Coming off four consecutive NJCAA national tournament appearances, expectations remain the same for the No. 13-ranked Odessa College men’s basketball team.
The Wranglers logged a 26-9 showing from last year which included the team’s fourth straight Elite Eight appearance but enters this season with only two returning players.
Still, head coach Kris Baumann — starting his seventh season in charge of the Wranglers — is excited for the 2024-25 campaign.
“We have a bunch of new guys, so it’s going to be interesting,” Baumann said. “I think we have a talented group of young men. We’ve done very well in our scrimmages. We’re 13th in the country which is always a good thing.”
Jason Robinson and Darius Coleman are the two players coming back from last year for the Wranglers while everyone else on the roster is new.
The team will begin its season with five games next week.
The first will be against Northern Oklahoma College-Enid at noon Monday at the UCO Classic in Edmond, Okla.
Odessa College will then face McLennan Community College at 4 p.m. the next day to finish up the UCO Classic.
The Wranglers will then return to the Permian Basin to play three consecutive games at a tournament in Midland College beginning with Weatherford College at 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Chaparral Center.
Odessa College will face Strength ‘N Motion at 2 p.m. Nov. 8 and Dallas College North Lake at 2 p.m. Nov. 9 in the same location.
“We have two big challenges,” Baumann said. “On Monday, we have to play Northern Oklahoma-Enid and then McLennan which is from our region. Then we have to play three games in Midland next week. We have to play five games in six days. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but it’s that time of the season for us. We’re excited.”
Baumann talked about some of the players that should stand out during the season.
“We’ve got a talented guard Naceiar Kirksey from New Jersey who has a chance to be a good player,” Baumann said. “We have a kid out of new York named Lawrence Mitchell who (has) had a good preseason. I’ve been happy with Jason Robinson. He’s come a long way. We’ve got a talented kid in Jayden Colon who’s going to be a good freshman. We have a lot of talented guys. It’s just that all these guys have got to figure out how to play together, but I’m excited. It’s a good group of guys.”
Last year, the Wranglers’ three-year run of WJCAC titles came to an end as the team finished 11-6 in conference play and came in third behind South Plains College and Clarendon College in the standings.
Baumann and his players expect another challenge once conference play begins on Jan. 6 against Midland College at the OC Sports Center.
“I think our conference is as deep as I’ve ever seen,” Baumann said. “I think it’s going to be a challenge like it always is. The guys are excited to get the season started in Oklahoma City and then come play in Midland. It’s going to be a fun week.”
South Plains College should be another challenge this season as the Texans enter the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll.
Baumann believes this will be one of the younger teams that he has coached since coming to Odessa College, but is optimistic that they’ll be ready to go once conference play starts.
“They’re really good kids,” Baumann said. “They’re really hard workers. I think they’re all going to be good college players. We may not be as good early as we have been in the past. But I think by the time conference rolls around and Christmas, these guys will be ready to play.”
The strength for this year’s team looks to be the depth while turning the ball over has been a challenge from the preseason schedule.
“Our weakness right now is our turnovers,” Baumann said. “We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. I think our strength is our depth. We have 12 or 13 really good players that are interchangeable. That’s going to help us. But when we don’t play well, we don’t take care of the ball and that’s been our biggest problem in the preseason.”
With 12 games taking place in the month of November, Baumann talked about what he expects to see from these first four weeks of the season.
“To be honest, it’s the growth of our young guys and teaching them how to play college basketball,” Baumann said. “Everyone seems to think that they can play junior college basketball but people are shocked by how good the junior college players are.”
