KC BASKETBALL TEAMS OPEN SEASON TONIGHT! | Rangers at home, Lady Rangers in Baton Rouge; meet them in this story

Basketball season starts this weekend at Kilgore College.

The Kilgore College men’s basketball Rangers, last seen as a part of the Region XIV Conference Tournament in Tyler in March, hit the court for the first time in their 2024-25 season opener tonight at Masters Gymnasium on campus.

KC will host club-team Loyalty Prep on Friday night at 7 p.m., and then will be back in action, but on the road, on Saturday at Grayson College in Denison, a 4 p.m. tip-off.

The Lady Rangers will play this weekend in the Baton Rouge Community College Classic, in Baton Rouge, La. (See below).

The Rangers, in the first year under coach Robert Byrd, finished 24-9 overall a year ago, and 12-7 in conference play. KC was excellent at home last year: a 12-3 record. The Rangers made it all the way to the conference semifinals.

KC’s 2024-25 men’s roster:

• Cameron Woodberry, a 6-foot-5 freshman guard from Good Vision Academy in Houston. Woodberry will wear No. 0.
• Jonathan Byrd, a 5-10 freshman point guard from JP McCaskey High in Lancaster, Penn. Byrd will wear No. 1.
• Cahmai Crosby, a 6-3 sophomore point guard from Park Hill South High in Kansas City, Kan. Crosby will wear No. 2.
• Kaiden Myers, a 6-3 freshman point guard from Allen. Myers will be No. 4 for KC this season.
• Bryson Holmes, a 6-6 freshman wing from Klein Oak High in Houston. Holmes will be No. 5 on the roster.
• Chidi Umeh, a 6-8 sophomore guard from Lake Highlands High in Dallas, who will wear No. 10 for the Rangers.
• Abdullah Olajuwon, a 6-5 redshirt sophomore guard from Clements High in Houston, who will wear No. 11 this season. Abdullah is the son of former NBA great, Houston Rockets center and two-time NBA champion Hakeem Olajuwon.
• Aleksa Lekic, a 6-10 sophomore forward from KK Buducnost VOLI School in Podgorica, Montenegro. Aleksa is No. 14 for KC.
• Joshua Olutayo, a 6-7 freshman forward from Good Vision Academy High, originally from Abuja, Nigeria. Olutayo is No. 21 for the Rangers.
• Nekabari Mii, a 6-4 freshman forward from Travis High in Houston, who will wear No. 22 as a Ranger.
• Ty Hurndon, a 6-9 freshman forward from Crandall High, No. 23 for KC.
• Savod Godwin, a 6-5 freshman forward from Arts High in Newark, N.J., number 24 for the Rangers.

Coach Byrd is assisted by Derek Alleman, an assistant coach and KC’s men’s recruiting coordinator, as well as Thomas Hattaway, the former Kilgore High School and KC standout, who is now assistant coach in charge of player development; and Jonathan Hoard, assistant coach and operations.

For the KC men’s complete schedule, here’s your link: 2024-25 Men’s Basketball Schedule – Kilgore College. And for tickets to men’s and women’s upcoming home games at Masters, here’s another: Upcoming Events | Kilgore College Box Office.

And more on KC men’s basketball can be found at their home page right here: Men’s Basketball – Kilgore College.

Who knows how accurate, or not, this will be, but the coaches in the Region XIV Conference predicted KC’s men would finish fourth this season in the conference standings, and that Trinity Valley would win the conference, with Lee picked second, and Panola, third.

The Lady Rangers, coached by Stephanie Williams, were picked to finish second in the conference this season by the coaches at media day, back on Oct. 9 at Floyd Wagstaff Gymnasium on the Tyler Junior College campus. Trinity Valley was also the choice to win the women’s conference title.

Coach Williams will be in her third season of leading the Lady Rangers, after finishing 19-13 a year ago and in the conference semifinals. The Lady Rangers were 18-14 two years ago, in Williams’ first season.

Three key players return from KC’s team last season: Nakiyah Allen, Jarahle Daniels, and Tylissa Henderson.

KC plays at 5 p.m. Friday in the classic, against Copiah-Lincoln Community College (Mississippi). The Lady Rangers will play again on Saturday morning, also at the classic, at 11 a.m. against South Arkansas.

Their first home game of the season is Monday, a 5:30 p.m. tip-off against East Texas Baptist University’s junior varsity.

For the Lady Rangers’ complete schedule, go here: 2024-25 Women’s Basketball Schedule – Kilgore College, and for their website, click here: Women’s Basketball – Kilgore College.

The Lady Rangers’ roster for the 2024-25 season:

• Denya Topia, a 5-7 freshman guard from Takapuna High School, originally from New Zealand, who will wear No. 0 for KC.
• Madison Bob, a 5-11 freshman guard from Hightower High in Missouri City. Bob will wear No. 1.
• Alana Trail, a 5-6 freshman point guard from Shadow Creek High in Houston, who will wear No. 2.
• Daniels, a 5-7 sophomore from Fairfield, a shooting guard, who will wear No. 3.
• Rhyeli Hendrick, a 5-7 freshman guard from Houston Westside. Hendrick will wear No. 4 for the Lady Rangers.
• Rhianna Battles, a 5-5 freshman point guard from Northwood High in Alexandria, La., No. 5 for KC.
• Camryn Beck, a 5-11 freshman forward from Klein Cain High in Houston, No. 10 on the roster.
• Crystal Hayes, a 6-4 sophomore from Houston Madison, a forward who will wear No. 11.
• Henderson, a 6 foot sophomore from Parkway High in Bossier City, playing in her hometown this weekend. Henderson is wearing No. 12 for the Lady Rangers.
• Brooklyn King, a 5-7 guard, a freshman, from Wylie who will wear No. 13 this season.
• Taylor Younger, a 5-11 freshman forward, from Manvel High, who will wear No. 15.
• Anyla Herbert, a 6 foot forward from South Grand Prairie High, No. 20 for KC.
• Kamari Forrest, a 5-10 sophomore guard from Saginaw High in Saginaw, Mich., No. 21 for coach Williams.
• Allen, a 5-10 sophomore from Northwood High in Boyce, La., No. 23 for the Lady Rangers.
• Ja’Sani Green, a 6-1 freshman from Benson High in Omaha, Neb., No. 25 on this year’s roster.

Williams is assisted by Brianna Brooks.