The Cottey College Basketball Program is selected to finish 4th in the American Midwest Conference in the coaches' poll that was released by the conference this afternoon. The Comets return 91% of their scoring from a team that had its first winning season in over a decade, including the most wins since joining NAIA. This includes 7 conference award winners. Sarah Hunt, 2nd Team All-Conference Performer, led the team in scoring last year at 16.6 points per game. Autumn Wallce and Dally Coulter also return after being named to the All-Conference Team. Wallace scored 12.1 points per game and brought in 5.8 rebounds per game. Coulter averaged 7.1 points per game and brought in a staggering 7.8 rebounds per game. Sara Montesdeoca, who has been named to the All-Conference team for two straight years, also scored 8.1 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game. Claudia Hadlock, the 2022 AMC Freshman of the Year, is back for her Junior year after averaging 8.4 points her sophomore year. Jya Barksdale, named to the Freshman All-Conference team, and Akyria James, named to the All-tournament Team, are ready for their sophomore campaign. Lesley Chalmers, Senior, and Sadie Hubbard, Junior, round out the returners.
The Comets also add key local talent to the roster. Brecklen Morrison from Hume, MO who was the GVVC Conference Player of the Year her senior year and Ellaina LaNear who is an All-District performer who helped lead Liberal High School to their first Final Four appearance in girls' basketball history. The Comets also add AuShae Farris and Chelsy Livesay from Oklahoma Western Community College and Andrea Aragon from Baker University.
First Year Head Coach Evan Belk had this say, "We are excited for the opportunity to compete this season. We have a group that believe in each other and wants to continue to push this program to new heights. We look forward to putting in the work and getting better every single day."
The Comets open the regular season in Winfield, KS against Southwestern College. Their home opener is October 31st against Friends University at 5:30pm.
