2020 SMDR Team of the Year: Texas State Volleyball

This article is a part of the 2020 SMDR Year in Review series.

There’s only been three schools in history to win the Sun Belt volleyball tournament three years in a row.

The first was South Florida, which actually won it four years in a row from 1986-89. The second was Little Rock, earning the crown from 1996-98. More than 20 years later, Texas State became the third as it took down Coastal Carolina in the championship round, 3-2, on Nov. 22 to seal a title streak spanning from 2018-2020.

Even with the graduation of two long-time starters, a new coaching staff, a global pandemic, an interrupted spring training period, a shortened season, a disheartening loss that cost the team a chance to three-peat the regular season championship and a new tournament format that saw the Bobcats facing some teams in their own conference for the first time all year, Texas State still emerged victorious.

Junior Emily DeWalt was named the league’s Setter of the Year for a third-straight time and was joined by junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald and middle blocker Tyeranee Scott on the All-Sun Belt First Team. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lauren Teske picked up Second Team honors as well.

The 24-2 overall record and extended run of dominance by the maroon and gold makes them the 2020 SMDR Team of the Year. And the season isn’t over yet either — the Bobcats will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament taking place in April.

Honorable Mentions:

San Marcos Academy Football

The Bears looked right at home playing six-man football despite making the transition for the first time this season.

SMA, led by a group that reached the 11-man playoffs in 2019, made the necessary adjustments to be successful in the sport and found the same level of success. The Bears reached the postseason for a second year in a row and advanced to the state semifinals, finishing the year with a 6-4 record.

San Marcos Volleyball

The Lady Rattlers saw their program reach new heights in 2020.

After a two-year playoff drought, San Marcos clawed their way into the final postseason spot in District 26-6A with an 8-6 league record. The Lady Rattlers went on to upset District 25-6A champion Austin Vandegrift on the road to earn their first playoff win since 2001. The team’s season only came to an end when it lost to eventual state semifinalist San Antonio Reagan.

San Marcos Wrestling

The Rattlers had one of its most successful seasons in school history in 2020, sending five qualifiers to the 2020 6A UIL State Championship tournament.

Junior Matt Banda reached the quarterfinal round before losing to the eventual state champion. Senior Caitlan Haggerty picked up a win in the tournament and finished the year ranked 11th in her weight class. Junior Gianna Moreno entered the tournament undefeated on the year and finished in fourth place. Senior Mason Moreno qualified for the tournament for the first time in his career and finished the season ranked 14th at 138 pounds. And senior Chris Soliz finished in fourth place at 182 pounds to become the third state placer in school history, joining Gianna (2019, 2020) and Jonathan Moreno (2016).

Texas State Men’s Basketball

The Bobcats kept the status quo in the 2019-20 season, recording 20 wins for the third time in four years.

Texas State finished the year ranked as a top-100 team in the country by Ken Pomeroy with a positive-7.91 adjusted efficiency margin. The team also boasted the Sun Belt Male Athlete of the Year in Nijal Pearson, who also broke the school’s all-time scoring record during the season.

The Bobcats’ 21-11 overall record earned them the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt tournament. The team’s season only came to an end due to the COVID-19 pandemic a day after it had defeated No. 6 seed Appalachian State, 85-68.