Undefeated Watch

Leading the polls, the top-ranked South Plains holds a narrow edge over the also undefeated Daytona St. Both teams continued their winning streaks last week with impressive league victories. The Texans secured a road victory against #18 New Mexico JC with a 76-61 score, followed by a dominant 78-54 home win against NMMI on Thursday. Meanwhile, Daytona achieved two road wins, defeating Santa Fe 96-80 and Miami-Dade 78-68. Last week's #7, Mineral Area Cardinals, overcame Missouri St-West Plains 66-58 at home and maintained their perfect league record with a 61-46 victory at Moberly. Triton also preserved their flawless start by beating Kennedy-King 82-67 on the road and showcasing offensive prowess in a 124-68 home win against Harper. All four teams face key games this week, challenging their unbeaten records.

Top 100 Debut

We are excited to announce the release of our Top 100 Rankings for the Class of 2024 tomorrow. This list, open to all graduating sophomores and eligible freshmen who have committed, is subject to change as the season progresses, with updates reflecting the fluid nature of the rankings. We invite nominations for potential candidates; don't hesitate to get in touch with our staff via text/email with relevant information for evaluation. Compiling this list is challenging, given the over 300 student-athletes signing with Division 1 annually and the recent surge in freshman qualifiers due to the popularity of transfer portals. Congratulations to these outstanding young men, and we eagerly anticipate an exciting second semester.

NJCAA Sets Scheduling Guidelines

The NJCAA recently informed member institutions via email about potential scheduling requirements for postseason at-large consideration. The correspondence highlighted concerns regarding the impact of games against Non-NJCAA opponents (academy, club, JV, prep school, etc.) on team records and All-America selection statistics. Currently, these games are not considered for seeding purposes. The Sports Governance Committee is exploring options, including treating all non-NJCAA games as exhibitions/scrimmages, permitting a certain percentage of games (10%) against non-NJCAA opponents, or maintaining the current policy. Teams are advised to consider this when planning their 2024-25 schedules.

Milestones

Collin County head coach, Jim Sigona, won his 700th game recently with a win over Ranger College and has been at the helm of Collin County since 1988. The Cougars are currently 15-3 this season, 2-0 in conference play, and host Weatherford College on Wednesday. He is the only head coach in program history and served as an assistant to John Beilein at Le Moyne College prior to coming to Collin County. More than 165 Collin County players have moved on to the four-year level and over 40 have played professionally.

CSI Head Coach Jeff Reinert won his 100th game with the Golden Eagles. Coach Reinert's milestone was reached with recent top 10 wins over Salt Lake and Snow at home, with the victory against Salt Lake marking this significant achievement. Reinert, a seasoned coach on the West Coast, has a diverse background, including assistant roles at Nebraska, BYU, Utah Valley, Oregon State, Fresno State, and a 7-year tenure as head coach at Santa Margarita Catholic HS in Southern California.