It’s hard to believe that the 2022-23 school year is almost complete. Finals are here, graduation is coming up, and almost every sport are now in their respective off-season’s.

With this being the final article of the year for TLU Student Media, I wanted to take a look back on the accomplishments and feats of every sport this past season.

Before I go down the line from team to team, I would be remised if I didn’t mention the incredible years that the baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s track and field teams are currently having.

At the time I am writing this, the baseball team is red hot having won 19 of their last 21 games and will at minimum share a piece or win the regular season SCAC title before heading to the conference tournament as one of the top seeds.

Meanwhile the softball team is having a historic season once again. They have been a top 5 nationally ranked team all year long. They are regular season champs of the SCAC for the 9th straight time, and only lost 2 games all throughout conference play. TLU softball has their eyes on another conference tournament title, a World Series appearance, and a 2nd National Championship.

The men’s track and field team placed 2nd at the SCAC Championships last week at Southwestern. The men racked up 240 total points over the weekend, and had 9 individual champions to go along with 20 podium finishes. The women’s team showed out as well, as they finished 3rd overall with a total of 132.5 points. Both teams will now prepare for the DIII Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Rochester, New York, where some of the top dogs from this year’s teams expect to compete.

Looking back to the fall season, it was one filled with teams on the rise and included a champion in the mix as well.

The football team improved on their win total from last year under 1st year head coach, Neil Lahue. The dogs were great on the road down the stretch and hope to carry that momentum into next season. Football will return a lot of talent from this year’s team, as well. Longtime starting quarterback, Seth Cosme, is coming back for his 5th year after a career year passing. Top running backs Jacob Forton and DaKory Willis return for their senior season’s next year. And, the bulk of the defense will be back as well including standout linebacker Caleb Giles. Expect a big year from TLU football next fall.

Meanwhile the TLU volleyball team made history this year. They went an finished with an impressive 27-10 overall record and capped off their season with their 1st ever conference title as a member of the SCAC. Their tremendous run came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but this years team laid the foundation for years to come by bringing home a conference championship to Seguin.

Men’s and women’s cross country ran hard all season, as both teams placed in the top 5 of the SCAC Championship Meet. The women placed 3rd overall, paced by Caeli Taylor and Mackenzie Payne. As for the men, they finished 5th and were led by Carlos Cura this past season.

Women’s soccer made some noise this year after going 11-3 in conference play, finishing 2nd in the regular season standings, and making it all the way to the SCAC Championship match, where they fell to powerhouse Trinity. 1st year head coach, Kerwin Johnson earned the most wins by any 1st year head coach in school history, and freshman midfielder Alyssa Siemen earned the SCAC offensive player of the year award. The future is very bright for TLU women’s soccer.

Men’s soccer had a solid season, as well, going 8-4-5 overall and 4-2-2 in conference play. The bulldogs were once again led by the stellar play of 5th year senior forward Luis Green. Green became the all-time leader in career goals this past season and received All-American honors for the 3rd time in his career. He leaves a historic legacy behind for this young and up and coming squad.

Moving on to the winter sports, men’s basketball had an up and down season filled with a lot of exciting contests, that included a 25 point 2nd half comeback win over Centenary at home. Junior guard Xavier Phillips earned All-SCAC 2nd team honors, sophomore guard Isaac Orozco and senior forward Mason Green were All-SCAC honorable mention, and freshman guard Mason Wallace made the All-SCAC freshmen team. The bulldogs were a young team this year and are looking to take a big step next season, going into their 2nd season with Coach Falke.

The women’s team had another successful season under the direction of 2nd year head coach, Troy Patterson. They finished 4th in the SCAC and made a run to the semi-finals in the conference tournament before falling to ranked Trinity. Sophomore guard Kailee Mulkey earned All-SCAC 1st team honors. Freshman guard Lauren Sansano earned both All-SCAC 3rd team All-SCAC freshmen team honors, respectively. Senior forward Kailey Lacy and freshman forward Davi’Yanna Jones both collected All-SCAC honorable mentions, with Jones also earning All-Freshmen honors alongside Sansano.

Looking at some of the spring sports that have wrapped up, men’s and women’s golf both ender the year strong. The men finished 6th at the SCAC Championship in Kerrville, and were led by All-SCAC 1st team, sophomore Tobey Willis, who placed 4th individually. The women also finished 6th in Kerrville and senior Wynter Flores made the top 15 by the end of the tournament.

Men’s and women’s tennis fought hard all season, but saw their seasons both end to Colorado College in the quarterfinals of the SCAC Championships. Both teams are looking ahead to a big year next year going into year 2 with head coach David Mueller.

Last, but certainly not least, is the newest member of the athletic department at TLU and that is the Acrobatics and Tumbling team. The goal for 1st year head coach, Cam Bryant, was to be “H1storic”, and that they were. In their 1st year as a program, they improved a lot and even sent two members to the NCATA DIII Championships, in Gracen Bunch and Phoenix Cosley.

There’s your recap for another tremendous year of TLU Athletics!

Good luck to everybody on their finals, and pups up!