to lead such a storied basketball program. This is a dream come true for me! My family and I are excited to be a part of the community of San Angelo and the Ram Family!” Emphasizing success both on the court and in the classroom, Patel’s squads at NWOSU and OCU both recorded the highest team GPA in program history. He also coached four NAIA All-Americans and the SAC Player of the Year at OCU while eight former players have gone on to sign professional contracts.

No stranger to the Lone Star Conference, Patel started his coaching career at West Texas A&M University as a graduate assistant in 2005 before working his way up to associate head coach in 2013. In eight seasons on staff, Patel helped lead the Buffs to a 164-93 record and five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.

“I would also like to thank everyone at Northwestern Oklahoma State for the past three years,” Patel added. “I was fortunate to work with a special group of people daily, and they are the reason for this incredible opportunity. I am excited to be back in the Lone Star Conference and am ready to get to work!”

A native of Shamrock, Texas, Patel received his Master of Science degree in sports and exercise science from WTAMU in 2007, and he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sports science from Texas Tech University.

An introductory press conference will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 2, in the VIP Room of the ASU Junell Center to welcome Coach Patel and his family

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RICHARDSON, Texas – The Lone Star Conference has released its 2022 football conference schedule, which features a 10-team, nine-game single round robin format.

The slate has LSC games predominantly in weeks 3-11, with two league contests in week two.  The first full week of league play will take place on October 1.

The LSC welcomes Central Washington, Simon Fraser, and Western Oregon as affiliate members in football in 2022.  The trio joins Angelo State, Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Permian Basin, West Texas A&M, and Western New Mexico for the 10-team conference in 2022.

In 2021, Midwestern State claimed the LSC football title for the fourth time, while Angelo State and Central Washington were selected for the NCAA Division II Football Championship.

The schedule is below:

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SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State women’s basketball team, returning to action after a two-week layoff due to game postponements, dominated Midwestern State, 98-72, to pick up their first conference win of the season.

The win marks the Rambelles’ first home conference win since February 20, 2020, against Texas A&M-Kingsville; it is also the first conference win for head coach Alesha Ellis.

The 98 points for the Rambelles is the most points scored in a game since December 21, 2019, when the Rambelles put 99 points past Cameron on that day. The 98 points is also tied for the fourth-most points scored by an LSC team this season.

The Rambelles dominated in all facets of the game: they shot a season-high 54.2 percent from the field, including shooting 57.9 percent in the second quarter and 75 percent in the fourth quarter. They made 39 field goals on the night, the most any LSC school has made in a single game this season and assisted 28 times in this game, also a conference-best this season.

The Rambelles also out-rebounded the Mustangs 41-28, the fewest the Rambelles have allowed in a game this season; the Rambelles forced the Mustangs into 25 turnovers, recording a season-high 19 steals in the process.

The largest lead for the Mustangs was seven points with under a minute left in the first quarter; the Rambelles would then go on a 20-4 run until the 4:13 mark in the second quarter to secure a nine-point lead, a lead that they kept building on for the rest of the game.

Seven Rambelles scored in double-digits on the evening, led by Blakely Gerber’s 17 points. The Wayland Baptist transfer was perfect from two-point range in seven attempts, also adding in five assists and three steals.

Sawyer Lloyd and Madeline Stephens both scored 16 points, with Stephens recording her second double-double on the season, grabbing 11 rebounds. Lloyd assisted a game-high eight times, also recording six steals and four rebounds.

Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant shot 7-8 from the field, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.

Payton Brown, Ashlynn Sharp, and Samantha Rocha scored ten points apiece; Brown assisted seven times while Sharp recorded four steals and Rocha grabbed seven rebounds.

All 11 players dressed for the Rambelles ended up seeing action as well, with Brighton Adams and Neely Woodscoring three and two points, respectively, while Kyla Cobb and Taylor Moravcik also played for the Rambelles on the evening.

The Rambelles improve to 4-9 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. They return to action on Saturday against Texas Woman’s, with that game scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

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OFFENSIVE
Ashley Ingram, Texas Woman’s, FR, Kinesiology, F, Bridgeport, Texas, Bridgeport HS
Ingram helped lead the Pioneers to a perfect 2-0 week as TWU opened 2022 and conference play undefeated. Ingram averaged 20 points across the two games in just her second and third starts of the season. Against St. Mary’s, she scored a career-high 22 points, marking her second 20-point game of the season. In TWU’s game against St. Edward’s, the Bridgeport native finished with 18 points, hitting 5-of-8 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Ingram shot 84.6 percent from the charity stripe and 56 percent from the field during the week.

DEFENSIVE
Karley Motschenbacher, West Texas A&M, FR, Business, G, Moorhead, Minn., Park Christian HS
Motschenbacher was a driving force behind a pair of stellar defensive performances for the Lady Buffs this past weekend as they moved to 4-0 in Lone Star Conference action and moved atop of the league standings following victories over No. 2 Texas A&M-Commerce and UT Tyler. The Moorhead, Minnesota product averaged 10.0 rebounds per contest and went 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from the field, including 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc, to average 10.0 points per game. She also added seven assists and three steals. In Thursday’s win over the previously unbeaten Lions, Motschenbacher hit 5-of-11 from the floor with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

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WICHITA FALLS – UT Tyler exploded for 43 second-half points to negate a halftime deficit and move to 7-0 for the first time in program history with a 75-63 win over Midwestern State on Monday night in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The non-conference win over the Mustangs betters the 6-0 start to the season for the 2017-18 UT Tyler team, establishing the best start in UT Tyler men’s basketball history for the 2021-22 Patriots. Graduate student Eysan Wiley led the charge back from a 36-32 Midwestern State first-half advantage with 18 second-half points, connecting on 5-of-6 from the field in the half alone in route to 22 points for the game.

The Patriots connected on 13-of-27 from the field in the final 20 minutes, and held Midwestern State to 0-for-14 from beyond the three-point line in the second half while continually pushing forward with steady offense. UT Tyler scored the first two baskets of the second half on jumpers from Micah Fuller and Milan Szabo, the second of which from Szabo knotted the game up at 36-36 with 18:35 left in the game.

Another dunk from Szabo and a successful and-one opportunity for Fuller capped off the seven unanswered for UT Tyler out of the halftime break and established a 41-36 lead for the Patriots. Midwestern State settled in after the hot second-half start for the Patriots and kept the deficit to around a one-possession ball game before Eysan began his second-half onslaught of scoring at the 12:48 mark.

Eysan changed the course of the remaining of the contest at that point with a jump-shot make and then three-consecutive made three-point buckets to break open the game at 57-46 with 10:28 left on the clock. That turning point allowed UT Tyler to control the tempo for the remainder of the contest with the lead firmly in tact, and led by as many as 13 on three different occasions in the final 10 minutes of play.

Midwestern State narrowed the margin to just seven with 1:14 remaining, but were eventually held at a comfortable distance thanks to 14 free-throw makes in the second half by the Patriots.

Szabo added 14 points and nine rebounds to help compliment the solid outing from Wiley, who’s 22-point total on Monday night is the second time the graduate transfer has gone for 20 or more points this season. Szabo has now reached double-digit scoring totals in three out of his last four games and has totaled nine rebounds in each of the last two wins for the Patriots.

Senior Da’Zhon Wyche scored 10 points to follow up consecutive 19-point outings against Mississippi College and Dallas Baptist in the last two Patriot victories.

UT Tyler finished the game 25-of-53 (47.2 percent) from the field and went 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from behind the three-point line. The Patriots won the rebounding battle for the sixth time in seven games this season, finishing with 40 while Midwestern State had 33.

The Patriots will return home with their undefeated 7-0 record on Thursday of this week to begin a two-game home stand. Thursday’s game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against UAFS and Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip against Oklahoma Christian.

Thursday’s game against UAFS will consistent of a toy drive hosted by the UT Tyler Police Department. The UT Tyler Police Department is asking that attendees please bring a new unwrapped toy for donation. Each toy brought to the women’s or men’s game will equal one free entry into that night’s contests. Only new and unwrapped toys will be accepted.

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RICHARDSON, Texas – Following a first win of the season for the Angelo State women’s basketball team, the Rambelles’ Madeline Stephens has been named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced this afternoon.

The Lubbock native earns the award after posting her fifth-career double-double and her first double-double of the season in the Rambelles’ victory over St. Edward’s on Saturday in Brownwood. Stephens shot 7-9 from the field and was perfect from the free-throw line in five attempts to score 19 points and grab ten rebounds.

On the season, the second-year guard has started all ten games for the Rambelles, averaging 6.7 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per contest. She is shooting 53 percent from the floor and is tied for the team lead for blocks with five.

Stephens becomes the first player under head coach Alesha Ellis to win a weekly award and is the first Rambelle to win a weekly conference honor since Sawyer Lloyd and De’Anira Moore swept the defensive and offensive player of the week honors back on December 9^th, 2019.

Stephens and the Rambelles are back in action inside the Junell Center tomorrow against Huston-Tillotson, with that game scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.

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SAN ANGELO – West Texas A&M claimed the 2021 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship with a 3-0 victory over St. Edward’s in the final Saturday in San Angelo, Texas.

WT (23-4) won its 16th LSC tournament title and earned the league’s automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship. The Lady Buffs, who played in the championship match for the 17th time, improved to 16-1 in the tournament final.

SEU, who finished with a 16-12 overall record, saw its remarkable postseason run as the 10th seed end in the final.

The 2021 NCAA DII championship field will be announced Monday, November 22 at 6:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.

2021 LSC Volleyball Championship All-Tournament Team
Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M – Tournament MVP
Chandler Vogel, West Texas A&M
Kayla Elliott, West Texas A&M
Sarah Konovodoff, St. Edward’s
Kaitlyn Krafka, St. Edward’s
Maya Smalls, St. Edward’s
Sage Chain, Lubbock Christian
Jalee Sims, Lubbock Christian
Taurie Magee, UT Permian Basin
Isela Murillo, UT Permian Basin
Chloe Patton, Angelo State
Halee Van Poppel, DBU
Morgan Demuth, Oklahoma Christian
Evelyn Torres, UT Tyler
Jasmine Gannon, Eastern New Mexico
Julia Aleman, St. Mary’s
Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce
Chloe Alderson, UAFS

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WICHITA FALLS – The Belles, playing their first conference road match of the season, were able to come out on top against a stingy Mustangs squad, despite the home team taking the second set from the Belles. 

The Belles outkilled the hosts 51-42 and hit .254 on the night, slightly above their season average while holding the Mustangs to .123 hitting percentage, slightly below the season average for Belles’ opponents.  

The lead changed hands multiple times in the first set, before the Mustangs led set two start to finish. The Belles responded by leading set three wire-to-wire as well as having just as firm of a grip on the fourth and final set.  

Elsa Lamphere led all players with a season-high 15 kills for the sophomore. She hit .294 for the match, one of four Belles to hit over .250 on the night.  

Delaney Fuller was not too far off from her teammate, recording 13 kills and hitting .296.  

Kailyn Gilbreath led all players with 26 assists, as well as not committing an attacking error as she buried seven kills. Teammate Jaedyn Woolley added 14 assists of her own off the bench.  

Baleigh Allen recorded seven total blocks, including two solo blocks, and libero Chloe Patton accounted for 40 percent of all Belles’ digs, with the senior being responsible for 16 of the Belles’ 40 digs.  

The Belles improve to 10-2 on the season overall and 3-0 in conference play; they are back in action tomorrow afternoon in Lawton, Oklahoma versus Cameron.  

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The Lone Star Conference will begin its 90th season of competition tomorrow as the league kicks off its year-long celebration with the release of a new public service announcement (PSA).

The new announcement highlights the 90-year history of one of the oldest and most distinguished conferences in all of Division II, narrated by one of the greatest players in LSC and NFL history in former Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelina and NFL Hall of Famer Darrell Green.

Green, a two-sport all-American, was the LSC Football Outstanding Back of the Year in 1982 and was named the Outstanding Male Track Athlete of the Year in back-to-back outdoor track and field seasons in 1982 and 1983. His LSC and Division II 100-meter dash record of 10.08 seconds from 1983 stood for nearly 38 years until it was broken West Texas A&M’s Benjamin Azamati in March 2021.

The release of the PSA marks the beginning of the 90th anniversary celebration in the league that will include online features recognizing the achievements of student-athletes, coaches and administrators. In addition, the conference will highlight important days and games in LSC history, commemorate some of the 76 team national champions, commend top performances in conference history and feature several of the nearly 60 LSC Hall of Honor members.

Founded on April 25, 1931, the LSC has grown from a five-team conference of Texas-based schools to an 18-member league that spans four states (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arkansas). With 18 members, the LSC is the largest conference in NCAA Division II.

While the LSC has maintained a long-standing tradition of competitive athletic programs for its members, many teams and individuals have gone on to distinguish themselves on the national stage. Entering its 90th year, LSC member institutions have collected 76 NCAA team national championships since the league joined the Division II membership in 1982. 

The LSC’s mission is to foster student participation and success among member institutions in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of each institution’s total educational program. The LSC pursues student-athlete development with the highest regard to the principles of academic excellence, graduation success, sportsmanship, ethical conduct, resourcefulness, community service, gender equity and diversity.

Throughout the league’s 90-year history, various institutions have competed under the LSC banner. Today, only Texas A&M-Commerce (then East Texas State) remains from the original group formed in 1931 when North Texas State, Southwest Texas State, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin withdrew from the old Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Since its founding, several institutions have made the LSC their home with the most recent members joining in 2019. Texas A&M-Kingsville (formerly Texas A&I) joined in 1954, and Angelo State in 1968. Conference membership remained within the Texas borders until 1984 when Eastern New Mexico received admittance. Since then, the LSC has included members from Arkansas and Oklahoma. Cameron (1988, 1996) was added near the outset of an expansion phase, while Texas Woman’s (1989) and previous member West Texas A&M (1986, 1993) joined the league soon after. Midwestern State entered early in 1995. In 2016, UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico were added, with DBU, Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma Christian, St. Edward’s, St. Mary’s, Texas A&M International, UAFS and UT Tyler joining in 2019.

The LSC conducts conference championships in 18 sports (nine men and nine women). Men’s championships include football, soccer, cross country, basketball, baseball, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, golf and tennis. Women’s titles are determined in volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, softball, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, tennis and golf.

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Angelo State is the top choice to repeat as Lone Star Conference champions, according to the 2021 LSC volleyball preseason poll announced Monday.

The league’s preseason poll reflects the views of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.

ASU garnered 771 total points and received 31 of the 44 first-place votes in the poll. The Rambelles are looking to claim their third straight LSC titles, including the Spring 2021 crown with a 16-2 overall and 10-2 league record.

UTT earned the No. 2 spot in the preseason poll with 739 points and seven top votes, while Texas A&M-Kingsville was third with 686 points and three first-place nods, West Texas A&M fourth with 649 points, and UAFS fifth (627).

Texas A&M-Commerce (562), St. Edward’s (458), Midwestern State (423), Texas Woman’s (416), UT Permian Basin (409 and two top votes), Texas A&M International (386), and Oklahoma Christian (301) rounded out the top 12 in the preseason poll.

In addition to the poll, three individuals were selected for preseason awards. ASU’s Kailyn Gilbreath was named Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Ayanna Jackson earned Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors, and the Javelinas Emily Witt was tabbed Preseason Setter of the Year.

Gilbreath, a graduate student from Fort Worth, Texas, is the reigning LSC Player of the Year. She ranked third in the LSC with 3.52 kills per set while hitting at a .262 clip in Spring 2021.

Jackson, a freshman from San Antonio, Texas, earned LSC Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors last season. She led the league in blocks with 1.29 per set last season to help the Javelinas to a 13-1 overall record.

Witt, a junior from Rose Hill, Kansas, was tabbed the Spring 2021 Setter of the Year. She paced the LSC in assists with 10.07 per set in Spring 2021 as the Javelinas posted a 13-1 overall record.

The 2021 volleyball season starts in early September, with 18 teams set to compete. The LSC is utilizing a single round-robin scheduling model, in which every team plays a single game versus each conference team.

The LSC champion will be determined by regular season games, while the postseason tournament winner is designated as LSC tournament champion and earns the conference’s automatic qualification. The top 12 teams will qualify for the postseason tournament with the opening round on campus Tuesday, Nov. 16, and the final eight teams at the No. 1 seed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 18-19-20.

Here is the complete poll:

2021 LSC Volleyball Preseason Poll

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