2023-24 Sports Year in Review
Texas State baseball finished the 2024 season with a 27-29 record and a 13-17 record in conference play, marking its first losing season since 2021. The Bobcats finished tenth in the Sun Belt Conference.
2023 team batting average leaders, sophomore infielder Chase Mora and senior infielder Davis Powell struggled in 2024 with on-base percentages of .710 and .713, respectively.
Standout players from last season include freshman outfielder Ryne Farber, who posted a batting average of .340 and senior pitcher Drayton Brown posted a 3.14 ERA in a team-leading 57.1 innings.
The 2023-24 women’s basketball team (14-18, 4-14 Sun Belt Conference) completed its season in the first round of the conference tournament after succumbing to the Georgia Southern Eagles, losing 72-70 in Pensacola, Florida.
The departure of its two all-conference stars, Da’Nasia Hood and Kennedy Taylor, proved to be a tough hill to overcome as the Bobcats finished with their worst conference record since the 2012-13 season when the Bobcats also went 4-14.
The men’s cross country team only placed below ninth once in the 2023 season.
Graduate student Jon Hrivnak claimed All-Sun Belt third-team honors and competed at the NCAA South Central Regional in the men’s 10k, placing 86th overall. Sophomore Nathan Morales also placed in the top 100 at the NCAA South Central Regional finishing 95th.
The men’s team placed 22nd overall at the NCAA South Central Regional meet. The Bobcats cross country team also placed fourth overall at the Sun Belt Conference Championships held in Foley, Alabama in October.
New Head Coach G.J. Kinne and recent transfer junior quarterback T.J. Finley led the Bobcats to a loud week one 42-31 win over Baylor University, boosting the hopes of a bowl game qualification.
The Bobcats went 8-5 and 4-4 in the Sun Belt, finishing second place in their conference. The season resulted in the first bowl game victory in school history after Texas State defeated Rice University 45-21 in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl game.
In February, reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, redshirt senior quarterback Jordan McCloud, transferred to Texas State to help the Bobcats’ hunt for a conference championship.
Texas State Soccer finished with a 9-7-4 overall record and a 3-3-4 record in conference play under second-year Head Coach Steve Holeman. The Bobcats’ season ended with a 2-1 round-two loss to undefeated regular season champions, South Alabama.
Senior forward Olivia Wright led the team in total points at 18 and defensive leader, junior defender Lucy Hart, collected a team-high of 1,579 minutes played throughout the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Caitlyn Draper made historic strides in her first season with the Bobcats, recording a GAA of 1.29 and a .766 save percentage. Draper collected five shutouts, the second most by a Texas State freshman, and 66 saves.
Texas State softball played remarkably in 2024, culminating in an overall record of 47-15 and a conference record of 18-6 as the Bobcats won their first Sun Belt Tournament since 2018.
Early in the season, Texas State Head Coach Ricci Woodard won her 800th career game. She is the 13th head coach in the history of softball to accomplish this feat with a single team. The Bobcats made it to the NCAA tournament, but for the second consecutive year, Texas A&M ended their season in the regional round.
Senior pitcher Jessica Mullins finished her Bobcat career collecting the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year award, and graduate student infielder Sara Vanderford finished hers, ranked top-10 in almost every offensive program record after being selected for the All-Sun Belt First Team.
Texas State tennis finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 11-8 while going 5-5 in the Sun Belt Conference. 2023 marked the first time since 2012 that tennis won double-digit matches overall. Despite this the Bobcats’ most successful season in over a decade, they saw it end in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
A few standout performers from the 2023-24 season include graduate student Callie Creath and seniors Sofia Fortuno and Maria Lora. All three secured double-digit match win totals over the course of the season.
Texas State volleyball maintained a winning season in 2023 with an overall record of 20-10, and conference record of 12-10. The Bobcats secured an invitation to the NCAA tournament but lost to Southern Methodist in the first round.
James Madison University knocked the Bobcats out of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the second year in a row, only this time in the first round. The season marked Head Coach Sean Huiet’s fourth year of tenure as he reached 95 career wins.
The men’s cross country team only placed below ninth once in the 2023 season.
Graduate student Jon Hrivnak claimed All-Sun Belt third-team honors and competed at the NCAA South Central Regional in the men’s 10k, placing 86th overall. Sophomore Nathan Morales also placed in the top 100 at the NCAA South Central Regional finishing 95th.
The men’s team placed 22nd overall at the NCAA South Central Regional meet. The Bobcats cross country team also placed fourth overall at the Sun Belt Conference Championships held in Foley, Alabama in October.
Throughout the 2023 season, the Bobcats only finished below eighth place in one meet. The team placed eighth overall at the Sun Belt Conference Championships held in Foley, Alabama, marking its sixth season since holding the Sun Belt trophy.
Sophomore Alexia Macias placed 61st overall in the 6k at the NCAA South Central Regional with junior Abigail Parra right behind her in 66th. Sophomore Kimberly Gloria fell behind, finishing in the top 145.
The men’s golf team made it to the Sun Belt Conference Championship but lost in a close match to a hot #1 seed Arkansas State team.
Men’s golf saw three players earn All-Sun Belt honors— the most Texas State has had in a single season. Sophomore Sakke Siltala earned All-Sun Belt Second Team honors after leading the team in birdies and scoring average.
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Texas State junior golfer Jack Burke hits the ball during the All-American Intercollegiate, Monday, March. 18, 2024, at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas.
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