TCU Sports: Who Made Santa’s Nice And Naughty Lists This Year? Part One - The Nice List
It's that time of the year. Time for Santa to look back over the last year and decide who made his nice list and who made his naughty list. Looking back over the year at TCU and in college sports, a lot happened, and Santa has many people and events to consider.
In Part One of a two-part series, we first look at the Nice list.
Santa's 2023 Nice List
TCU Women's Sports
As a whole, the TCU women's sports are on fire this year. The basketball team, under first-year coach Mark Campbell, is currently 12-0, the longest winning streak in program history, and is the only team in the nation that has two players averaging 20+ points per game - Madison Conner and Sedona Prince.
Madison Conner, a junior transfer from Arizona, along with Sedona Prince, has added a spark to the TCU women's basketball team.
Brian McLean, On Assignment Photo/KillerFrogs
Volleyball advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Jason Williams, in his second year, is creating a winning culture, and this team looks to improve next year. Triathlon, in only its first year as a sport at TCU, participated in the national championships earlier this year.
Rifle and Equestrian are both top-ranked programs and had great starts to their seasons this Fall. They both have postseason and national championship aspirations. Golf and Tennis are poised to have great upcoming seasons.
Beach Volleyball was a top-ranked team last season and only lost three matches; one of those was in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Pick a women's sport at TCU, and you're in for a treat.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark
Two years ago, the future of the Big 12 was in question after Oklahoma and Texas announced their departure to the SEC. Less than a year after that, in comes new commissioner Brett Yormark, and within months, you were already seeing what a positive move this was for the conference. Eight new teams - four this year and four more next year - join the league. Yormark has gone on offense and continues to look at realignment possibilities.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark
Beyond the realignment changes, he's announced plans for some sports to play games in Mexico to build the fanbases further. He added a partnership with the WWE. He's extended contracts with postseason facilities such as AT&T Stadium in Arlington and the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City to long-term deals to keep the championships there for years to come. He's developed entertainment as part of championship games, like Nelly playing at the football championship.
The Big 12's future is bright, especially with Yormark at the helm.
Play Ball - Baseball Begins in Two Months
Last year's team began with high hopes, especially after opening weekend wins over Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Then, the team took a slide in late March and April. The calendar turned to May, and then Frogball became unstoppable and made it all the way to the national semifinals in the College World Series.
Karson Bowen and the TCU baseball team look to return to Omaha for the College World Series.
The team lost a lot of players to the MLB Draft, but they also brought in several key players through high school recruiting and the transfer portal. This team is going to be a fun one to watch. Buckle up, folks. We may be headed back to Omaha in June.
Tennis Anyone?
With the new year around the corner, so are the seasons for the men's and women's tennis teams. If you have not gone to watch a college tennis match in person, do yourself a favor and go. It's such a lively and fun environment. And last spring, both programs put on a show on the courts.
The TCU men's tennis won the Big 12 Tournament after beating Texas 4-1 in the finals. Texas won the regular season title after defeating TCU in Austin. The two teams will once again be two of the top teams in the nation this Spring.
The men's team won its second consecutive ITA Indoor National Championship. Then, they went head-to-head with conference rival Texas for the top spot in the country during the outdoor season. Both teams look to continue where they left off last year.
Don't forget the women. They won the inaugural NIT Championships. Look for them to come out and be ready for more.
Serve yourself up a day at the courts. It will be an ace of a day. You will love it.
New Travel Destinations for Your Bucket Lists
This past July, four new teams joined the Big 12 - BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF. Next July, four more teams will join the Big 12 - Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah.
The new teams all bring a variety of strengths depending on the sport. Utah is going to immediately be a contender in football, while Houston and Arizona will make conference basketball games even more exciting for the best basketball league in the nation.
In addition to the competition, these schools bring opportunities for fans to travel to new and exciting destinations. Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati is an intimate environment worth visiting. UCF is in Orlando, with so much family entertainment nearby. The views from both LaVell Edwards Stadium (football) and Miller Park (baseball) in Provo are incredible and make it worth traveling there.
Who or what would you put on your Nice List for Santa when it comes to TCU, Big 12, or college sports?
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