Spring 2023 Athletics Review

Gents Basketball

The Gents had one of their best seasons in program history as they finished 18-9 overall and 10-6 in conference play and tied the Division III era (2012-present) single-season record for wins. Centenary earned the No. 3 seed in the SCAC Tournament as the Maroon and White made their 10th straight appearance in the event, defeating Southwestern in the quarterfinals before falling to host and No. 2 seed Trinity in the semifinals.

Centenary, as has become the norm under head coach Chris Dorsey, finished the season as one of the top defensive clubs in the country in Division III. The Gents finished the regular season ranked 21st nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 62.8 PPG, and in the top 55 in both field goal percentage defense and 3-point FG % defense. The Gents ranked 20th nationally in turnover margin, forcing their opponents into an average of 19.9/game during the regular season.

Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) was the Gents’ top player as he was named to the D3hoops.com All Region Team, earning a spot on the Region 10 Second Team. He was one of seven players to make the Second Team and one of only 12 players to land on the Region 10 Team in the entire county. He was the Gents' leading scorer and rebounder, named First-Team All-SCAC, received votes for Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, named to the 2023 SCAC Championship All-Tournament Team, recorded seven double-doubles, and was named the SCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week three times during the regular season.

He reached double figures 23 times this season and did so in 17 straight games from November 26 to February 4. Thomas joined the 1,000-point club on February 9 in a home win over John Melvin University and is now one of just 36 in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. He joined the 500-rebound club on January 29 against Texas Lutheran, becoming just the 19th player in program history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career.

Ladies Basketball

The Ladies finished 3-22 overall and 3-13 in SCAC play. Despite the Ladies' struggles this past season, they landed three players on the all-conference team - Freshman G Amiyah Barrow (Baton Rouge, La.), sophomore G Dymon Drumgo (Alexandria, La.), and sophomore G Alana Jones (Shreveport, La.).

The three All-SCAC selections are the most in six seasons and the Ladies were once again a stingy defensive team as they held 12 of their 25 opponents to 70 points or less in a game this season and six to 65 or less. Barrow, Drumgo, and Jones all finished in the top 25 in the conference in scoring while Jones was the league's second-leading rebounder and Drumgo finished 15th. All three ranked in the top 15 in the league in free throw percentage.

Ladies Swimming

A new era in the program began this past season as Thomas Radam took over as head coach of the Ladies and longtime coach Butch Jordan served as assistant coach. The Ladies finished seventh at the SCAC Championships in February, earning 221 total points.

Sophomore Madeline Vacula (Belton, Texas) was the Ladies’ top swimmer and earned All-SCAC honors for the second season in a row and won the 1650 free in a personal-best time of 17:55.66 at the conference championships. The super sophomore now owns 24 individual wins in her career with 17 coming this past season. Her 1650 time is the second-fastest in school history (D1 or D3) and she also owns all-time top-10 times in the 500 free and 1,000 free. She was named the SCAC Women's Swimmer of the Week once during the past season.

Gents Swimming

The Gents finished seventh at the SCAC Championships and tallied 73 points.

Junior Antonio Barbee (Plaquemine, La.) had an impressive season with six runner-up finishes, 13 top-five finishes, and 16 Top 10s. Freshman Jameson Feeney (Shreveport, La.) turned in an impressive rookie season with three individual wins, three runner-up finishes, and a total of 11 top-five's.

Ladies Gymnastics

First-year head coach Meg Crowley led the Ladies to one of their most successful seasons in the Division III era. An impressive eight Ladies qualified for the 2023 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships, marking the most Centenary gymnasts to qualify for the prestigious event since 2017.

Eleven Ladies were named MIC Scholar-Athletes and four had perfect 4.0 GPAs. Five Ladies earned a spot on the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Women's At-Large Team: Kendall Huff, Emma Lavelle, Isabel Plaza, Kennedy Stephens, and Taylor Ann Wilson. The prestigious team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom.

The Ladies earned their highest score (192.475) in eight years on Senior Night, their highest team score since posting a 193.775 on March 15, 2015, versus New Hampshire.

Gents Lacrosse

The Gents, led by head coach Billy LeClair, finished 2-10 overall and 0-2 in Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference (HCLC) play. The Maroon and White scored 95 goals, an average of 7.9 per game, and tallied 41 assists. Centenary had five players score 10+ goals each this past season and placed one player on the all-conference team as junior D Matthew Lulich (New Orleans, La.) was named to the second team.

The Gents set a program record for goals in a game in their dominant 23-2 victory over Spalding University at Mayo Field on March 17. Centenary topped 20 goals for the first time in program history as its previous single-game record was 18 in a win at Dallas on April 24, 2021.

Gents Track & Field

The Gents, led by head coach Joseph Moses Jr., were paced all season by junior Xavier Venious (Bossier City, La.). He capped his impressive campaign by being named All-West Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Venious was honored as one of the region's top-five individuals in the 400-Meter Hurdles. He was named to the 2023 SCAC All-Sportsmanship Team following the season.

The Gents finished sixth at the SCAC Championships in April. Venious had the Gents' top finish in the Men's 400 Meter Dash, running a time of 51.33.

Ladies Track & Field

The Ladies finished seventh at the SCAC Championships as freshman Shinaya Branch (Jonesboro, La.) had the Ladies' best individual finish of the day and weekend, placing sixth in the Long Jump (4.68 m). Junior Maddie Schonberg (Harbor City, Calif.) and sophomore Aubrey Salazar (San Antonio, Texas) each earned top-15 finishes in the Women's Discus Throw as Schonberg threw a distance of 24.48 and Salazar 23.88. In the Shot Put, Schonberg finished 11th (9.71 m) and Salazar was 17th (7.96 m).

Freshman Olivia Sepulvado (Zwolle, La.) finished 18th in the Women's 400 Meter Dash (1:18.94) and freshman Julianna Malloy (Dallas, Texas) finished 14th in the 100 Meter Hurdles (17:99) and 19th in the Women's 100 Meter Dash (13.78).

Senior Veronica Dougherty (McAllen, Texas) was named to the 2023 SCAC All-Sportsmanship Team following the season.

Ladies Softball

The Ladies, led by head coach Whitney Patterson, had one of their most successful seasons in the Division III era (2012-present), finishing fourth in the conference after being picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll. The Ladies finished at 18-24 overall and 12-9 in league play and tying the D3-era single-season record for conference wins (12). Centenary became the first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference team in four seasons to defeat conference and national power Texas Lutheran as the Ladies recorded a 7-6 home win over the No. 4 Bulldogs on March 25.

The Ladies finished in the top five in the SCAC in hitting, pitching, and fielding and placed seven players on the all-conference team. Junior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) earned First-Team All-SCAC honors for the third-straight season and the speedster ranked 36th nationally in stolen bases with 27 in 30 attempts.

Five Ladies were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) 2022-23 Academic All-District® Softball Team following the season: Alyssa Akers, Mackenzie Cox, Kaylea Patridge, Viviana Rivero, and Mallory Stout.

Gents Golf

The Gents, led by longtime head coach Emlyn Aubrey, finished seventh at the SCAC Championships in Kerrville, Texas and were led all season by the consistent play of junior Andrew Bennett (Bossier City, La.). Bennett earned Second-Team All-SCAC honors after finishing in a tie for sixth place at the championships.

Bennett was the Gents' top finisher as he fired a 2-under par 70 in the final round, the lowest round shot for the day of all 42 players in the field. Bennett now has one runner-up, a pair of top five finishes, and six top-10 finishes in his career.

He finished third at the Gents' annual home tournament in March, the Hal Sutton Invitational, after recording a runner-up finish in the Pinecrest Invitational the week prior winding up just one shot shy of his first-career individual title.

Senior Devan Martin (Watson, La.) earned a spot on the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Men's At-Large Team and was named to the 2023 SCAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

Ladies Golf

Freshman Kaylee Roberts (Watonga, Okla.) and junior Madison Wing (Bossier City, La.) were the only two golfers on the Ladies' roster this past season. Roberts competed in all five tournaments and Wing played in the first two – the Tempest Intercollegiate and the Crusader Invitational, both in the fall.

Roberts played as an individual at the SCAC Championships in April and shot a 73-over par 217 to finish 34th. The rookie Roberts was named to the 2023 SCAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

Gents Baseball

The Diamond Gents had another successful season, finishing 23-15 overall and 13-7 in SCAC play and earning the No. 3 seed in the SCAC Championship in Cleburne, Texas. Ten players were named to the All-SCAC Team and two made the SCAC Championship All-Tournament squad.

Head coach Mike Diaz became the all-time winningest coach in program history with his 292nd win with the Maroon and White on April 16 at home versus Schreiner. Diaz, who just completed his 13th season, is now 299-211-1, and has passed former head coach Ed McCann (1999-2010) for the all-time wins mark.

The Diamond Gents hit .301 as a team and averaged six runs per game. Centenary finished the season scoring double digit runs in a game 10 times and posted 10+ hits in a game an impressive 22 times. Centenary pitched well all season, finishing with a 3.30 team ERA, the second-lowest in a single season in the Division III era (2012-present). Centenary has now won 13 or more conference games in the regular season seven times in the D3 era.