Tag: All-SEC Honors

3 Texas A&M football players earn Freshman All-SEC honors

OL Chase Bisontis, RB Rueben Owens and LB Taurean York stood out among the Aggies to earn respective selections for the All-SEC Freshman team.

Several Aggies had phenomenal freshman campaigns in 2023 but three Texas A&M football players stood out among the rest to earn a selection for the All-SEC Freshman team.

Offensive lineman Chase Bisontis, running back Rueben Owens and linebacker Taurean York were recognized for their play this past season with Freshman All-SEC honors.

Bisontis is a 6-foot-6, 320-pound right tackle who was a 4-star recruit and the No. 1 player in his state coming out of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. He started in all 12 regular season games for the Aggies in 2023 and was named a Freshman All-American. However, Bisontis may depart College Station after only one year after entering the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday afternoon.

Owens was a 5-star prospect and top two running back in the 2022 recruiting class coming out of El Campo High School in Texas. He played in every contest for Texas A&M during the regular season and averaged nearly 47 all-purpose yards per game. Owens racked up totals of 359 yards rushing, 202 kick return yards, 101 yards receiving and three touchdowns this year.

York was named the Dave Campbell Texas Football All-Texas Defensive Freshman of the Year on Monday and is currently a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award. As a freshman at Temple High School, York shared the Texas District 12-6A co-Defensive Newcomer of the Year award. He proceeded to earn the district’s Defensive MVP the following three seasons.

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Joni Taylor to be named USA Basketball’s 2023 5-on-5 Junior National Team Coach of the Year

Joni Taylor to be named USA Basketball’s 2023 5-on-5 Junior National Team Coach of the Year

Texas A&M head Women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor had a strong summer campaign as the head coach of the USA basketball U19 team that took home the 2023 FIBA World Cup while in Spain.

Her efforts in leading the young group of women to that gold medal resulted in USA Basketball naming her USA Basketball’s 2023 5-on-5 Junior National Team Coach of the Year. USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley explained why they believe Coach Taylor earned the honor:

“Joni led an inspiring USA Women’s U19 National Team to the gold medal in Madrid by defeating host country Spain in the gold medal game…..The game went down to the wire in front of a raucous crowd but Coach Taylor’s team showed poise to secure the victory. We are grateful for Joni’s commitment to USA Basketball over the years. She is very deserving of this honor.” 

Congratulations to Coach Taylor. We are already seeing the dividends of her hard work, as her team is just a few wins away from matching her season total from a year ago. We are excited to have her in Aggieland and to watch this team grow as the season progresses.

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4 Texas A&M football players chosen for All-SEC teams, highlighted by 2 first team selections

The All-SEC teams were revealed Tuesday afternoon and four Aggies were recognized for their play during the 2023 season.

The All-Southeastern Conference teams were revealed Tuesday afternoon and four Texas A&M Aggies were recognized for their play during the 2023 season.

Graduate student wide receiver Ainias Smith and junior linebacker Edgerrin Cooper were chosen for the All-SEC first team. Graduate right tackle Layden Robinson and junior defensive lineman Shemar Turner were selected for the conference’s second team.

 

Smith was a first-team selection in two separate categories: all-purpose and as a return specialist. He has hauled in at least one catch in 39 consecutive games. The versatile playmaker racked up 1,204 all-purpose yards this season with 53 receptions for 795 yards and two touchdowns.

He added 285 punt return yards and 103 kick return yards, including a career-high 131 punt return yards against Arkansas on Sept. 30. During the 34-22 win against the Razorbacks at “Jerry’s World,” he returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown.

In 2021, Cooper was chosen for the SEC All-Freshman team. Two years later, he started at linebacker in every game for the Aggies to earn an All-SEC first-team selection. With 17 tackles for loss in 2023, Cooper ranked fifth among Power Five players. He recorded team highs of 84 total tackles and eight sacks to rank sixth and fourth in the SEC, respectively.

Robinson, who is no stranger to accolades, was picked for the conference’s second team. The 6-foot-4, 315-pound graduate student was also chosen for the SEC Community Service Team in 2023. In 2021, Robinson was picked for the Pro Football Focus All-SEC first team and the Associate Press All-SEC second team. He started in 31 consecutive games, including the first 11 contests in 2023, til he missed the regular season finale at LSU.

Turner was chosen by coaches for the Freshman All-SEC team in 2021.  This season, he earned a second-team selection by racking up 33 tackles, including 10.5 for a loss of yards, six sacks, and two forced fumbles. Among his SEC peers, Turner ranked fifth in sacks and eighth in tackles for loss.

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Where did Texas A&M Women’s Basketball land in the newest SEC Coaches poll?

The 2024 SEC preseason coaches’ poll is out, and the Texas A&M Aggies are expected to be an improved team under year two on coach Joni Taylor

Head basketball coach Joni Taylor had a challenging start to her Aggie career, starting with replacing one of the more iconic basketball coaches in Texas history in Hall of Famer Gary Blair to barely being able to dress a team due to injuries.

The coaches in the SEC also see Texas A&M making a big jump from the bottom of the SEC to being voted into the sixth spot in the SEC Coaches Poll. Two Aggies were also announced to the All-SEC team, sophomore Janiah Barker (1st team) and Auburn transfer Aicha Coulibaly (2nd team), and will be looked to this season for leadership.

Year one is now in the rearview mirror, a new motto of toughness has been established, and an aggressive offseason recruiting plan has given the Aggies to show their growth with the move to bring in a talented crop of transfers combined with her stellar reputation as a coach in the league.

The Aggie Women’s Basketball team will be back in action two weeks after they take on A&M-Corpus Christi at Reed Arena on November 9th at 6:00 pm CST.

10 Texas A&M football players make Phil Steeles’ preseason All-SEC honors, with multiple notable players missing

Ten Texas A&M Football players have received All-SEC honors from Phil Steele in his college football preview magazine, with multiple notable exclusions.

The great Phil Steele, one of the country’s more renowned college football publishers, recently released his newest CFB preview magazine ahead of the 2023 season.

Focusing on the preseason All-SEC honors section, the usual suspects of Alabama, Georgia, and LSU was well represented. At the same time, Texas A&M, coming off of its disappointing 5-7 (2-6 SEC) 2022 campaign, received a total of ten player selections ranging from 2nd team, 3rd team, and 4th team honors, with multiple stars in the making surprisingly left off the list.

Two Aggies received second-team designations, including do-it-all wide receiver Ainias Smith as a punter returner and senior defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson. Ainias Smith also made the third team as a wide receiver, joining senior OL Layden Robinson and senior strong safety Demani Richardson.

Six of the ten Aggies selected received fourth-team honors, including junior center Bryce Foster, sophomore tight end Donovan Green, junior offensive tackle Reuben Fatheree, junior linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, sophomore defensive back Bryce Anderson, and senior punter Nik Constantinou, joining Layden Robinson as the only two players to receive the same honors last offseason.

Missing from the list is notable fashion, sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman, who ended the 2022 season on a high note, and what is sure to be a formidable wide receiver duo in Evan Stewart and Moose Muhammad III, who both combined for 1,259 receiving yards last season. Either way, the Texas A&M roster is built from top to bottom to rebound and compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff if all the pieces fall into place.

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