Texas Southern Baseball Team Forced To Switch Buses After Striking Road Debris

The Tigers baseball team is perfect in SWAC play this season.

Texas Southern Baseball / TSU Athletics

HOUSTON - The Texas Southern baseball team was traveling for a game against Grambling State when their bus struck a large object on Interstate 20 near Minden, Louisiana on Thursday, Mar. 20.

Vice President of Athletics Kevin Granger told HBCU Legends, "No one was injured in the incident, and we sent another bus to take the team to their hotel."

TSU Bus / Credit: TSU Alum

Texas Southern's baseball team has an overall record of 8 wins and 13 losses, and has started conference play with a perfect 3-0 SWAC record. The Tigers will face Grambling State in a three-game series from Mar. 21 to Mar. 23. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 PM CT at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park in Grambling, Louisiana.

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Move coverage on Texas Southern

Texas Southern Star McClain Shocks HBCU Basketball Fans, Enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Coach Johnny Jones will be looking for a new leader, playmaker, and ball handler to address a significant gap in his backcourt at Texas Southern. On Monday, point guard Kavion McClain announced his decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal through his X.com account.  Earlier this season, Jones told HBCU Legends he considered McClain as one of the leaders for the Tigers.

McClain posted on social media:

"FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANT TO EXPRESS MY SINCERE GRATITUDE TO THE COACHING STAFF, ATHLETIC TRAINERS, ACADEMIC SUPPORT, AND MY TEAMMATES AT TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY FOR THEIR UNWAVERING SUPPORT THROUGHOUT MY TIME HERE.

THE EXPERIENCES AND RELATIONSHIPS I'VE BUILT DURING MY TIME AT TSU WILL ALWAYS HOLD A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART.

WITH THAT BEING SAID, AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, I HAVE DECIDED TO ENTER THE TRANSFER PORTAL WITH A YEAR OF ELIGIBILITY REMAINING.

THANK YOU, TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY FOR EVERYTHING! EXCITED FOR WHAT'S AHEAD. #GRATEFUL #NEXTCHAPTER #KAVIONMCCLAIN"

Thank You TSU🫶🏾 pic.twitter.com/gnxrzUfEZE

— Kavion McClain (@901_king_k) March 17, 2025

BOXTOROW recently recognized McClain as a member of the 2024-25 First Team All-Americans. He also earned 2nd Team All-SWAC honors for leading the Tigers with an average of 13.9 points and 4.3 assists per game, while scoring 64 three-pointers for TSU. Additionally, McClain hit an impressive 90.9 percent from the free-throw line and recorded 52 steals from opponents.

The senior from Memphis will attract offers from other HBCU programs and Power 4 schools. His contributions in his lone season at Texas Southern helped the Tigers secure the No. 4 seed in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament this season.

The Tigers were ultimately defeated by Alabama State, the SWAC Tourney Champions, in the quarterfinal round. No. 16 ASU will play No. 16 St. Francis on Tuesday at 6:40 PM CT in Dayton, Ohio.

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Texas Southern In The Postseason

TSU LADY TIGERS TO HOST WNIT GAME

Texas Southern (16-15) will host St. Mary's (14-16) in the first round of the 27th annual Postseason WNIT Tournament, powered by Triple Crown Sports. The tip-off will be at 6:30 PM CT at H&PE Arena on TSU's campus in Houston, Texas.

The Texas Southern Lady Tigers were one of the automatic qualifiers for the postseason basketball tournament. The St. Mary's Gaels are playing out of the West Coast Conference, received an at-large bid.

BREAKING: Texas Southern Lady Tigers will host St. Mary's in the first round of the WNIT at H&PE Arena in Houston, TX. The tip-off will be at 6:30 PM CT. @hbculegends @TSUWomensHoops @blacksportsinc pic.twitter.com/hhF0Ln6TsR

— Kyle T. Mosley (@ktmoze) March 17, 2025

Here’s the schedule for the 27th edition of the Postseason WNIT:



Round 1 - March 20-22, 2025

Round 2 - March 23-25, 2025

Super 16 - March 26-28, 2025

Great 8 - March 29-31, 2025

Fab 4 - April 1-2, 2025

Championship - Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 3 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)

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TSU CRUSHES PVAMU

The 2025 Starry SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament quarterfinals game quickly became a "NO CONTEST" bout as No. 2 Texas Southern defeated No. 10 Prairie View A&M, 69-49, at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.

"We had to get warmed up," Coach Vernette Skeete said about her team's performance after halftime. "We had to get used to the goals we set, and we felt like it was even, it was time to turn up, finish our shots, and execute...we got the jitters out of us, and came alive in the second half."

All-SWAC guard Aylasia Fantroy had a double-double after leading all scorers with 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the victory. Courtlyn Loudermill posted 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block. Guard Daeja Holmes contributed 12 points and hauled-in two defensive rebounds for the Lady Tigers.

"We got to stay disciplined, and it's going to be ours," TSU guard Daeja Holmes noted in her postgame interview.

Texas Southern took an 18-8 lead during the first quarter, but the Lady Panthers closed the gap to trail by eight points, 34-26, at halftime.

The Lady Tigers had 26 fastbreak points in the 3rd period to increase their advantage, 50-27, for 4:12 minutes.

Prairie View A&M attempted to make a couple of runs but did minor damage as Texas Southern would extend its lead to 69-45 in the final minutes. The Lady Tigers left the court victorious with a 20-point win, defeating PVAMU for a third time this season.

Nyam Thornton did not have her best outing but still led the Lady Panthers with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Freshman center Amauri Williams left the game with five personal fouls after scoring just five points.

Texas Southern will have a day off to rest before entering the semifinal round on Friday, Mar. 14, against the No. 3 Alabama A&M and No. 8 Alcorn State contest winner.

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SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament: The Clash Between Prairie View vs. Texas Southern

HOUSTON - Wednesday morning's opening contest between No. 2 Texas Southern (15-14) and No. 10 Prairie View A&M (10-18) has all the makings of an epic showdown. The H-Town area HBCU basketball rivals will tip off at 11 AM ET at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.

SWAC Women's Brackets / Credit: SWAC

This game will be the third matchup of the season between Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M, both won by the Lady Tigers. On Feb. 1, TSU defeated PVAMU, 82-69, and again in the season finale on Mar. 8, 64-60. We witnessed in the final contest how Texas Southern overcame a 16-point deficit to rally and win by four points.

Expect a highly competitive and contentious clash between the crosstown rivals who have "Bad Blood" between one another. After the Lady Panthers pulled off the opening round upset against Bethune-Cookman, star player Nyam Thornton (16 points, 4 rebounds) said in a postgame interview about TSU, "They know what's coming." Shots fired!

Under third-year coach Vernette Skeete and her Flux Offense, the Lady Tigers rattled off 11 straight conference wins. That was before the injury bug hindered their progress in the later part of TSU's season.  

The major setbacks have been losing starting guard Aaliyah Henderson (in concussion protocol). In the last game, forward Treasure Thompson was out, and Daeja Holmes had a non-contact injury. Expect a heavy rotation with TSU pounding the paint with Deivejon Harris and Jaida Belton to complement the shooting of Courtlyn Loudermill and All-SWAC player Aylasia Fantroy.

Aylasia Fantroy - Texas Southern Guard - Sophomore / CREDIT: Kyle T.Mosley, HBCU LEGENDS

Against Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M center Amauri Williams was a force in the paint, scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds. However, watch the matchups with Nyam Thornton, CJ Wilson, and Ash'a Thompson, who are hoping to create havoc for TSU. In the finale, CJ Wilson led all scorers with a 20-point effort in the loss.

According to TSU Athletics, "Since the 2012-13 season, Texas Southern holds an 18-12 record against PVAMU." However, throw out the record books. Today's clash could have SWAC Tournament spectators applauding the rise of Coach Vernette Skeete or the mastery of the legend Coach Sandy Pugh.

The Last 10 Games

• Prairie View A&M's offense in the last 10 games is scoring 56.0 points per game.
• Texas Southern's offense in the previous 10 games scored 64.5 points per game.

PREDICTION

A Close One!!!

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Women's Tournament Schedule (All times in EST)

March 12 - 11:00 AM: Game Three - No. 2 Texas Southern vs. Winner of Game One; 5:30 PM: Game Four - No. 1 Southern vs. Winner of Game Two

March 13 - 11:00 AM: Game Five - No. 3 Alabama A&M vs. No. 6 Alcorn State; 5:30 PM: Game Six - No. 4 Jackson State vs. No. 5 Grambling State

March 14 - 11:00 AM: Game Seven - Winner of Game Three vs. Winner of Game Five; 5:30 PM: Game Eight - Winner of Game Four vs. Winner of Game Six

March 15 - 5:30 PM: Championship - Winner of Game Eight vs. Winner of Game Seven

How To Watch

• All of the scheduled women's basketball games will broadcast on ESPN +

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SWAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON HONORS

The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced its 2024-25 All-SWAC Women's Basketball teams and individual award winners. The all-conference honors were voted on by the league’s coaches and sports information directors. In order to be eligible for awards student-athletes must have participated in a minimum of 75 percent of their team’s games played this season.

Jackson State’s Taleah Dilworth was named Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year while Alcorn State’s Destiny Brown claimed Defensive Player of the Year accolades.

Prairie View A&M’s Crystal Schultz was selected as Freshman of the Year, and Southern’s Carlos Funchess was voted SWAC Coach of the Year.

In her first season at Jackson State, Dilworth led the conference in scoring most of the season registering a total of 475 points and averaging 16.4 points a game. She opened the 2024-25 campaign scoring her 1,000th career point on the road against Missouri. Dilworth has recorded 28 double-figure scoring games this season.

Brown was a key figure for the Alcorn State Lady Braves as she led her team in points per game (12.4 ppg) as well as block shots per game (1.8 bpg). She tallied 47 total blocks in 26 games played this season while leading the Braves to a 10-8 overall conference record.

Schultz had a phenomenal debut season for the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers during the 2024-25 campaign. She averaged 9.3 points per game while scoring 169 total points.

Funchess led the Southern Jaguars to a spectacular season as SU claimed the 2024-25 SWAC Women's Basketball regular season title with a 15-3 conference record.

The complete listing of the SWAC all-conference women's basketball selections and individual awards winners are as follows:

SWAC Coach of the Year - Southern University's Carlos Funchess / Credit: SWAC

Coach of the Year

Carlos Funchess, Southern

Taleah Dilworth - Jackson State - 2024-25 SWAC Player and Newcomer of the Year / Credit: SWAC

Player of the Year

Taleah Dilworth, Jackson State

Destiny Brown - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 / Credit: SWAC

Defensive Player of the Year

Destiny Brown, Alcorn State

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 - Taleah Dilworth / Credit: SWAC

Newcomer of the Year

Taleah Dilworth, Jackson State

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 🐈‍⬛ Crystal Schultz / Credit: SWAC

Freshman of the Year

Crystal Schultz, Prairie View A&M

Alaysia Fantroy - All-SWAC First Team / Credit: TSU Athletics

All-SWAC First Team

Taleah Dilworth, Jackson State

Alisha Wilson, Alabama A&M

Kaila Walker, Alabama A&M

Aylasia Fantroy, Texas Southern

Destiny Brown, Alcorn State

All-SWAC Second Team

Aniya Gourdine, Southern

Kahia Warmsley, Grambling State

Cordasia Harris, Alabama State

Asianae Nicholson, Bethune-Cookman

Cheyenne McEvans, Florida A&M

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SWAC Women's Basketball Brackets Has No. 1 Jaguars Ready For Epic Tourney Showdowns

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced its 2025 Starry SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Buick seedings featuring the league’s top ten teams at the conclusion of regular season play.

2025 SWAC Women's Regular Season Champion Southern enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed (15-3 SWAC).

Texas Southern claimed the No. 2 seed (14-4 SWAC) while Alabama A&M claimed the No. 3 seed (14-4 SWAC) in the tournament followed by No. 4 seed Jackson State (13-5 SWAC).

Grambling State is the No. 5 seed (12-6 SWAC) followed by No. 6 seed Alcorn State (10-8 SWAC).

Bethune-Cookman (7-11 SWAC) and Florida A&M (6-12 SWAC) will enter the tournament as the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds respectively.

Mississippi Valley State (6-12 SWAC) and Prairie View A&M (6-12) claimed the final two tournament bids and will enter the tournament as the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds respectively.

In the event of a tie in conference records the league’s  was used to determine final seedings.

The 2025 Starry SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Buick is scheduled to be played on March 11-15 at Gateway Center Arena located in Atlanta, Ga.

Texas Southern's Tenacious Defense Versus Prairie View A&M on Feb. 1, 2025 at H&PE Arena in Houston, TX / Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends

SWAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SEEDING

1. Southern: 15-3
2. Texas Southern: 14-4
3. Alabama A&M: 14-4
4. Jackson State: 13-5
5. Grambling State: 12-6
6. Alcorn State: 10-8
7. Bethune-Cookman: 7-11
8. Florida A&M: 7-11
9. Mississippi Valley State: 6-12
10. Prairie View A&M: 6-12

The upcoming tournament schedule of games is listed below.

SWAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

March 11 11:00 am Game One: No. 7 Bethune-Cookman vs. No. 10 Prairie View A&M ESPN+

March 11 5:30 pm Game Two: No. 8 Florida A&M vs. No. 9 Mississippi Valley State ESPN+

March 12 11:00 am Game Three: No. 2 Texas Southern vs. Winner Game One ESPN+

March 12 5:30 pm Game Four: No. 1 Southern vs. Winner Game Two ESPN+

March 13 11:00 am Game Five: No. 3 Alabama A&M vs. No. 6 Alcorn State ESPN+

March 13 5:30 pm Game Six: No. 4 Jackson State vs. No. 5 Grambling State ESPN+

March 14 11:00 am Game Seven: Winner Game Three vs. Winner Game Five ESPN+

March 14 5:30 pm Game Eight: Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game Six ESPN+

March 15 5:30 pm Championship: Winner Game Eight vs. Winner Game Seven ESPN+

All times listed Eastern Standard Time (EST)

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