With the 2022-2023 season right around the corner, Carroll College’s basketball teams are finalizing the last touches of their game plans. Coming back from great seasons last year, both programs are looking forward to continuing that success, as the ball is tipped up.
Both teams share a common characteristic: new rosters with new faces, as some iconic Carroll basketball players have graduated. On the men’s team, NAIA All-Americans Jovan Sljivancanin and Shamrock Campbell have moved on, as did Danielle Wagner, Christine Denny, Jaidyn Lyman, and Emma Madsen from the women’s team. Both teams are looking to adjust to their new rosters in the preseason.
The men’s team is coming from a regular season Frontier Conference championship, a runner-up campaign in the conference tournament, and an NAIA National Championship Round of 32 appearances last year.
“We have a lot of new faces on the team this year,” said Brendan Temple, a senior forward from Castle Rock, Colorado, majoring in Marketing. “All of these guys have been super impactful in practice bringing effort and enthusiasm. They are going to be a huge help during the season. We are still looking for a lot of success just like the years before us.”
The women’s team is also following a runner-up appearance in the Frontier Conference Tournament, and with a Round of 16 campaign in the NAIA National Championships.
“Although we graduated a few valuable scorers and players, we still have a very veteran team with seven seniors,” said Sienna Swannack, a fifth-year senior from Nine Mile Falls, Washington, majoring in Civil Engineering. “We are also really excited about the new additions to the team.”
When asked about expectations, Swannack said “Coach Sayers has instilled the Women’s Basketball program at Carroll with a tradition of success that we expect to continue this season. We hope to finish atop the conference and have the goal of returning to nationals for the 4th consecutive year”.
The men’s team’s journey will start on Friday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m., with a home game against the University of Lethbridge from Canada, followed by another home game on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. against SAIT, also from Canada. Then, they will depart to Boise to play the acclaimed NCAA Division 1 program of Boise State University in an exhibition match.
Women’s basketball’s quest begins on Oct. 27th, as they play Southern Oregon University on the road for their first duel of the season, before playing NCAA Division 1 powerhouse the University of Oregon on Friday. Oct. 28 in an exhibition. Their first home game will be on Tuesday, Nov. 1, against Montana State University, Billings, at 7 p.m.
