Rebuilding year

After a season that resulted in a mere seven students remaining on the basketball team, Stephens' Athletic Department has been increasing its recruiting efforts this year.

To date, seven new players have been recruited as basketball and multi-sport athletes for the coming semester.

"When we finished the season we had probably seven healthy bodies," said Bill Bixon, coach of both the basketball and cross country teams. "We graduate two seniors; we had one transfer out, so that took us down to four. I had four coming back that I know of. The goal is to try and roster a full team, which is 14 or 15 girls, so we gotta recruit 10 girls."

Rough 2010-2011 Season

While the athletic year started off stronger than usual with volleyball completing their season with 18 wins and 20 losses, this trend would not continue. The softball team suffered through a record of 2-25, and the basketball team ended its season with four wins and 25 losses.

The basketball team, in particular, suffered many hardships this season. Two of the upperclassmen on the team were injured at the beginning of the season leaving them benched, while the five new freshmen made up the majority of the team.

Coach Bill Bixon joined the Athletic Department in August 2010, making this past season his first with the school. During this transition, he had to construct a way to play with a team of seven.

This also put great pressure on the women on the court. With only seven on the roster, there was not a lot of room for subbing.

"College is so much more fast-paced, you're not the ‘big dog' anymore," said Brittany Tutt, a sophomore guard and integrated media major, in the February 21st issue of Stephens Life.

The Recruitment Process

For the past couple of months, Bixon has been making his recruitment decisions. He set out to search for potential athletes within local and surrounding high schools. All but one recruit for the 2011-2012 school year is from Missouri.

Bixon has just finished his first year of recruiting for Stephens, signing seven incoming freshmen — all with impressive high school statistics to their name.

The process of recruiting starts with simply going out to games and watching the athletes. The first step is finding the talent.

After speaking and collaborating with the students and coaches, the athlete will go through the admissions process at Stephens. After they have been accepted, they are offered a scholarship to play.

Making Changes

Along with recruiting new students for the basketball team, the Athletic Department is making other changes. In an effort to promote athletics at Stephens, the department hired Keener Tippin this past year as the sports information director.

Tippin has been keeping the college updated on the department's activities, including its recent recruiting efforts and successes.

While multiple sports will receive new athletes this year, the biggest roster change will be to the basketball team. Seven high school seniors have signed letters of intent with Stephens to play in the 2011-2012 season.

The newest additions to the basketball team are some of the best in their division. Bixon was able to meet with some of the highest ranked student athletes in mid-Missouri.

These seven women will bring a new energy to the team, as they were all leaders during their high school careers.

Among the new recruits are a guard from Rock Bridge High School — one of the most successful teams in the state — and the holder of the Arkansas state record for most 3-point field goals made in a season.

With seven new recruits being added to the team, the ratio of freshmen to upperclassmen will be even. The stars of the team will be returning as well.

Megan Sheffield, the team's caption, will be returning for her senior year as a post. Bixon commented on her positive attitude and 6 foot 2 inch stature, which bodes well for her on the court.

Andie Young, now a graduate student, will be returning to basketball as a guard and softball as a utility after a torn ACL left her ineligible to play this past year.

"As an athlete and individual, I value the opportunity to play more," Young said. "It has also lead me to work harder, not only to get back to where I was but to push past that and be even stronger. Sitting out also showed me a part of the game that I wouldn't have seen had I been playing."

Although it seems strange that a graduate student will be on the team with all undergraduate students, the NAIA allots each student 4 years to play. As a three-year graduate and having sat out for one season due to injury, Young is still eligible to play for two seasons. She is returning to Stephens in the fall to pursue a Master of Business Administration and will be the resident director for Prunty Hall.

With the disbandment of the swim team this past year resulting from the school's inability to financially support its facilities, Stephens also announced it was looking for a new college-sponsored sport to add.

The decision was announced in a January 31 press to release to add a golf team.

The team will be the sixth NAIA sport on campus, offering scholarships to those who play. They will practice at the Columbia Country Club, which is located across the street from the stables. This will ease the burden of maintaining a facility and allow the team to prosper and grow in its early stages.

It is unclear at the present as to whether golf will go into action in the fall semester. However, the first season of golf will include games against other members of the American Midwest Conference and NAIA. During its second season, the team will participate in tournaments.