Sam Houston Bearkats

2024-25 Record: 13-17 (5-13)

Head Coach: Ravon Justice (7th season) is the only coach to claim a winning record with Sam Houston in their first season. SHSU had won just 40 games total in the previous five seasons before Justice's arrival. Justice won 25 CONFERENCE games in two years (35 total). Now they are at least known as the scrappy underdog you better take very seriously. Well, until the brick piles up late in the game.

Offensively, addressing last season's 60.7 points per game (272nd nationally) comes via added scoring depth; transfers like Annika Corcoran (6.1 PPG at Detroit Mercy) and Blessing Okoh (4.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG at Winthrop) join returners Deborah Ogayemi (51.0% FG) and Nyla Inmon (10.9 PPG) to improve efficiency from 37.3% field goal shooting.

Ogayemi is the team's offensive hub and was named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-Conference USA Team. Last season, she was a consistent force, averaging 12.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and recording several double-doubles, including a 19-point, 11-rebound performance against UTEP. Inmon complements Ogayemi inside, coming off a strong junior year with 10.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, adding a bit of versatility to the game last year, too, with 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals.

Fanta Kone averaged 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and a team-high 4.4 assists and 3.0 steals per game, showcasing her playmaking and defensive prowess last season. She might be the fiestiest Bearcat of them all. Graduate student guard Aysia Ward-Strong would debate that, bringing 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.2 steals per game as argument material. Aysia Ward-Strong is a multi-sport talent, having competed on the University of Alabama track team before focusing on basketball, so good luck catching up with those stats.

Annika Corcoran, transferring from Detroit Mercy, will likely start over Whitney Dunn (26.8% 3PA). Corcoran averaged 6.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, offering veteran ball-handling and shooting (around 38% from three in prior seasons). Blessing Okoh, coming from Winthrop after averaging 4.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, brings physicality and rebounding (0.9 blocks per game previously) to disrupt opponents' interior plays and secure second-chance opportunities.

5wins Crystal Ball Call: The core of this team won a game in the CUSA tournament last season, giving them a taste of postseason success to build upon. Expect at least two wins in the tournament and some flirting with a winning record down the stretch. Home-court advantage at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum, where they went 8-6 last season, could propel them past projected mid-tier foes like FIU and UTEP, exceeding the preseason poll by climbing to a top-5 finish.