HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – With the close of the 2021-22 campaign, the Alabama A&M Sports Information Office is counting down the Top-10 stories from the campaign 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 3 and run through August 5 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.
Alabama A&M Alumni Makes More Than $2 Million Donation; $1Million To Athletics
As Alabama A&M continues to embody "Start Here, Go Anywhere", a recent alumni who has done just that looked to enable other individuals, particularly student-athletes, to do just that with a
donation of $2,187,518.75 in August of 2021.
The Return Of The B.E.S.T. Awards
Following a two-year absence due to the pandemic and its effects, one of the highlights of the year returned as the
2022 B.E.S.T. Awards were held at the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville.
Bulldog nation was treated to
a night of fun, fine dining and awards recognizing the accomplishments from the 2021-22 season on April 13.
Bulldog Softball Well Represented On Puerto Rico U-18 World Cup Bronze Medal Team
Alabama A&M softball is always looking to add talent and that is not restricted to the United States, as is evidenced by freshman outfielder
Tatianna Roman (Cypress, Calif.) and sophomore pitcher
Esperanza Coe (Beaumont, Calif.) anchoring
Puerto Rico's U-18 Softball World Cup Bronze Medal finish in December 2021.
Bulldogs Add New Talent To Lead Men's and Women's Track & Field
Constantly working to build championship level programs, Alabama A&M took another strong step in that direction in December 2021. That would come in the form of
the hiring of Andrew Murphy to lead the men's and women's track and field programs on December 6.
New Leadership of Men's Basketball Has NBA and Olympic Flair With Hiring of Hughley, Jr.
Following the close of the 2021-22 campaign, Alabama A&M went a different direction for the leadership of the men's basketball program – and that direction was that of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Olympics with the
hiring of veteran coach at every level Otis Hughley, Jr. on April 18.
Sports Information Adds Talent With Addition of Terrisa Mark
In an effort to continue elevating the coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics, the Sports Information Office announced the
addition of former NAIA track and field All-American, University of Miami sprinter and media member Terrisa Mark to its staff in August of 2021.
Veteran Coach And Olympic Silver Medalist Rose Magers-Powell Nominated for International Volleyball Hall of Fame
Winner of more than 400 matches at the college level and a member of the 1984 United States Olympic Silver Medal-winning women's volleyball team, A&M head coach
Rose Magers-Powell was
nominated for the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in April.
Men's Golf Makes Strides Throughout Campaign
A program that is in the process of reloading, not rebuilding, A&M men's golf made strides
throughout the year with a combination of veteran leadership and new talent.
Included among the newcomers was sophomore
Felipe Gomez Lopez (Bogota, Columbia) who placed
seventh in the ASU Spring Classic and
13th in the SWAC Invitational. Freshman
BK Kim (Won Ju, South Korea) led the way with an eighth place finish at the SWAC Championships to
earn All-SWAC honors and the Bulldogs hosted the
Alabama A&M Golf Classic on November 8 and
November 9.
The program would also earn national recognition with a trip to the
prestigious 35th Annual PGA Works Collegiate Championship. A tremendous honor, Alabama A&M was one of just 10 NCAA Division I schools selected to participate in the premiere event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A&M Makes Name For Itself At SWAC Esports Championships
In a relatively new venture, Alabama A&M has staked their claim to the Esports arena as freshman
Jaevon Jordan claimed the 2022 SWAC Esports Championship on April 23.
Softball Delivers Impressive Series Victories and Individual Efforts
No matter the season you end up having, beating your rival will always rank among the season highlights and that is exactly what the Bulldogs accomplished in 2022. They would take the season series from Alabama State with
a 12-7 win in the opener and a
five-inning, 11-1 victory in the finale.
While not the desired result, one of the most entertaining games of the year would come on April 16 at Florida A&M. In that one senior pitcher
Alyssa Lopez (San Leandro, Calif.)
threw all 10.2 innings in an 11 inning affair, the program's longest on record in at least the last 12 years.
One of the most impressive performances of the year came when A&M needed it to stay in the running for a berth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Needing to win all four games against Mississippi Valley State, that is exactly what they did
taking a doubleheader on April 29 and again the following day, delivering the
first four-game sweep in 17 years in the process.
On top of those team accomplishments, junior designated player
Venice Sanders (Birmingham, Ala.)
belted six homeruns, the most by a Bulldog since Tamia Lee-Barbadillo hit 11 in 2019.
Women's Tennis Opens SWAC Season Strong
The Bulldogs delivered an impressive start to the league season in 2022 as they opened with four straight wins and a 5-1 record against SWAC competition.
During that stretch they defeated
Southern (2/18),
Grambling (2/19),
Bethune-Cookman (2/20) and
Mississippi Valley State (3/10) before dropping a
narrow 4-3 decision to Florida A&M (3/11). They then knocked off
Alcorn State (3/13) by that same score to wrap the strong start.
Juniors
Neha Ghare (Pune, India) and Camilia Ruiz Diaz (Asuncion, Paraguay)
each earned All-SWAC Second-Team honors and senior
Jasmine Boyd (Marion, Ind.) was selected for the prestigious SMART Scholarship by the United States Department of Defense.
Women's Cross Country Returns To Course Following Pandemic Year
After seeing the opportunity for their 2020 season wiped away by the pandemic Alabama A&M women's cross country returned to the course in 2021.
With most of their runners competing in indoor and outdoor track & field, the Bulldogs were not able to compete in the spring like A&M's other fall sports but made their mark when they finally got the chance.
Senior
Sabria Wooten (Douglasville, Ga.) anchored that effort,
placing 13th at Montevallo (9/17) while junior
Aneisha Ingram (Frankfield, Jamaica) was 16
th. Wooten would add
a 167-of-292 finish at the highly competitive UAH Invitational (10/9) and Ingram was
56-of-106 at North Alabama (9/10).
Both would then excel at the 2021 SWAC Championships, with Wooten placing 12-of-72 and Ingram right behind her in 14
th. As a result, that effort helped lead the Bulldogs to
a solid 6-of-12 finish.
Women's Volleyball Picked To Finish First In SWAC Following Pandemic Year
After opting out of the Spring 2021 campaign due to COVID-19 concerns, A&M women's volleyball maintained their standing in the league as they were
picked to finish first in a vote by Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) head coaches and sports information directors.
Among their highlights during the season would be
a thrilling 3-2 victory over Mississippi Valley State (11/8) that saw sophomore setter
Isis Mitchell (Plano, Texas) finish with 48 assists and 22 digs and senior defensive specialist
Maci Battle (Meridianville, Ala.) came away with 19 digs.
Both would
factor prominently in a 3-1 win over Prairie View (11/1) with Mitchell delivering 49 assists and Battle 22 digs. The Bulldogs would also
notch a 3-1 decision over Grambling (10/9) and a
3-2 nail-biter against Texas Southern (10/9) on consecutive days.
Bowling Delivers Strong Individual Performances With Return To Full Slate
After competing in just two matches a year ago due to the pandemic, the Bulldogs
saw action in nine tournaments.
Freshman
Tamyra Long led the way with
a 9-of-63 finish at the ISTAP Hornet Classic (11/21) while junior
Nariya Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind.) was
14-of-90 at the Valpo Bowling Classic (10/31).
Junior
Montaya Walton (Detroit, Mich.) added a pair of impressive performances,
placing 9-of-55 at the SWAC East Regional (2/6) to earn All-SWAC honors before delivering a strong showing
against 15 nationally ranked programs at the Columbia 300 Music City Bowling Classic hosted by Vanderbilt (3/20). In the latter she placed 83-of-203 to close out the season.
Women's Track & Field Makes Strides Under New Leadership
First-time collegiate head coach
Andrew Murphy took the reins of the track & field programs in December and the results were immediate. Throughout both the
indoor and
outdoor campaigns, nearly every student-athlete improved their time or distance multiple times.
During the indoor season the distance medley relay delivered a
strong performance at the Buccaneer Track & Field Invitational (2/4) before impressive outings at the 2022 SWAC Championships. In the latter, junior
Aneisha Ingram (Frankfield, Jamaica) and freshman
Taylor Wingo (D'Iberville, Miss.)
earned Top-10 finishes in the 800-meters. Both would also post
strong showings at Samford's Bulldog Open (2/12).
In outdoor, junior
Fabiona Jackson-Jenkins (Montgomery, Ala.) led the way at the
Margaret Simmons Invitational (3/26) and sophomore
Briana Cox (Miami, Fla.)
anchored multiple high level performances at the Hilltopper Relays (4/2).
The Bulldogs would then see Ingram and senior
Shanique Masters (St. Catherine, Jamaica)
place fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 800-meters at the SWAC Championships (5/7).
Longtime Trainer Terry Smith Passes Away at Age of 50
A native of Sparta, Wisconsin,
Terry Smith joined the Bulldogs as an assistant athletic trainer in 2012 and spent a decade covering the A&M football program during his time in Huntsville, Alabama.
A former All-American wrestler at Adams State and avid Highlands Game, Strongman and Olympic Weightlifting and Powerlifting competitor, Smith
passed away on May 12 at the age of 50 following an extended illness.
A&M Hall of Famer And Photographer Sidney Jackson Passes Away at Age 75
A 2019 Hall of Famer and longtime member of the Alabama A&M family, photographer Sidney
Jackson passed away unexpectedly on January 15 at the age of 75.
Jackson was ever present at Bulldog events, home and away, camera always in hand as he served as a team photographer for the better part of the past 15 years. In that time, he touched almost every student-athlete's life with his pictures and gentle personality.
The Schedule
Every Friday throughout the Summer and leading up to the 2022-23 preseason, the SID Office will release the list one at a time beginning with the No. 10 story on June 3. The No. 1 story in Alabama A&M Athletics, as chosen by the Sports Information Office, will be released on Friday, August 5.
Countdown to the Top-10 Alabama A&M Athletics Stories from 2021-22
No. 1 – Coming August 5
No. 2 – Coming July 29
No. 3 – Coming July 22
No. 4 – Coming July 15
No. 5 – Coming July 8
No. 6 – Coming July 1
No. 7 – Coming June 24
No. 8 – Coming June 17
No. 9 – Coming June 10
No. 10 – Coming June 3
Honorable Mention (May 27)
