Last year, the Lady Wranglers’ season didn’t quite end the way they hoped.
This season, they’re hoping to finally get back to the NJCAA Tournament.
The Lady Wranglers are coming off a 25-8 overall, 10-4 in WJCAC, record from last year.
While the record itself was nothing to sneeze at, the Lady Wranglers were unable to clinch a spot in the national tournament, losing to New Mexico Military Institute in the Region V tournament.
However, with some strong players coming back this year and some new weapons, Odessa College head coach DayanaAcevedo-Rios is excited for the season ahead.
“I expect a lot of maturity,” Acevedo-Rios said. “We have a strong returning class. We have two girls (Camila Canedo and Liliana Mechura) that were redshirts last year but have been with me for a year and they’re going to be freshmen. They’re coming back and they’re going to be great assets to the team.
Probably the most important player coming back for the Lady Wranglers is sophomore hitter Kayla Williams.
“Kayla Williams is going to be our strongest person and then we have a lot of freshmen who have played at a high level and they know the game. I’m excited to see what they can do.”
Williams also sees a lot of talent on this year’s roster as the Lady Wranglers prepare for their new season.
“We have a lot of good talent on our team,” Williams said. “I think we brought in a lot of good hitters. I think we’ll work pretty well together. The lineup has so much talent. That’s great for our team. We’ll have a diverse offense.”
Acevedo-Rios enters her third year as head coach of the Lady Wranglers and she said she’s learned a lot in the time between now and her first day in Odessa.
“I feel like it’s a different year and I’ve learned a lot as a coach and a person,” Acevedo-Rios said. “I think I know what I can do now. Taylor and I have done a good job of recruiting a strong class so I feel like I’m more in the groove and ready to go.”
The team will have no time to lose with the season starting up this week with a tournament in Roswell, N.M.
The Lady Wranglers will face Utah State Eastern at 10 a.m. Friday before taking on South Mountain Community College at 4 p.m. later that day.
“I think this preseason went by super fast,” Acevedo-Rios said. “I definitely feel like we didn’t have a summer but I’m excited to get started. I think this team is ready. This team is talented. We’ll be ready and we’re ready to play someone else.”
Conference play will begin Sept. 13 against Western Texas College at OC Sports Center.
Acevedo-Rios said the goal, as always, remains to win a conference championship.
“I think our conference is tough with great coaches and good teams. Obviously, a conference championship is our goal and then after that, it’s nationals. But we have to take it one step at a time and focus on ourselves. I think the results will come.”
Acevedo-Rios said this past offseason has been busy with bringing in new recruits and transfer players.
“It was a busy, busy year trying to recruit this big of a class,” Acevedo-Rios said. “We have a bunch of transfers. It has been stressful but we have a diverse team as far as players that can play different positions. We have a strong front row. We havegreat setters that can spread the offense in ways that we haven’t had here since I’ve been in Odessa. I’m excited to see what they can do.”
One of the new faces on this year’s team is freshman Rayah Coy from Midland who played at Legacy High School.
“It’s been fun and it’s been difficult,” Coy said about getting ready for this season. “Our bodies are wearing down but our coaches have done a good job of helping us get the recovery we need.”
Last year, the Lady Wranglers began the season on a promising note but after October began, the team hit a few speed bumps, dropping three in a row to New Mexico Military Institute, New Mexico Junior College and Frank Phillips College.
“I think the girls got a little too comfortable,” Acevedo-Rios said. “We had the talent and the girls just started so strong that when things got tough, they didn’t know how to react. We’ve prepared the girls to know that diversity is going to come. The honeymoon phase will pass so we have to continue to fight. It’s not how you start but how you end and we’re focused on that.”
This year, Acevedo-Rios said her team is all-in.
“The players come to practice every day,” she said. “They give me their best. They push each other and compete. It’s a fun team to watch. It’s early on and I’m excited to see how they’re going to end. I think they’ll grow a lot this year.”
