Conference Holds Basketball Media Day on Wednesday
Region XIV held its annual conference Media Day Wednesday in Tyler, with coaches offering information on the upcoming seasons while casting votes for where they think their competitors will finish the upcoming year.
Angelina College’s Roadrunners, coming off an Elite Eight finish in the NJCAA National Tournament in March of 2025, were picked to finish 2nd behind defending national champions Trinity Valley Community College.
This a year after the ‘Runners were predicted to finish seventh among the league’s eight teams. AC’s men finished 29-7 (including a 15-0 record at home) in 2024-2025.
AC’s Lady Roadrunners under first-year head coach Addie Lees are picked to finish seventh in the standings.
Lees is familiar with Region XIV, having spent four years on the sidelines at Kilgore College. She let the room know she hasn’t changed one bit, and the qualities she’s displayed her entire head coaching career are the same ones everyone will see with her players.
“What can you expect from Angelina College women’s basketball?,” Lees asked Wednesday’s crowd. “A lot of grit, a lot of discipline, a lot of integrity and a lot of gratitude. These are our core values we strive to implement each day.
“We say our players are extensions of their coaches, so you may or may not see a little feistiness from some of our players. That’s me.”
Lees acknowledged her staff – including new assistant coach Mercedes Corona – along with “the people all around me on the Angelina College campus.”
Lees also noted she’s starting the year with an entirely new roster, with not a single player returning from the previous season.
“We have some great new players coming in,” Lees said. “Our focus this entire fall has been on setting a standard and building a strong foundation.
“We’re excited. We prepare to compete, and every day is a game day.”
As for the team’s style, Lees was as upfront as always:
“We’re Roadrunners, and Roadrunners move fast. Slow feet don’t eat, and if they don’t figure that out pretty quickly, they’ll be sitting next to me on the bench.”
Roadrunner head coach and athletic director J.J. Montgomery congratulated the other conference coaches who reached far into last year’s national tourney (and finished No. 1 in the nation defensively) before discussing the new season – and new expectations.
Someone asked me if we get bored playing defense, and I mentioned last year’s game with Panola, which saw a 16-12 score at halftime,” Montgomery laughed. “Defense has pretty much become our identity, so you can expect a lot of the same thing.”
While lauding last year’s group and its accomplishments, Montgomery said he’s excited about this year’s group.
“Last year was special for us in making it to the national stage, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of kids,” Montgomery said. “They competed hard and represented us in the right way.
“Those kids were special, but I can honestly say I think we’ve gotten better because of the overall talent and the depth we have. We brought back eight kids from a team that went 29-6 last year. We added some transfers, and those guys are some dogs. You all know what I mean by that, and you recognize them when you see them. Every team needs guys like that.”
Montgomery closed by sharing how last year’s success has raised the bar in arguably the nation’s toughest junior college conference.
“We have a deep group, a great group, and we’ve set the expectations higher,” Montgomery said. “We know every night in Region XIV is going to be a dogfight.”
The Lady ‘Runners’ season opener is on Saturday, Nov. 1 at McLennan College in Waco. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
The Roadrunners open the regular season on Monday, Nov. 3 against Hinds Community College. Game time at Shands Gymnasium is 6 p.m.
