Three Bearkats Clawed Their Way To AP All-America Squad
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Safety Darnell Taylor, running back Timothy Flanders and defensive end Andrew Weaver have been named to the 2012 Associated Press NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All-America squad.
Taylor is a first team selection while Flanders and Weaver both were named to the AP third team.
Taylor, a safety from Mesquite, has totaled 94 tackles, including 64 solos, two sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in Sam Houston State’s 13 games.
The Bearkats have reached the national semifinals for the second consecutive season, winning the Southland Conference with a 6-1 league mark and earning a number 5 national ranking with a 10-3 overall record.
Flanders, junior running back from Midwest City, Okla., is the Southland Conference “Player of the Year” for the second consecutive season.
He has been the Southland’s leading rusher the past two years. The junior stands as Sam Houston’s all-time rushing leader with 705 carries for 3,950 yards and 52 touchdowns. He has produced 24 100-yard rushing performances in his career, a total that includes a school record nine 100-yard games this year.
Weaver, junior from Waco High School, has been a key figure in the Bearkat squad that ranked No. 7 nationally in rush defense and No. 9 in total defense. Sam Houston led the Southland Conference in 2012 in rushing, scoring and total defense.
He has totaled 24 tackles including six for losses and four quarterback sacks.
AP FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Taylor Heinicke, sophomore, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Old Dominion.
Running backs — Miguel Maysonet, senior, 5-10, 205, Stony Brook; Eric Breitenstein, senior, 5-11, 230, Wofford.
Offensive linemen — Earl Watford, senior, 6-4, 290, James Madison; Mike Sellers, junior, 6-0, 295, The Citadel; Will Post, senior, 6-6, 295, Eastern Washington; Bill Turner, junior, 6-6, 300, North Dakota State; Roger Gaines, senior, 6-6, 320, Tennessee State.
Tight end — Kyle Juszczyk, senior, 6-3, 240, Harvard.
Receivers — Aaron Mellett, senior, 6-4, 220, Elon; Erik Lora, 5-10, 181, junior, Eastern Illinois.
All-purpose player — Walter Powell, junior, 6-0, 180, Murray State.
Kicker — Patrick Murray, senior, 5-7, 160, Fordham.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Caleb Schreibeis, senior, 6-3, 252, Montana State; Colton Underwood, junior, 6-4, 255, Illinois State; Brent Russell, senior, 6-2, 300, Georgia Southern; Brandon Thurmond, senior, 6-2, 260, Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Linebackers — Matt Evans, senior, 6-0, 228, New Hampshire; Jody Owens, senior, 6-0, 223, Montana State; Robert McCabe, senior, 6-2, 230, Georgetown.
Defensive backs — Darnell Taylor, senior, 6-0, 195, Sam Houston State; Marcus Williams, junior, 5-11, 194, North Dakota State; Jaquiski Tartt, sophomore, 6-1, 220, Samford; Cooper Taylor, senior, 6-5, 235, Richmond.
Punter — Sam Martin, senior, 6-1, 205, Appalachian State.
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Casey Brockman, senior, Murray State.
Running backs — Zach Zenner, sophomore, South Dakota State; Deonte Williams, senior, Cal Poly.
Linemen — Terren Jones, senior, Alabama State; Michael Bamiro, junior, Stony Brook; Bryan Witzmann, junior, South Dakota State; J.C. Tretter, senior, Cornell; Corey Howard, senior, Central Arkansas.
Tight end — A.C. Leonard, sophomore, Tennessee State.
Receivers — Jordan Harris, junior, Bryant; Brandon Kaufman, junior, Eastern Washington.
All-purpose player — Dominic Dunn, senior, Northern Colorado.
Kicker — Colton Cook, junior, Southern Utah.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Cody Larsen, senior, Southern Utah; Davis Tull, sophomore, Chattanooga; Mike Catapano, senior, Princeton; Zach Wagenmann, sophomore, Montana.
Linebackers — Jeremy Kimbrough, senior, Appalachian State; Stephon Robertson, junior, James Madison; Blake Peiffer, senior, Southeast Misssouri.
Defensive backs — Robert Alford, senior, Southeastern Louisiana; B.W. Webb, senior, William & Mary; Demetrius McCray, senior, Appalachian State; Johnny Towalid, senior, Indiana State.
Punter — Andy Wilder, junior, Northern Arizona.
THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Gavin McCarney, junior, Colgate.
Running backs — Shakir Bell, junior, Indiana State; Tim Flanders, junior, Sam Houston State.
Linemen — Randy Richards, senior, Missouri State; Garrett Frye, sophomore, Georgia Southern; Aaron Adams, senior, Eastern Kentucky; Sean Davies, senior, UC Davis; Dakota Dozier, junior, Furman.
Tight end — Josh Hill, senior, Idaho State.
Receivers — Cordell Roberson, senior, Stephen F. Austin; Kevin Norrell, senior, Stony Brook.
All-purpose player — Tyler Varga, sophomore, Yale.
Kicker — Jimmy Pavel, senior, Eastern Washington.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Caraun Reid, senior, Princeton; Ken Boatright, senior, Southern Illinois; Joseph Lebeau, senior, Jackson State; Andrew Weaver, junior, Sam Houston State.
Linebackers — Jordan Tripp, junior, Montana; Keith Pough, senior, Howard; Ian Sluss, senior, Portland State.
Defensive backs — Kejuan Riley, senior, Alabama State; Steven Godbolt, sophomore, Tennessee State; Ben Ericksen, senior, Illinois State; Caleb Schaffitzel, sophomore, Missouri State.
Punter — Bobby Wenzig, junior, Alabama State.
Bearkat Volleyball Player, Coach Earns SLC’s Top Honors
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Deveney Wells-Gibson is the 2012 Southland Conference volleyball “Player of the Year,” Brenda Gray received league “Coach of the Year” honors and five Bearkats have been voted as All-Conference performers after leading Sam Houston to its first regular season volleyball championship since 1994.
Wells-Gibson was the top-scorer with 496 points for a Bearkat volleyball team that rolled to a 20-10 overall regular season mark and posted its highest Southland victory total ever with a 15-3 league mark.
The sophomore from San Antonio ranked No. 2 in kills (421) in the Southland and also was No. 10 in digs (339) and No. 12 in aces (34). She totaled double figure kills in 26 of the Bearkats’ 30 matches and was a two-time Southland Conference offensive player of the week selection.
Wells-Gibson is the first Bearkats to claim the honor since Julie Franzen won after SHSU’s 1993 conference championship season.
Gray, one of only 29 active head coaches in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball to post more than 500 career victories, to a season of 20 or more victories for the 12th time in her coaching career.
The 2012 Sam Houston team rolled up 13 consecutive victories at one point during the march to the conference title.
The 13-match winning streak is the longest since SHSU moved up to the Division I level in 1986.
In her 29th year of coaching this year’s honor marks her third “Coach of the Year” award in the Southland Conference.
After starting the season 3-7, the Bearkats went 17-3 the rest of the season including 12 three-set sweeps.
Her 595 career wins ranked third all-time among Southland Conference volleyball coaches.
Kendall Cleveland joined Wells-Gibson as a first team All-Southland Conference selection.
The senior from Houston totaled 389 points with 350 kills (3.53 per set) eight aces and 56 total blocks.
Tayler Gray and Kim Black, both Huntsville High School products, were second team selections.
As the Bearkats’ setter, Gray assisted on 1,162 of Sam Houston’s 1,413 kills this year and lead the squad with 383 digs.
Black was a force in the middle for the Bearkats, leading the Southland Conference in total blocks (140).
She stands No. 2 at Sam Houston in career blocks.
Kaylee Hawkins received honorable mention.
This marks the third time that she has made the All-Southland team (2009 first team, 2010 honorable mention).
The senior from Dickson is currently No. 3 in career digs (1,597).
Sam Houston is the No. 2 seed in the Southland Conference post-season tournament this weekend in Conway, Arkansas.
The Bearkats open play Friday at 11 a.m. against No. 7 seed Nicholls State.
The tournament semifinals will be played Saturday with the finals at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
Wells-Gibson Earns SLC’s “Player of The Week”
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Sam Houston State’s Deveney Wells-Gibson has been named as Southland Conference volleyball “offensive player of the week” after leading the Kats to home victories over McNeese State and Lamar to help SHSU clinch its first regular season league title since 1994.
Wells-Gibson averaged 4.78 kills per set and totaled 49 points for the week.
The San Antonio, Texas (Churchill H.S.), native chipped in with 29 digs and produced double figure kills in each match.
The sophomore outside hitter is second in the conference with 4.06 kills per set while the Bearkats clinched a share of the regular season title Saturday.
Sam Houston State will be making its sixth consecutive Southland Conference post-season tournament appearance and its 18th trip to the event overall.
The Bearkats won the Southland post-season tournament in 1993 and 1996 and finished as runner-up in 1987.
Sam Houston is the No. 2 seed at this year’s event hosted by Central Arkansas in Conway.
The Kats begin action against No. 7 seed Nicholls at 11 a.m. Friday.
The semifinals will be played Saturday with the championship finals on Sunday.
The tournament winner represents the Southland Conference in the NCAA national volleyball championships.
Bearkat Basketball Narrowly Lost To Razorbacks
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Fayetteville, Ark. – Sam Houston head coach has said all fall that the 2012-13 edition of the Bearkat men’s basketball team will be much better shooters.
The young Kat squad proved their coach right as they threw a scare into Arkansas, falling by only five points 73-68 Friday night in both team’s season opener.
Darius Gatson led Sam Houston with 20 points, hitting four of six three-point attempts.
James Thomas added 14 points and Demarcus Gatlin scored 10.
Coty Clark led the Hogs with 20 points. Twenty four of Arkansas’ points came at the free throw line.
“With a lineup that includes seven young guys who were playing their first NCAA Division I game against a team like Arkansas that presses for 40 minutes and an atmosphere like this one in Fayetteville, I was really happy with the way these guys refused to fold under pressure,” Hooten said.
“We’re just working on becoming a better team right now. We’d only worked on their press the last three days.”
Sam Houston started strong, jumping out to an 8-4 lead with a layup by Gatson at the 16:52 mark.
The Razorbacks roared back to tie the contest at 14-14.
James Thomas gave the Bearkats their last lead, 16-14, with a layup with 12:01 to play.
Arkansas went on a 12-2 run to build their largest lead of the first half, 29-18, with 6:40 remaining.
A trio of three-point baskets, the third by Nathaniel Mason, brought Sam Houston back within four 33-29 with 1:07 remaining before intermission.
The Hogs led 37-29 at halftime.
The Bearkats kept the contest close throughout the second period.
Gatson cut the lead to four 42-38 with 16:19 to play and a three-pointer by Marquel McKinney brought SHSU within three 46-43 at the 13:18 mark.
Jeremy McKay’s trey with 51 seconds to play made it a four-point game, but the Hogs held on for the victory.
Sam Houston State will play their 2012-13 home opener Tuesday at Johnson Coliseum against Hardin-Simmons.
Brenda Gray Reaches 800 Career Victories as Sam Houston Defeats Delaware in Five Sets
By Cheval John | Vallano Media
This article was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
The final version was reviewed, edited and fact-checked by the author
Graphics created with AI-assisted design tools.
Visual concepts, editorial direction, composition, and final creative decisions were developed by Vallano Media.
Six days after watching her Sam Houston volleyball team lose a heartbreaking five-set match at Missouri State, Brenda Gray experienced a much different ending Friday night at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas.
The Bearkats defeated Delaware 3-2, winning the deciding fifth set 16-14 and giving Gray her 800th career coaching victory.
The milestone came in her 43rd season leading the program, adding another achievement to one of the longest coaching careers in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball.
Sam Houston dropped the opening set 25-19 before responding with consecutive 25-16 and 25-14 victories.
Delaware forced a deciding set with a 25-18 win in the fourth, but the Bearkats prevailed in the fifth to secure the milestone.
Sam Houston finished with 49 kills compared with Delaware’s 48.
The Bearkats held a commanding 16-9 advantage in blocks and outhit the Blue Hens .154 to .065.
Delaware maintained a substantial advantage from the service line, recording 12 aces compared with three for Sam Houston.
Chloe Monson contributed 10 kills and 12 digs for the Bearkats, recording a double-double.
Chelsea Butler added nine kills with just one attacking error in 21 attempts, finishing with a .381 hitting percentage and seven blocks.
Faith Roulston recorded eight block assists.
The result improved Sam Houston’s overall record to 13-7 and its Conference USA mark to 4-3.
For Gray, the 800th victory represented another chapter in a coaching career that began more than four decades ago, when the Bearkats competed at the NCAA Division II level.
But her accomplishments extend far beyond the number of victories beside her name.
A Journey That Began in 1984
Gray’s association with Sam Houston began before her coaching career.
After transferring from Lee College, she competed for the Bearkats before graduating in 1982.
She subsequently served as a graduate assistant under head coach Rebecca Bilsing before spending a year at Bastrop High School coaching volleyball, basketball and track.
In 1984, Bilsing asked Gray to return to Sam Houston and temporarily lead the volleyball program.
Gray accepted the opportunity, beginning a coaching journey that would eventually span more than four decades.
In her first season, Sam Houston finished 47-8 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four.
The Bearkats followed that performance with a 45-8 record and another Division II Final Four appearance in 1985.
Gray was named the program’s permanent head coach in 1985, establishing the foundation for a career that would extend across multiple eras of college athletics.
Building a Program Through Change
One of the most remarkable aspects of Gray’s career is how closely it has followed the evolution of Sam Houston athletics.
When Gray began coaching in 1984, the Bearkats were a Division II program competing in the Gulf Star Conference.
The volleyball program moved into Division I competition in 1986 before Sam Houston joined the Southland Conference in 1987.
That transition introduced new competitive challenges, but Gray continued developing successful teams.
In 1993, Sam Houston captured both the Southland Conference regular-season and tournament championships, earning a berth in the NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament.
The Bearkats returned to the national tournament in 1996 after winning another Southland tournament championship.
Sam Houston also captured the Southland regular-season championship in 2012.
Gray received Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1987, 1993 and 2012.
She also earned Gulf Star Conference Coach of the Year recognition in 1984.
Those achievements occurred across different generations of athletes and changing competitive environments.
The program underwent another transition in 2021 when Sam Houston joined the Western Athletic Conference.
The Bearkats captured the WAC Southwest Division championship during their first season in the league.
Two years later, Sam Houston joined Conference USA, presenting Gray and her program with another set of challenges.
Throughout those transitions, the volleyball program experienced championship seasons, rebuilding periods and changes in the competitive landscape.
Gray remained its head coach through all of them.
Longevity in a Changing College Sports Landscape
College athletics has changed considerably since Gray began coaching.
Conference realignment has altered traditional rivalries and travel schedules.
The transfer portal and name, image and likeness opportunities have changed how coaches approach recruiting, player development and roster management.
Gray has experienced those developments while remaining at the same university.
In a June 2024 interview published by Sam Houston, Gray discussed the challenges of maintaining her coaching philosophy while adapting to the evolving demands of college volleyball.
Her experience highlights an important distinction between longevity and remaining unchanged.
Coaching at the same institution for more than four decades requires adjusting to new athletes, competitive expectations and institutional circumstances.
Sam Houston identifies Gray as the longest-tenured active head coach in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball.
That distinction is supported by historical comparisons.
In November 2023, VolleyballMag identified Gray and Miami (Ohio) coach Carolyn Condit as the two longest-tenured coaches at a single Division I institution.
Condit retired following the 2023 season.
Gray’s tenure also requires an important historical distinction.
Her first two seasons at Sam Houston came while the volleyball program competed in Division II.
The Bearkats recorded 92 victories during those two seasons before moving into Division I competition in 1986.
Consequently, her 800 career victories reflect her combined coaching record across both divisions.
Regardless of how coaching tenure is compared nationally, Gray’s continued presence at Sam Houston represents an exceptional period of institutional continuity.
A Legacy Beyond the Victory Column
Although 800 victories represent a significant statistical achievement, Gray’s influence extends beyond championship banners and coaching records.
In 2023, more than 80 former Sam Houston volleyball players surprised Gray during a celebration recognizing her four decades leading the program.
Speaking with Sam Houston in an interview published the following year, Gray described her former players as her second family.
Those relationships illustrate another dimension of collegiate coaching.
Players eventually graduate and begin careers beyond athletics, but the relationships established during their college years can continue long after their final matches.
Gray has witnessed generations of athletes enter and leave the Sam Houston program.
Her continued involvement with former players demonstrates how a coach’s influence can extend beyond immediate competitive results.
That perspective is particularly relevant when evaluating a career as lengthy as Gray’s.
Championships and victories provide measurable accomplishments, but they cannot fully capture the relationships and institutional connections developed across decades.
The Next Chapter
Following Friday’s five-set victory over Delaware, Sam Houston returns to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum today for the second match of the Conference USA series.
First serve is scheduled for noon Central, with the contest streaming live on ESPN+.
For Gray, the next match begins with a new milestone already secured.
Her career has included two NCAA Division II Final Four appearances, two NCAA Division I Tournament appearances, conference championships and individual coaching honors.
She has witnessed Sam Houston’s transition from Division II to Division I and its progression through the Southland Conference, Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA.
Throughout those changes, she has remained a connection between the program’s past and present.
Friday’s victory adds another achievement to that history.
Eight hundred victories tell one part of Brenda Gray’s story.
Forty-three seasons at Sam Houston explain why that achievement means so much more.
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