The No. 14 Lions are all set to host the third straight regional.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team begins its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament on Thursday by hosting its third straight NCAA South Central Regional. The No. 2 seeded Lions take on the No. 7 seeded St. Mary’s Rattlers at 5:30 pm at the Cain Family Field.

NCAA South Central Regional 2 Schedule

Thursday, May 12, 2022
Game	Time	Matchup	Coverage Links
Game No. 1	3:00 pm	No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. No. 6 Oklahoma Christian	Live Video | Live Stats
Game No. 2	5:30 pm	No. 2 A&M-Commerce vs. No. 7 St. Mary’s	Live Video | Live Stats

Friday, May 13, 2022
Game	Time	Matchup	Coverage Links
Game No. 3	Noon	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner	Live Video | Live Stats
Game No. 4	2:30 pm	Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser	Live Video | Live Stats
Game No. 5	5:00 pm	Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner	Live Video | Live Stats

Saturday, May 14, 2022
Game	Time	Matchup	Coverage Links
Game No. 6	Noon	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner	Live Video | Live Stats
Game No. 7 (If Necessary)	2:30 pm	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner	Live Video | Live Stats

Lion Women’s Golf six back after two rounds at National Championships

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s golf team is six strokes from eighth place after Wednesday’s round at the Division II National Championships on the Chattahoochee Golf Club. 

The Lions shot a score of 305 on Wednesday to compile a score of 611 through two rounds. After Thursday’s round, the top eight teams advance to match play round to determine the Division II National Champion. Colorado Christian is currently in eighth place with a score of 605. 

For the Lions, Sarah Wongsinth (Udon Thani, Thailand) tied for 24th with a score of 149 (73-76). Inma Ortiz Prieto (Huelva, Spain) improved her score by two strokes in the second round. However, she tied for 39th place with a score of 152 (77-75). Sophie-Charlott Hempel (Pirmasens, Germany) tied for 49th place with matching scores of 77 in the first two rounds. 

Michelle Becker (San Antonio – Reagan) also improved her score by two strokes in the second round and is tied for 60th place with 156 (79-77). Karlee Nichols (San Antonio – Smithson Valley) improved by seven strokes on Tuesday. She tied for 92nd place with a score of 163 (85-78). 

The Lions tee off starting at 10:10 am Eastern Time in the final round of stroke play at the National Championships. The last Lion, Wongsinth, tees off at 10:50 am. 

Academy of Art’s Anahi Servin has a three-stroke lead on the player leaderboard, while DBU has a one-stroke lead over Lee University in the team standings.

 

NFCA and D2CCA all-region teams named Otto and LeBlanc.

COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team members Emily Otto and Alyssa LeBlanc have been selected as all South Central Region players by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) on the eve of the NCAA Regionals. 

They selected Otto (Lamar Consolidated) as an all-region pitcher for the third time in her career. This season, she received first-team all-Lone Star Conference, LSC all-academic team, and the golden glove team. In addition, they selected her on the first team by both the NFCA and D2CCA. The senior pitcher ended the regular season with 19 wins, tied for the LSC lead and third with 149 strikeouts. She pitched 151.1 innings, which is the most in the conference, and her pitching had an ERA of 2.54. Her 16 complete games are also the most in the conference. 

LeBlanc (Katy) received the all-region player in her college years and was named on the second team this season by NFCA and D2CCA in the pitcher/utility player category. In the circle during the regular season, she finished second in the conference with 159 strikeouts and recorded an earned run average of 2.78. She hit 11 home runs at the plate, which led the team, and drove in 37 runs with a slugging percentage of .642. 

The duo had a significant role in the Lions winning their first-ever Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship last weekend. A&M-Commerce hosts a portion of the NCAA South Central beginning on Thursday as the second seed. The Lions host St. Mary’s on Thursday at 5:30 pm. 

You may purchase tickets for the NCAA South Central Regional in Commerce at LionAthletics.com/Tickets.

 

Lion great Princess Davis returns to Commerce as a coaching staff member.

COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball coach Jason Burton has announced the return of Lion great Princess Davis to Commerce as an assistant coach for the Lions. 

No A&M-Commerce women’s basketball player has played, started, or won more games than Davis, one of Burton’s first recruits in Commerce. She played for the Lions from 2014 to ’19. 

“It is a no-brainer to bring Princess back home, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her back in Commerce,” said Burton. “Just as she was as a player, Princess is going to be a tremendous coach and tremendous asset to our university.” 

“Very few have represented the A&M-Commerce brand as well as she has. She is a rising star in this profession, and I’m thrilled to have her on our staff.” 

In her new role for the Lions, she will be responsible for coordinating junior college recruiting, working with the Lion guards, assisting in scouting opponents, serve as an academic mentor. She will also have a role in the social media outreach efforts during A&M-Commerce’s first season in NCAA Division I and as a member of the Southland Conference. 

Davis, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, ended her Lion career second in assists, third in points, and first in minutes. She averaged 11.3 points and 3.6 assists per game and received an all-conference player three times and the Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year in 2014-15. She was also honored as an All-American in 2017-18. 

“I am excited to be at Texas A&M University-Commerce as an assistant coach,” said Davis. “I am blessed for this opportunity to coach at my alma mater, and I am thankful for Coach Burton and Lion Athletics for bringing me on. I’m looking forward to getting started and continuing the culture and success of this program.” 

She led the Lions to the NCAA Regional tournament in 2018-19, the program’s first since 2006-07. The Lions have made the postseason in every season since then. She was part of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s “So You Want to Be a Coach” training program in 2019 before playing professionally in Europe for ZKK Plamen Pozega in Pozega, Croatia. 

Davis’ coaching career began in Athens, Texas, as an assistant coach at Trinity Valley Community College for the past two seasons, including being on the staff in 2020-21, when the Lady Cardinals finished as the national runner up in the NJCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. 

She mentored five NJCAA all-region academic players, seven all-conference honorees, eight all-region players, an NJCAA Region XIV Freshman of the Year, and two NJCAA All-Americans. The Lady Cardinals made the NJCAA postseason tournament with Davis on the staff in both seasons. 

After graduating with a degree in Kinesiology & Sport Studies from A&M-Commerce, Davis also received her master’s degree in counseling at A&M-Commerce.