Three straight 20-win seasons. A Big Sky regular season championship. One of the best offensive teams in the country over the past four years. In its first WAC Tournament, had two epic comeback wins over a pair of in-state rivals.

Along with that, one of the top teams in winning percentage in the West over the past three seasons.

Yep, Todd Simon and his staff took Southern Utah to places it had not known since 2001.

In 2022-23, the Thunderbirds had five players in the 1,000-point club. Tevian Jones signed a deal to play in the NBA Summer League with the New Orleans Pelicans. Harrison Butler signed a pro contract. Maizen Fausett will have an opportunity to play overseas. And so it goes.

With success comes more opportunity. Todd Simon got the call to head closer to home when he accepted the head coaching job at Bowling Green. Big man Jason Spurgin followed. And starting point guard Drake Allen transferred closer to home, joining rival Utah Valley.

So, new opportunity, indeed. Athletic director Doug Knuth went out and snagged Western Illinois head coach Rob Jeter as the new leader in Cedar City.

Jeter took Western Illinois from a 5-win team to back-to-back 16-win seasons. There have been stops at UNLV, Marquette, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee along the way.

The big question will be: can Jeter continue the success had by the SUU men’s basketball program over the past four seasons?

Challenge accepted.

Despite having to rebuild the roster, and playing in a challenging league, Jeter knows how to build relationships and win at difficult locations. Just see his resume at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Western Illinois.

Let’s take a look at the Southern Utah men’s basketball team.

Newcomers

• Prophet Johnson - 6’3, Sophomore, JUCO Transfer

• Chazz Hutchison - 6’9, Senior, Transfer from UC Irvine

• Donovhan Cain - 6’4, Freshman

• Jamari Sibley - 6’8, Junior, Transfer from UTEP

• Tainui Taiaroa - 6’6, Freshman

• Harrison Reede - 6’2, Freshman

• Dominique Ford - 6’4, Senior, Transfer from Idaho

• Nestor Dyachok - 6’9, Sophomore, JUCO Transfer

• Jamir Simpson - 6’6, Redshirt Junior, Division II Transfer

• Hayden Ledbetter - 5’11, Sophomore, JUCO Transfer

• Robert Jeter IV - 6’0, Junior, Transfer from Western Illinois

• Duncan Reid - 6’4, Freshman

• Brock Felder - 6’8, Freshman

Returners

• Parsa Fallah - 6’9, Redshirt Sophomore

• Zion Young - 6’3, Redshirt Senior

• Braden Housley - 6’4, Sophomore

All reports out of Cedar City suggest that Parsa Fallah is having a big Summer. Playing behind Jason Spurgin, Fallah saw the floor periodically during the 2022-23 season. With a big body, ability to play with his back to the basket, and some surprising athleticism, Fallah will play a big role for Rob Jeter and the Thunderbirds in 2022-23.

Schedule News

In his first appearance on the Straight Outta WAC podcast, Rob Jeter dropped some scheduling news.

Along with non-conference games that Rob Jeter mentions above, Southern Utah will also host Middle Tennessee and play at Louisiana Tech as part of the WAC/Conference USA Alliance.

It is good to see the T-Birds get in-state non-conference games. However, going to the Huntsman Center and the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum presents a pair of big challenges for Southern Utah.

The T-Birds open up WAC play on Nov. 29 in Cedar City by hosting California Baptist. On Dec. 2, the T-Birds head to the Pacific Northwest to take on Seattle U.

Final Thoughts

T-Bird fans should be excited about the style of play. Rob Jeter said he wants to play fast, shoot the 3-pointer, and get up and down the floor. Considering the T-Birds don’t have a player over 6’9, that makes sense. Use the quickness, athleticism, and ability to attack to your advantage.

Will the T-Birds have another 20-win season? That remains to be seen. It is a matter of how quickly adjustments can be made, how quickly the chemistry is developed, and taking advantage of a difficult place to play in the America First Events Center.

There are big shoes to fill. Nobody can argue with that notion. However, Rob Jeter has had success at other small schools with limited resources. Can that success continue at Southern Utah?

Only time will tell.

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22 years. Yes, 22 years since Southern Utah has won a conference basketball tournament.

Do you remember? Fred House and the Thunderbirds won 25 games, got some revenge on Valparaiso to win the Mid-Continent Conference championship and take Southern Utah to its first-ever NCAA Tournament.

That accomplishment happened on March 7, 2001.

Since that time, at least until Todd Simon took over in 2016-17, Southern Utah had just one winning season. The T-Birds finished 16-14 in 2006-07. However, the T-Birds had a losing conference record over that time period, too.

And in his first season in Cedar City, Simon continued the trend with just six wins.

One winning season over an 18-year stretch. That is quite an impressive streak to break.

After leading SUU to 13 and 17 wins in his second and third year, Todd Simon then turned on the gas for the T-Birds. SUU had its first winning season in 18 years with a 17-15 finish in 2019-20. The following year, Southern Utah picked up its first 20-win season since 2000-01 and first-ever Big Sky regular season title.

Two more 20-plus win seasons were the icing on the cake, some might say. Unfortunately, the T-Birds couldn’t get over the hump and get to the NCAA Tournament. In Simon’s final season in Cedar City, the T-Birds came up short in the WAC championship game against Grand Canyon.

Simon left Bowling Green, taking Jason Spurgin with him as well as assistants Bryce Martin and German Srulovich. Associate head coach Flynn Clayman left for High Point. And the majority of the roster was either out of eligibility or transferred.

Tevian Jones is vying for an NBA spot. Dee Barnes is still trying to figure out eligibility. Drake Allen transferred to Utah Valley. Jason Spurgin transferred to Bowling Green to join Simon. Maizen Fausett ran out of eligibility and Harrison Butler signed a pro contract.

Five starters gone. Four members of the 1,000-point club gone. Members of one of the greatest runs in Southern Utah men’s basketball history gone.

The past four years in Cedar City have set the bar high in terms of winning ball games.

Can that trend continue?

First year head coach Rob Jeter has his work cut out for him.

Cedar City is no easy place to recruit. Travel issues are a pain. You either have to pay an arm and a leg to fly out of St. George. Or you have to make the two hour drive to Las Vegas.

The location is challenging, too. It’s not a big city. Resources aren’t necessarily great. There is no practice facility.

Recruiting will be based on relationships. NIL money is limited in Cedar City. For many coaches, it might be a bit overwhelming.

However, coming from Western Illinois in Macomb, Illinois, in the middle of nowhere, Jeter has some experience dealing with a challenging place to recruit.

Jeter already has transfers from UC Irvine, UTEP, Idaho, and some JUCO transfers as well as a couple of freshman guards.

Will that equate into immediate success? It remains to be seen.

What doesn’t remain to be seen is the bar for success has been set extremely high. The game plan to win games in Cedar City has been shown.

Can Rob Jeter and company continue the winning ways?

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Southern Utah Women’s Basketball is coming off of an incredible first season in the WAC.

After finishing first in the regular season, the Thunderbirds had a fantastic run to the WAC Championship game, where they defeated California Baptist in convincing fashion. 

Remember this shot? Yeah, it saved the T-Birds hope of going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

There were some significant losses for the squad this offseason.

Their top players in Cherita Daugherty (Graduted) and Lizzy Williamson (Transfer) both left the team.

But the transfer portal was kind to Tracy Mason and her staff. 

This is without a doubt still a top team in the conference. But unlike last season, this year they’ve got a target on their backs and are expected to perform. Let’s dive into what this team looks like going into the 23-24 season.

Head Coach:

Tracy Mason (6th Season)

At SUU:

78–67

2022-2023 Season Record:

23-10 OVR | 16-2 WAC | Regular Season and WAC Tourney Champs

Postseason:

NCAA Tournament: First-Round Loss to Notre Dame, 82-56

Departures:

Charita Daugherty - Graduated

Lexi Jensen - No Longer on Roster

Jodi Noyes - In Transfer Portal

Kinlee Sorenson - No Longer on Roster

Bryer Tronnier - Graduated

Lizzy Williamson - Transfer to NC State

Newcomers:

Jaeden Brown 6-1, Jr., Transfer (UVU)

Shiho Isono 5-6, Jr., Transfer (Western Nebraska CC)

Key Returners:

Daylani Ballena 5-8, Sr., G

Megan Jensen 6-3, Grad, C

Tomekia Whitman 5-10, Grad, G

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Daylani Ballena

G - Tomekia Whitman

G - Samantha Johnston

F - Jaeden Brown

C - Megan Jensen

This team is tall and experienced. Stealing Jaeden Brown from UVU is huge for this team to fill the holes left by Cherita Daugherty’s graduation and Lizzy Williamson’s transfer. This lineup and the depth they have maintained absolutely keep them as a contender. They have eight upperclassmen, including three Grad Students. This team is built to win right now, and they might just do that again this year. 

Outlook:

I’ve said it throughout this article. This team is still solid and contending in the WAC. They were dominant and borderline unstoppable last season and I expect more of that this year.

However, this season they find themselves in a much more top-heavy WAC. Teams like GCU and UTA took this offseason to bulk up their rosters through the transfer portal and are looking to give SUU a run for the money. It will be very interesting to see how these match-ups turn out. 

Areas of Improvement: 

Frankly, there’s not much this team could do wrong last season.

However, despite their overall success, they often found themselves in the middle of the pack when it comes to scoring.

SUU finished the season seventh in the WAC in this category. The T-Birds should definitely focus on improving their offensive efficiency while still leading the WAC in rebounds. Their defense was also top-5 in the WAC by the end of the season.

Continuing that dominance on the defensive end while improving their overall scoring numbers will be key to this squad finishing atop the WAC once again. 

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Entering the 2022-23 season, Southern Utah University women’s basketball had a clear cut goal to make a splash in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in hopes of going dancing. They did exactly that. On paper, it was an amazing feat, but as a fan it was a whole different experience

Let’s start with their historic postseason. The T-Birds received a first-round bye and met New Mexico State University in the next round. This game was like every other SUU WBB game this year — another second half comeback. That comeback was bookended with Cherita Daugherty’s wild shot, and to this day I still don’t know how it went in. It was one of those March Madness shots that leaves an entire arena in awe. 

Kyle came up with the nickname “comeback kids” - which I thought was the perfect depiction of this team. As a fan, even if the T-Birds were down big, you couldn’t leave the game early because you never knew if it was truly over. 

After that game, the team had a completely different energy. It seemed like they realized they could beat anyone in the WAC, no matter the circumstances. The next two games almost felt like they couldn’t lose. I’m not sure if the team felt that way, but as fans, we anticipated nothing but success. 

The T-Birds would have to go through GCU and CBU to keep their postseason alive. In the end, they really did control the last two games, which felt like a sigh of relief — SUU WBB finally won their first outright bid to the NCAA Tournament!

The Journey to the Tourney

But how did they get there? I think the team in March was completely different than they were in November, December and even January. One thing that felt like a setback in the moment was Tomekia Whitman’s injury. However, it allowed Samantha Johnston to step up and gain a lot of confidence in the process. I truly believe that Sam would have won Sixth Woman of the Year if Tomekia didn’t. 

Although it seemed like every T-Bird fan was waiting for her return, we were able to see Tomekia’s positive impact on the sideline. She was always cheering, giving advice and supporting her teammates. That type of culture really embodied the entire team and was contagious as a fan. They always brought positive energy after every game, win or loss, and the fans could see just how genuine the team was.

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The reason I bring up that energy is because you could see this when the team was changing for the better. They started to trust in each other and play for one another as well. Cherita became SUU’s aggressive scorer instead of her original playmaker role, which helped tremendously down the stretch.

Early losses against teams like Gonzaga, Oregon, Utah and Colorado helped the team pinpoint where improvement was needed. SUU started 2-0 and followed that with seven straight losses, but they exploded into conference play with a nine game win streak. It was truly an exciting brand of basketball to watch. The T-Birds always seemed to will their way to victory and it made all 40 minutes a blast to watch.   

Throughout all of that, the fans could definitely tell this team was rising as a contender as the season progressed. They’d blown out teams, won in comeback fashion and everything in between. One game that really showed this team's identity was when they outscored Utah Tech 17-2 in a fourth quarter comeback victory on the road.

But it wasn’t only the thrilling comeback victories that kept me intrigued. As a fan and a student it was also really cool to be a part of such a historic season. I already talked about the T-Birds first NCAA Tournament appearance, but even on a smaller scale it was their first Regular Season Championship. 

We also witnessed one of the most humble players in Cherita Daugherty become a household name for T-Bird Nation as she broke multiple scoring barriers and career-highs of her own. Fans knew if we were down late, she would be the one to take control and most of the time SUU would come out on top.

The same can be said for Lizzy Williamson as she cemented herself in the top-3 of SUU’s history book for blocks and rebounds in a single season. She also cemented herself as one of the fan favorites because of her presence in the paint as she blocked shots left and right.

Or how head coach Tracy Sanders was able to return the T-Birds to their early-mid 2010’s form of multiple winning seasons. She is the true savior of SUU WBB!

To say the least, it was exciting to be a part of such an amazing season. Last year got off to a rocky start, but the T-Birds showed that uniting as a team and growing from mistakes can be a game changer for any season. It was felt throughout Cedar City, campus and especially the America First Event Center.  

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SUU women’s basketball has been no stranger to postseason tournaments since the arrival of head coach Tracy Sanders in 2018. In their inaugural season as a Western Athletic Conference member, it was no different. SUU won the WAC Tournament to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The comeback kids were led by Cherita Daugherty, Daylani Ballena, Megan Jensen, Lizzy Williamson, Samantha Johnston and Tomekia Whitman. Sanders had a good mixture of youth and leadership that made an impact off the bench. The combination led SUU to its first 20-win season since 2013-2014. The Thunderbirds first NCAA Tournament appearance followed. It would not be possible without Coach of the Year Tracy Sanders, Defensive Player of the Year Lizzy Williamson, Sixth Woman of the Year Tomekia Whitman and All-WAC First Team Cherita Daugherty — just to name a couple of their awards. 

One thing that the staff harped on all year was that the team needed to put together a full 40 minutes. However, even with that as their Achilles heel, the Thunderbirds punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament against the University of Notre Dame. This concern held true against the Fighting Irish. SUU was outscored 27-10 in the first quarter and it was enough. SUU broke even or outscored Notre Dame in nearly every other quarter.

There were not many people outside of Cedar City that believed that they could compete for a top spot in the WAC. It was something that  added fuel to the fire. SUU started their season 2-0 with a win over New Mexico in Cedar City. However, it was followed by seven losses in their next nine games. The losses came to Gonzaga, Oregon, Colorado and Utah.

It was not a perfect season by any means, before conference play. Tomekia Whitman endured an injury that cost her 13 games, most being non-conference games. The Thunderbirds entered conference play 4-7. But, SUU won nine straight to open WAC play before a loss to UT Arlington on Feb. 6. Sitting at 13-8 overall and 9-1 in WAC play in early February was big for the T-Birds. 

Following that loss, the T-Birds only lost two more games the entire season, including the NCAA Tournament, ending with a 23-10 record. 

For SUU’s top-5 moments, I was able to get Samantha Johnston, Tomekia Whitman and Daylani Ballena to make a collaborative list of their own. We also have a top-5 made in collaboration with some other media and athletic department members at SUU. Believe it or not, the team and media put together an identical top-3.

1 – Cherita Daugherty’s Game Winner against NMSU at WAC Vegas

This one was obvious, right? How can you not go with the most unorthodox shot you’ll ever see that basically propelled SUU to the NCAA Tournament? If you look at their next games, it seemed like they were on cruise-control. They beat Grand Canyon University by a commanding 13 points and wrapped WACLasVegas up with a nine point victory over California Baptist University.

“I wish I could say it was a shot,” stated Daugherty. “I just threw it up and hoped. I wish I could say it was a shot but I don’t know.”

The shot was seen across the college basketball, SportsCenter for Scott Van Pelt's “best thing he's seen today” and even made Sports Illustrated Top-5. 

2 – Making the NCAA Tournament

Sam, Dayla and Tomekia said, “Dancing on the court after winning the tourney.” I don’t think I could put it in better words. Everyone who had been there all season could say they were a part of SUU WBB history. It was their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and was their goal year prior. Just four seasons prior the Thunderbirds finished with eight wins, but took a step forward year-in and year-out. 

Here is the team, donors, media and fans on Selection Sunday.  

3 – Securing the WAC Regular Season Championship

The Thunderbirds closed the season out with two crucial home games. A win against CBU would secure a share of the regular season title and they could secure it outright against GCU. That is exactly what they did.

As a fan and reporter, we always look at a player's performance or play in a game and the performance that propelled SUU past CBU was Tomekia’s 25 points and nine rebounds. You can't forget about Lizzy Williamson six blocks, 14 points and 13 rebounds either. 

Of course the Thunderbirds had to leave fans on the edge of their seats against GCU. If you have stayed up to date, you would know that SUU liked to make late game comebacks in almost every game. The Thunderbirds trailed GCU 49-39 at the start of the fourth quarter, but outscored the Lopes 32-14 to secure an eight point victory. 

For the players, it was about celebrating yet another historical moment in SUU WBB history with Cedar City, fans, friends and family. 

4 (Team) – Charter bus to Notre Dame

I thought this one was really cool to hear! Fans were able to catch a ride to Notre Dame with the team on gameday, and to see it be on the players top-5 is awesome. This pick really shows how much this team loves the fans and Cedar City Community. 

4 (Media) – Megan Jensen Big Return to Orem

It is always fun to watch a player return to their former school and have a huge game. That is exactly what Megan Jensen did in her return to Orem against Utah Valley University. She scored 19 points, hauled in seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Megan went 7-9 from the field and 4-4 from the charity strip. 

I’m sure it was one of those games where Megan wanted coach Sanders to run the game through her, which is basically what happened. Sam did a great job initiating the offense with 20 points and six assists, which Megan played off of very well. 

[caption id="attachment_17360" align="alignnone" width="2560"]

Megan Jensen helped Southern Utah win the WAC one year after transferring from Utah Valley. Courtesy Western Athletic Conference.[/caption]

5 (Team) – Ashley Banks Breakout Game

In her second collegiate game ever, freshman center Ashley Banks had a career game against Benedictine University Mesa. She went off for 19 points and nine rebounds. I think the most impressive part that even the team forgot about is that she did this in only 13 minutes of play, which is pretty insane for a young player. 

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5 (Media) – Sweep Rival Utah Tech

You know we couldn’t go without mentioning Utah Tech dropping both games to SUU this season. The Trailblazers did have key injuries, but all teams did in conference play. This will be a great rivalry for years to come. UT has some talented youngsters coming in to pair with the experience they have on campus already. The same can be said for SUU. Even though Cherita graduated and Lizzy is at NC State, there is young talent ready to step in. We cannot forget about coach Sanders always finding overseas talent that can come and make an instant impact. 

The future is bright for the SUU and UT WBB rivalry.