Alabama A&M Athletics

FALL HIGHLIGHTS

The Alabama A&M women’s cross country team had four events during the 2023 season, but none was bigger than the last.

The Bulldogs improved each week and wrapped up the season by finishing third at the SWAC Cross Country Championships.

Taylor Wingo crossed the finish line seventh, logging a time of 20 minutes and 3 seconds to earn All-SWAC Second-Team honors. Teammate Sanyae Gibson placed 11th , while Tamijah Scriven came across in 16th.

The third-place finish was the best finish for an Alabama A&M women’s cross country team since 2019.

Saving its best for last, the Alabama A&M women’s soccer team experienced some growing pains early in the season, losing nine one-score games as the Bulldogs went 3-16 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

After opening the season winless in 13 games, Alabama A&M picked up a 3-2 victory over Mississippi Valley State and ended the regular season with a blowout victory over Texas Southern and a 1-0 thriller over Alabama State, which sent the Bulldogs into the SWAC Women’s Soccer Tournament

AAMU saw its season come to an end against the eventual tournament champions, Grambling State, in the quarterfinals.

Alabama A&M had another solid season in the volleyball court as the Bulldogs went 12-18 overall and 11-5 in the SWAC, finishing in the fourth spot to earn a berth into the conference tournament.

Alabama A&M picked up a non-conference victory over North Carolina Central early in the season, but turned things up during the final month and a half during the regular season.

The Bulldogs went 11-2 from Oct. 8 until Nov. 12, including riding a nine-match winning streak that saw Alabama A&M defeat Florida A&M, Grambling State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff in five sets.

Alabama A&M reached the conference tournament as the No. 4 seed but lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champions, Jackson State.

It was an up-and-down season for the Alabama A&M football team during the 2023 season.

Alabama A&M opened the season, 1-2, losing to Vanderbilt and Southern, but defeating Lane in the 13thAnnual Louis Crews Classic.

The Bulldogs picked up back-to-back wins, defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff on a Thursday night and routing Tuskegee, 58-3, in front of more than 26,000 fans at Louis Crews Stadium during Homecoming. The 26,391 fans marked the largest attended football game in program history.

A trip to Mobile, Ala., in the Gulf Coast Challenge opened October as the Bulldogs started slow against Jackson State but the following week, Alabama A&M ruined Grambling State’s homecoming, handing the Tigers a 45-24 defeat.

After an open week, Alabama A&M could not get past the stingy defense of Alabama State in a 31-16 loss in the Magic City Classic to Alabama State, which sent the Bulldogs into a three-game losing streak.

Alabama A&M concluded the season with a 30-21 defeat of Mississippi Valley State as the Bulldogs finished with a 5-6 overall record and 3-5 SWAC mark.

WINTER HIGHLIGHTS

The women’s bowling program celebrated one of its best seasons in recent years as Alabama A&M made strides on the lanes.

The Bulldogs finished tied for first in the SWAC West Round-Up, second in the Virginia Union Invitational and third at the SWAC East Round-up.

Alabama A&M advanced to the SWAC Bowling Tournament, beating Jackson State, before falling to Alabama State and Texas Southern.

Rose Ugbinada was named to the All-SWAC Second Team and received numerous honors at matches during the season.

The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams competed in six events from December through February, ending in the SWAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham.

Both programs made significant strides throughout the season and ending in eighth place finishes at the conference championships.

On the women’s side, Ana-Liese Torian blazed on the track, running a program-best 8.35 at the Vanderbilt Invitational, which gave her SWAC Track Athlete of the Week honors. Briana Cox also set a school record in the weight throw, with a toss of 18.20m at the SWAC Championships.

Justin Walker secured a program-best 7.49m in the long jump, while Ezekiel Salama and Joshua Graham also broke school records. Salama broke the school record in the weight throw at 18.20m, while Graham rewrote his own record in the triple jump at 15.20m.

The men’s basketball started slow and ended with a trip to a postseason tournament.

Alabama A&M celebrated its first win of the season in thrilling fashion, an 85-83 overtime win over Tennessee State to conclude the month of November and the Bulldogs started conference play strong with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State.

AAMU got hot at home, picking up wins over Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Mississippi Valley State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern. The Bulldogs even grabbed a road win at SWAC regular season and tournament champion Grambling State.

However, to reach the conference tournament, Alabama A&M would need help and sealed the berth with a home win over Southern. 

In the conference tournament, Alabama A&M defeated Alcorn State and took Texas Southern to the limit, falling for the second year in the SWAC Semifinals.

But wouldn’t you know it, Alabama A&M earned an opportunity to play in a postseason tournament, competing in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament, beating Austin Peay in the Hugh Durham Classic, before falling to the eventual champions, Norfolk State, in the John McLendon Classic.

The women’s basketball team went 10-4 at home and finished just one game under .500, falling in the SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals.

Alabama A&M got non-conference wins over UAH, North Alabama, South Carolina State and Chicago State.

The Bulldogs won thrillers at home, including rallying from a 17-point deficit to defeat Florida A&M, 71-69, in early February. That comeback set the stage for the rest of the season as AAMU pulled away in overtime to defeat Bethune-Cookman in the very next game.

Alabama A&M used a five-game winning streak from Feb. 17 to March 2 to position themselves in the SWAC race. The Bulldogs also celebrated a sweep of rival Alabama State on March 2 in front of their largest crowd at the AAMU Event Center (5,127).

AAMU closed out the regular season with back-to-back losses to Grambling State and Southern, before facing Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the SWAC quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, it was a game for the ages as Alabama A&M fell behind big in the first half, rallying from a 23-point second-half deficit to grab a 74-71 lead with just under two minutes to play. However, the Bulldogs fell victim to an 11-0 run as UAPB advanced to the conference tournament semifinals.

SPRING HIGHLIGHTS

The men’s golf program concluded its fall campaign by finishing second in the Birmingham Invitational and ended the spring with a sixth-place finish at the SWAC Championship.

Freshman Bryson Hannah was tied for third after the first round of the SWAC Championship and slipped in the rankings as Samuel Boddie led the way, finishing tied for 13th.

The Bulldogs were invited to the PGA Works Championship, the HBCU National Championship, and concluded the year with a ninth-place finish as Boddie led the way by placing tied for 24th.

The men’s tennis team had a successful season that saw the Bulldogs in the hunt for the regular season conference title, falling just short to Alabama State.

Alabama A&M went 6-12 overall and 5-1 in conference play.

The Bulldogs had three players selected to the SWAC All-conference teams as Chetanna Amadike was named to the first team, while teammates Kai Cowcher and Freddie Lawrence were selected to the second team.

AAMU saw its season end in the SWAC semifinals as Cowcher received all-tournament team recognition.

The women’s tennis program saw the team finish 7-15 overall and 4-5 in conference play.

The Bulldogs concluded the regular season with a thrilling 4-3 win over Tennessee State and carried that momentum into the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed. 

Alabama A&M edged Southern in the quarterfinals before falling to Florida A&M in the SWAC Tournament Semifinals. 

Ntokozo Zungu was recognized by the conference, earning second-team honors.

The softball season started with an 8-0 victory over Arlington Baptist at the River City Classic.

Alabama A&M got non-conference also wins over North Carolina Central and Tuskegee, before opening SWAC play.

The Bulldogs, who went 9-27 overall and 5-19 in SWAC play, picked up a 6-4 win at Alabama State on March 29 and completed a doubleheader sweep of Mississippi Valley State on April 6. 

AAMU got a 2-0 win over Jackson State at home and earned a 7-6 road victory against Florida A&M on April 27.

It was a great season for the Bulldog men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams. 

Several highlighted performances throughout the season, including Briana Cox breaking her own mark in the hammer throw week in and week out. 

Cox set a SWAC record in the hammer throw at the conference outdoor track and field championships.

The Miami, Fla. native recorded a foul on her first attempt and then broke her school mark with a toss of 54.55m in the second attempt. However, on the third toss of the day, Cox, who ranks 64th in the nation, shattered all previous records, throwing a personal and school record mark of 56.72m to win the event. In addition, she broke Faith Estelle's SWAC mark of 56.50m, which was set on May 3, 2019.

Ana-Liese Torian didn’t need the SWAC Championships to break the school record in the 100m hurdles. She broke the 31-year-old school record in the event at the Music City Challenge on April 27.

She qualified for the 100m hurdles finals at 13.25 and exploded in the final round, winning the event, with a time of 12.99, shattering the school mark, previously held by Taiwo Aladefa (13.19), which was set in 1993. 

Brandon McLaren broke a 36-year-old SWAC record at the conference championships in the decathlon as he finished with 6,937 points, breaking the previous mark of 6,776 points set by Wesley Francis, of Grambling State, in 1988. The Hanover, Jamaica not only broke the conference record, but the school mark, previously held by Nathan Stephens (6,321 points) in 2010.

Justin Walker also set a school record in the long jump at the Music City Challenge, with a mark of 7.53m, breaking the mark of 7.49m, previously held by Anselm James in 1994. 

In addition, Bruce Davis broke his own school record in the shot put at 15.22m at the Tennessee Invite and Ezekiel Salama also set a school record in the hammer throw at 51.44m.

Torian and Walker qualified for the NCAA East First Round in the 100m hurdles and long jump, respectively.

Walker finished 34th in the long jump, while Torian just missed a spot at the final round of the 100m hurdles by one-tenth of a second in finishing 25th.

The Bulldog baseball program concluded the season with a 13-38 overall record and 9-20 mark inside the SWAC.

Alabama A&M opened the season with a 10-6 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and also got non-conference victories over Stillman and Faulkner, before rallying for a thrilling 14-13 walk-off victory over Tuskegee. 

The Bulldogs had a spectacular 3-1 win over Alabama State on March 23 and took two-of-three from Mississippi Valley State to begin April. 

After dropping the first of a three-game series at Jackson State, Alabama A&M rallied from 10 down early in scoring its most runs since 2021 with a 22-17 victory over the Tigers. In that game, Tristan Curless had the big output with two home runs, along with four RBI and four runs scored.

AAMU put together a small win streak, defeating Florida A&M and Tuskegee in a three-day span and got solid pitching in a taking two-of-three from Bethune-Cookman (April 27-28). 

The Bulldogs opened the final month with a 12-11 win over Alabama State and rallied for an 11-9 victory over MVSU. 

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS

In the fall, 19 Alabama A&M University student-athletes earned degrees at the University's commencement ceremony.

Of the class, 10 of the graduates were football student-athletes, two from men's and women's track and field, and one each from baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's bowling, men's golf, softball and women's tennis.

Also during the fall semester, Alabama A&M's student-athletes posted a cumulative 3.14 Grade Point Average.

The department of athletics has more than 300 student-athletes and field teams in 16 NCAA Division I varsity sports. 

During the Fall Semester, 30 Alabama A&M student-athletes posted a perfect 4.0 GPA, while 238 student-athletes were named to the AD's Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes have a 3.0 GPA or higher. In addition, nineteen (19) student-athletes walked across the stage this past December as graduates. 

Five athlete programs – men's golf, women's bowling, women's soccer, women's tennis and women's track & field, posted a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the term. Women's tennis recorded a 3.30 GPA to lead the five programs who registered a 3.0 or higher term GPA. Ten (10) athletic programs boast a 3.0 or higher overall GPA, with women's tennis maintaining a 3.78 overall GPA.

In the spring, 46 Alabama A&M University student-athletes earned degrees at the University's commencement ceremony.

Of the class, 15 of the graduates were football student-athletes, eight were from women's soccer, five from baseball, cheerleading and softball, two from women's track, and one each from athletics production, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's bowling, women's tennis and volleyball.

In addition, a total of 28 student-athletes graduated with Magna Cum Laude and Cum Laude honors and two graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors.

During the 2024 Spring Semester, Alabama A&M’s student-athletes posted a cumulative 3.14 Grade Point Average, with 20 registering a perfect 4.0 GPA. 

Two-hundred and fifty-three (253) student-athletes were named to the AD’s Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes who have a 3.0 GPA or higher. 

Alabama A&M had 10 teams register a 930 Academic Progress Rate (APR) and 219 student-athletes selected to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Commissioner’s Honor Roll. There were 11 programs who posted a 3.0 GPA or higher, led by women’s tennis (3.74). Six programs had a 3.3 GPA or higher (women’s tennis, women’s basketball, women’s bowling, softball, women’s soccer and women’s track).