MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Dave Kragel enters his 42nd season as the Walters State women's basketball coach this year, and in those previous years, he likely has never had as many unknowns about his team entering a new campaign as he does with this year's squad.
What is known is the Lady Senators enter the year ranked No. 9 in the NJCAA Division I preseason national poll released earlier this week, but that doesn't necessarily show where Walters State is right now.
That ranking is most likely the result of past successes under Kragel, as the Lady Senators won 960 games, 15 Tennessee Community College Athletic Association Eastern Division crowns, 18 TCCAA state championships, 15 NJCAA Region VII titles and nine TCCAA conference championships during his tenure.
Walters State is also coming off another NJCAA National Tournament appearance last season, the program's 15th overall, seventh in a row and 11th in the last 12 seasons, while winning 30 games last year and running their national quarterfinals streak to three straight seasons.
But with seven freshmen and a pair of transfers dotting the roster, Kragel isn't quite sure what to expect from his team as the season begins Friday night with the Senators Club Tipoff Classic at 'Z' Buda Gymnasium and Assembly Hall.
"Right now, I really don't know a lot about our team," Kragel said. "We have had six scrimmages, and most of these have been against four-year schools that have a lot of seniors. It's been an eye-opening experience for our young kids."
The Lady Senators will find out a lot about themselves right out the gates, as they will open with No. 18 Georgia Highlands Friday evening at 6 p.m. before taking on No. 6 ranked Shelton State, a team that defeated WSCC twice last season and went 36-1, losing only in the national semifinals in overtime before taking third place the next night.
The schedule also includes a matchup with No. 2 ranked Northwest Florida State at Georgia Highlands the day after Thanksgiving and a second game with the Lady Chargers the following day, giving WSCC four ranked showdowns in its opening eight contests.
"We will certainly find out what we are made of early on," Kragel said. "But in order to get better, especially with a young team, you have to go out and play games against tough opponents like that. It will make us better."
The Lady Senators return sophomore guards Brianna Dixon (6'0, Duluth, Ga.) and Zacharyia Esmon (5'9, Franklin) and posts Caleah Shannon (6'1, Lebanon) and Diamond Forrest (6'5, Smyrna), and Kragel listed Dixon and Esmon as starters less than a week ago.
Entering the fray at guard are freshmen Derrinesha Jackson (5'7, Memphis), Jalayah Manning (5'6, Knoxville), Alexis Trice (5'7, Jackson), Carnessia Griggs (5'6, Memphis) and Teija Wareham (5'9, Brampton, Ontario). At the forward position, Kragel welcomes freshmen Jamya Rogers (5'9, Smyrna) and Emilee Swafford (6'2, Jackson) and sophomore transfers Hannah Jones (6'2, Dyersburg) and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (6'3, Nkongsamba, Cameroon). Jones comes to Walters State from TCCAA rival Jackson State, while Mendjiadeu comes from Africa and has signed to play at Memphis next season.
Having Dixon, Shannon, Forrest, Swafford, Jones and Mendjiadeu all standing at 6-foot or taller, this will be the biggest team Kragel has ever put together. It's also a team built to have success on the national level, which is something the veteran coach hopes to see from his team come March.
"This team has the chance to be pretty good, but right now, we still don't know just what we have and don't have," Kragel said. "I'm looking forward to seeing what we have."