HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – With the close of the most unique season in program history, the Alabama A&M Sports Information Office is counting down the Top-10 stories of the 2020-21 season throughout the summer. Today, we kick off the list with a group of Honorable Mentions prior to releasing the remainder of the Top-10 list on each of the next 10 Fridays.
The full Top-10 list will begin on Friday, June 4 and run through August 6 when the No. 1 moment is announced. Below are a number of some of the most notable stories and accomplishments that just missed the cut for this year's Alabama A&M Athletics Top-10 Countdown.
Make sure to check
www.AAMUSports.com every Friday to catch the latest release.
Bulldogs Keep Talent With Pair of Long-Term Extensions; Brings In New Baseball Leadership
Alabama A&M knows talent when it sees it and moved to lock up a pair of successful head coaches to long-term extensions in 2020-21.
The first of those was head football coach
Connell Maynor on
April 29 following an unprecedented season with the second being head volleyball coach
Rose Magers-Powell on May 13.
The latter, while not competing this spring, has led A&M to
consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference Regular Season Championships in the last two seasons they did compete in. That represents the first time since the 2009 season.
On October 23 they were
joined by Elliott Jones, who joined Bulldog nation as head baseball coach following a tenure as an assistant coach at both Grambling and Southern.
Men's Basketball Opens Strong Despite Interruptions; Earns Multiple Recognitions
On the court, men's basketball was the first to return to action following the COVID-19 shutdown, doing so with
a last second win at Samford on November 29.
Slated to travel to nationally ranked Ohio State and North Alabama over the next several weeks, those games would not happen due to COVID-19 related cancellations yet the Bulldogs returned 20 days later to
take down a strong South Alabama team by a 93-90 score in double-overtime at Elmore Gymnasium on December 19.
Another stretch of four cancellations then sidelined A&M until January 16, when they
took out rival Alabama State 70-63 and then
Southern 68-58 to open 4-0 despite the constant interruptions. They would go on to a 6-2 start before finishing at 6-9.
That season was not without recognition for those accomplishments, however, as sophomore guard
Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) and sophomore forward
Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) as both were named
All-SWAC Second-Team. Johnson went a step further, earning
BOXTOROW Second-Team All-American honors.
Both also earned SWAC Player of the Week recognition, with
Hicks picking up his on January 26 and Johnson earning three on
December 2,
December 22 and
February 26.
Men's Track & Field Delivers Weekly SWAC Honors
Over the course of both the indoor and outdoor seasons, men's track & field delivered a total of four SWAC weekly honors, including a pair of sweeps.
During the indoor campaign senior
Christian Bryant (Newbern, Ala.) and sophomore Myles McCoy (Albany, Ga.) earned
SWAC Field and Track Athlete of the Week honors, respectively, on January 28 following the
KMS Invitational.
It would be another sweep during the outdoor season as sophomore
Brandon McLaren (Clifton, Hanover, Jamaica) and freshman
Devin Gronewold (Arab, Ala.) would
claimed the league's Track and Field honors, respectively, on March 30 following impressive efforts at the
Montevallo Falcon Classic (3/20). Gronewold won the high jump while McLaren took first in the decathlon.
Not far behind was senior
Tyrese McPhatter (Columbus, Ga.) with
three top-three finishes at UAB Spring Invitational (4/2-3).
Women's Tennis Earns Honors During Run to SWAC Semifinals
Following eight cancellations or postponements, Alabama A&M women's tennis produced four straight wins, all against SWAC opponents. The first three of those would be 4-0 sweeps over
Mississippi Valley State (2/27),
Grambling (2/28) and
Southern (3/6) before capping with a marathon
4-3 win against Alcorn State (3/12).
Coming off of a rough patch, the Bulldogs would rebound in the
SWAC Tournament Quarterfinals as they notched a 4-2 victory over Alcorn to earn a spot in the semifinals before falling to the eventual league champion.
Fueling those efforts was A&M's top tandem of juniors
Anita Bozhko (Minsk, Belarus) and
Jasmine Boyd (Marion, Ind.), both of whom were
named All-SWAC following
an impressive season.
Bowling Competes in SWAC Championships Despite Schedule Adversity
Largely the victim of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alabama A&M bowling
saw five of their seven scheduled tournaments wiped away.
Despite that they persevered,
securing the No. 6 seed in the SWAC Championships with victories over Texas Southern and Grambling at the SWAC East Roundup (2/6) in their first action of the season.
The Bulldogs then returned to the lanes 43 days later to take advantage of that seeding at the 2021 SWAC Championships in Dallas, Texas. There they would
win a pair of qualifying matches on the opening day before closing the season on Day 2 during the six-team double elimination phase.
Men's Golf Hosts Alabama A&M Golf Classic
The Bulldogs showcased their championship level home course of Hampton Cove as they hosted five teams for the
2021 Alabama A&M Golf Classic from March 22-23.
Among the teams taking part were eventual champion and Big East member DePaul, SWAC members Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State as well Miles College and Snead State.
The Schedule
Every Friday throughout the Summer and leading up to the 2021-22 preseason, the SID Office will release the list one at a time beginning with the No. 10 story on June 4. The No. 1 story in Alabama A&M Athletics, as chosen by the Sports Information Office, will be released on Friday, August 6.
Countdown to the Top-10 Alabama A&M Athletics Stories from 2020-21
No. 1 – Coming August 6
No. 2 – Coming July 30
No. 3 – Coming July 23
No. 4 – Coming July 16
No. 5 – Coming July 9
No. 6 – Coming July 2
No. 7 – Coming June 25
No. 8 – Coming June 18
No. 9 – Coming June 11
No. 10 – Coming June 4
Honorable Mention (June 2)
