OKLAHOMA CITY – Despite nagging injuries at the end of the 2017-18 season, Josh Gamblin and the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team made a nice run in the postseason, and the Evangels are looking to build off that late success in 2018-19.
"We have a really fun group," head coach Josh Gamblin remarked at a preseason press conference. "We mixed in seven to eight returners with five newcomers, a very veteran group – a senior heavy group which is fun. They've worked really hard, and obviously we still have a long way to go, but I like where we're at."
MACU finished the season strong, but the Evangels still found themselves with several holes to fill after Senior departures from four key players in the rotation left MACU with needs at key spots, and the coaching staff went out and secured a strong incoming class. The Evangels locked up five newcomers – all transfers – that bring a host of experience and talent to the lineup.
Khalil Thompson, Charles Beauregard, Jr., and Anthony Black all join the MACU back court after spending time at institutions in the top two divisions of the NCAA a year ago. Thompson transfers in from Northwest Nazarene University (NCAA-II), Beauregard, J. arrives from Southwestern Oklahoma State University (NCAA-II), and Black – childhood friends with MACU's Javan Perry – comes in after playing last season for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (NCAA-I). Oklahoma Baptist University transfer Britt Hammons (NCAA-II) joins the Evangels in the front court, and the fifth newcomer is Tony Kumanovic, a native of Croatia who played last season at McCook Community College.
The Evangels also tweaked their coaching staff in the offseason, promoting Brandon Rollins to Associate Head Coach, but Gamblin was quick to note that the title doesn't change much on a coaching staff that has developed into an extremely cohesive unit in just three years' time.
MACU brings back a solid core of pieces who will provide balance and depth to a team that should be positioned well in the always tough Sooner Athletic Conference. Justin Bogle in the leading scorer returning for the Evangels, and his game has gotten better in the offseason as he has become more comfortable. Upperclassmen Will Gibbons, Cade Upshaw, and Javan Perry – who will be out of the lineup until December – are all back to a back court that should be every bit as deep as it was a year ago. Daniel William and Zach Sawyer are upperclassmen who return to a revamped front court, and sophomores Calon Woodson and Dominick Ford will also be back in the mix.
The SAC only gets tougher this season with the addition of Langston University. Six of the SAC's 12 teams qualified for the 2018 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, and three more teams made it to the NCCAA National Championship. The Evangels open the year with six straight home games before they open the SAC season at Oklahoma Panhandle State University on November 29.
MACU will get a chance in December to play a pair of exhibition games at the University of Texas at San Antonio (Dec. 8) and Midwestern State University (Dec. 17) before taking some time off before the SAC slate resumes at Oklahoma City University on January 3. The SAC slate does take a favorable turn near the end of January though, as nin3 of the Evangels final 11 games will take place in the immediate Oklahoma City area.
"Our league is hands down the best in the country," Gamblin said. "Two of the last three NAIA National Champions have come from the SAC, so we have to be ready for a battle each and every night."
