The days are getting colder, and it is time to get out the jackets and gloves. This is the moment for collegiate sports fans, to switch out their seats in stadiums for seats in arenas.
UCCS has four sports for the winter season, those being men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s indoor track and field.
With players and staff constantly changing in collegiate sports, as a fan, it’s important to know what changed with your favorite team and how that could affect performance in the upcoming season.
Men’s basketball
Last year marked the return of UCCS in the RMAC tournament after being absent for two years.
This year, the team will look to keep building on those foundations, being projected to be in the hunt for the top of the RMAC.
Last season, they went 17-12 and snuck into the RMAC tournament as the No. 7 seed. With the RMAC preseason coaches poll projecting them to be the fourth-best team in the conference, they are looking to make it into the tournament comfortably this time.
A lot of hope will be placed on junior point guard Xavier Martinez, the only member of the team to make the RMAC All-Preseason team.
Martinez had the most field-goal attempts on the team last year and it is looking to be more of the same this year as the team will rely on his scoring to get ahead.
The biggest loss for the team was graduating forward William Becker. He was the top scorer for the Mountain Lions last season and earned first-team All-RMAC honors.
With a William Becker-shaped hole at the forward position this year, it has opened an opportunity for freshman Brody Hull, redshirt sophomore Marzouq Abdur-Razaaq and senior Jayden Washington to step up.
There is an even mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen on the team, meaning there is still time for UCCS to keep building on this core in the upcoming years.
One major advantage for this team is the experience of head coach Jeff Culver, who is returning for his 14th season at UCCS.
The team is already off to a 3-3 start with conference play beginning on Dec. 4 against Colorado Mesa.
Women’s basketball
The reigning RMAC champions are hungry for more, and the preseason polls project that they will finish second in the conference this year.
Last year was a magical season for the team as they walked into the RMAC tournament as the No. 6 seed and upset No. 1 seed Colorado Mesa on their home court to capture the championship.
Helping their chances is the return of redshirt senior guard Amyah Moore Allen, who was the team’s best scorer last season, earning her first-team All-RMAC honors last year and all-preseason honors this year.
The team saw four seniors graduate last year. While losing seniors is never ideal, one loss included forward Maison White, who was a defensive anchor for the team, leading them in rebounds and blocks.
The team is relying on its championship experience this year as it features five seniors, three of whom are starters.
Leading this team is Misty Wilson, entering her third season as head coach of the Mountain Lions. Having an RMAC championship and NCAA tournament appearance already under her belt in her short time here gives reason to believe that more great things are to come for this team.
The team finished their out-of-conference schedule with a 3-3 record, all three losses coming to nationally ranked opponents.
Conference play begins Dec. 4 against Colorado Mesa.
Men’s indoor track and field
Last year, this team placed first in six events at the conference meet, which was enough to be crowned RMAC champions on their own turf.
The climb back to the top will be more of a challenge, with UCCS going without four of their athletes who placed first last year, including Luke Hard who set an RMAC championship record setter for weight throw and Caiden Macktinger who set the RMAC championship record for pole vault.
Thankfully, senior KJ McInnis, who placed first in the high jump event at last year’s championship meet will be returning for the Mountain Lions.
Leading this team is head coach Ross Fellows who is returning for his 10th season as the coach for both the men’s and women’s team.
While this team may have lost a lot of valuable pieces, they are no strangers to rebuilding their way back to the top as during coach Fellows’ tenure, his teams have captured 19 RMAC trophies for both indoor and outfield titles.
Their first event will be the Mines Alumni Classic, beginning on Friday, Dec. 5 at 4 p.m.
Women’s indoor track and field
This team is coming off a second-place finish at the 2024 RMAC Indoor Championship Meet.
The conference has been dominated by Colorado School of Mines for the last three years, so the name of the game has become creating a team that can go toe-to-toe with the Orediggers.
The UCCS women placed first in three events at the conference meet., with two of those being won by the now graduated Anna Fauske.
The good news is that junior Paige Cordero, who won the long jump event last year, is still on the roster this year.
Although the team only won three events, UCCS finished in second at that meet, meaning that the team has great depth that can put up a fight no matter the event.
That brings optimism as fans will hope that the team can take the next step and win more events, they came close in last year.
Ross Fellows is the head coach for this team and the success he has brought for both the men’s and women’s teams during his time here is enough to make everyone respect the Mountain Lions at meets.
The team will travel to Golden to participate in the Mines Alumni Classic on Dec. 4.
More Postseason action?
Every fall sports team got to participate in their respective conference and national tournament last season.
Postseason action is always nice and looking at the preseason projections, it’s likely that we will see most, if not all of the winter sports competing in the postseason.
Watch all these teams on the RMAC Network and keep up with their schedules on the UCCS Athletics page.
Editor’s Note: The Scribe’s editor-in-chief Joseph Impellitteri is a member of the men’s track and field team.
Photo via The Scribe archives.