Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer coaches his daughter, Blair, in 2018.
(Photo by Kelly Price/courtesy of Vic Schaefer)
Owning a 30-2 record and a Southeastern Conference title, Mississippi State joined Baylor, Notre Dame and Louisville as No. 1 seeds for the 2019 NCAA Women’s Tournament, announced on Monday. This is the second consecutive year the Bulldogs earned a top slot in the tournament.
Mississippi State posted an average margin of victory this season of 28.3 points. Its success is predicated on wearing teams down inside, led by senior center Teaira McCowan, who averages 17.8 points and 13.5 rebounds per game.
Leading the Bulldogs is seventh-year head coach Vic Schaefer. His team went 13-17 his first year in Starkville, and each year since has been better than the last. He’s built the program into a national powerhouse, as Mississippi State reached the title game each of the past two seasons.
Schaefer was named the 2019 espnW National Coach of the Year and added his third SEC Coach of the Year honor. This follows on the heels of a Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year award last season.
— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) March 18, 2019
Schaefer drills into his teams the importance of preparedness, accountability and honor each time they take the court. He seeks perfection from his players, yet they know he truly has their best interests at heart.
“I want them to understand how much I care about them and how passionate and committed I am,” Schaefer told Sports Spectrum Magazine in the Spring 2019 edition. “At the end of the day, they know I’m all in for them. I’ve got their back.”
As his players lean on his leadership, he leans on the Lord. He says Colossians 3:23 is very important to him and helps him translate his faith into his coaching on the court.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters …” — Colossians 3:23
Knowing that his work is for the Lord and not to please people frees Schaefer to coach with all his heart and energy, and allows his players to play with the same intensity.
“We want people to see the Lord in us as we honor the game and each other,” he said. “Ultimately, we are playing for an audience of One. Jesus is the only person we play for.”
That determination and selfless play has led the Bulldogs to two straight title game appearances. This year, they aim to close the deal and take home the program’s first national championship. Mississippi State begins tournament play Friday in its own arena against No. 16-seeded Southern University.
The Commodores have compiled a 21-6 record (8-6 in the SEC) and climbed as high as No. 10 in the country in January on the strength of a potent offense that currently averages 87.2 points per game (12th in the nation). Tanner spearheads Vandy’s dangerous attack with 18.5 points and 5.2 assists per game, leading the team in both categories. He also swipes an impressive 2.44 steals per game, good for 10th in the country.
Tanner’s play has drawn the attention of many NBA scouts, with most draft boards listing him in the late 20s. The 6-foot, 175-pounder has shown the ability to compensate for his slight frame with his playmaking ability and knack for the game. Tanner has not indicated whether he’s leaning toward turning pro or returning to college for another year, but for him, the decision is much more than a basketball matter.
On Oct. 20, just before his breakout season on the court, the sophomore from Brentwood, Tennessee (outside Nashville), took part in an on-campus faith event. It was titled “Come As You Are” and brought together Vanderbilt athletics with various Christian ministries on campus. Hundreds of students attended the event to worship God, pray, and hear testimonies from Commodore athletes, and Tanner was one of those athletes.
“I want to be able to spread the Gospel to as many people as possible,” he said in the lead-up to the event, via an Instagram account promoting the night. “I want others to feel the Lord and grow in their faith just like me.”
He also makes sure he says a prayer before every game, which he says goes something like this: “God, help people see You through me.”
“That’s my whole purpose here on earth is to bring people to Christ,” he told Vandy on SI. “I tell myself to be a light when I pray.”
Tanner said he recognizes that, because of his basketball ability, he’s in a position to be a spiritual leader for his team and a guiding force pointing thousands of fans to Christ. As his star continues to rise in the college basketball world, so does his platform to display the glory of Jesus for all to see.
Tanner and his Vanderbilt teammates have dropped their past two games — a one-point loss to Missouri on the road and a four-point decision to rival Tennessee at home. The Commodores will look to get back to their winning ways with four regular-season games remaining, beginning Wednesday against Georgia (19-8). Tipoff from Nashville is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Every morning before sunrise, Tobe Awaka’s day began long before most high school students were awake. Growing up in Hyde Park, New York, Awaka chose a high school nearly two-and-a-half hours away by train — Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx — because he knew it would best prepare him for his future plans.
That meant waking up at 3:30 or 4 a.m. to catch the train, go to class, attend basketball practice, then make the long trip home — only to do it all again the next day.
“It was tough. It definitely had its ups and downs, but it helped mold [me] into the person and player I am today,” he said recently on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up?” podcast.
That early discipline, both in academics and athletics, set the tone for his future basketball journey. He didn’t start playing “high-level” basketball until ninth grade, and even then, his approach looked different from many future stars. Instead of structured drills in a gym, he was in his driveway, pretending an invisible defender was in front of him.
“I’d just do a bunch of different combo moves… kind of imagine myself going past them,” he said on the podcast. “I think that kind of helped build my creativity and my love for the game.”
Fast forward to the 2025-26 college basketball season, and that inner creativity and work ethic has helped Awaka become one of the most impactful pieces on the No. 1-ranked and 14-0 Arizona Wildcats. The senior forward is posting a double-double season, averaging 10.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and shooting 59.8% from the floor — numbers that place him among the team’s and Big 12’s most consistent performers this year. And it’s all coming from a reserve role; despite starting 36 of 37 games last season, Awaka has come off the bench for every game this season.
His 18 points against Utah on Jan. 3 matched a career high, and he chipped in 12 rebounds to go with it. But his growth hasn’t only come through box scores.
After transferring from Tennessee following the 2023-24 season — a choice he described as one of the toughest decisions of his life — Awaka leaned deeply on his faith to find clarity. What began as prayer and thoughtful reflection turned into a sense of spiritual peace that guided his decision.
“Honestly, once I got the green light spiritually from God that I was making the right choice and moving in the right direction, it was tough going through on that but I think ultimately it’s been to my benefit and for my good,” he said on the podcast. “Sometimes, as a believer, the unknown can be a little scary. The whole fact of having faith becomes real and true and something you have to put into practice, and that was definitely a moment where I had to.”
Now at Arizona, faith has become something Awaka lives out in community. What started as a personal pursuit of spiritual growth has grown into a space for teammates — and others across campus — to do the same. In one of his early days in Tucson, he visited a local barbershop for a haircut. He noticed his barber had a sermon from pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell playing on a nearby TV, which sparked an organic conversation about faith.
Their friendship grew from there, and the two decided to meet regularly for a Bible study. Other players soon caught wind of what they were doing and asked if they could join. The group quickly grew to six members and has continued expanding as others from across campus have been invited. Some meetings now include 15 to 20 people, Awaka said.
“It’s been really cool just to see how God has moved,” he said on the podcast. “Honestly, it just kind of started with two guys trying to dive deeper into their faith and learn more about it. It’s kind of grown into something cool and special. We’re still trying to grow it, still trying to get more guys on the team interested and bring them along, but it’s been a great experience.”
That boldness in faith wasn’t always instinctive for Awaka. It came through searching, wrestling and earnest exploration of truth. Around his freshman year of college, he found himself digging into every major religion — Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and more — before landing where he felt alive with conviction.
“I went pretty deep and I landed on Christianity,” he said on the podcast. “I kind of read the Bible like a mad man. I read it front to back, then read through the New Testament again. I felt it deep in my soul that that was the truth and that’s where God wanted me to move. Even before that, it was just a lot of research, a lot of looking things up.”
Away from the court and classroom, Awaka is a big reader, using books to quiet his mind amidst the chaos of basketball and business school coursework. One book that left an impression was “Inner Excellence” by Jim Murphy, which he said reshaped his mental approach as an athlete. Ecclesiastes is also one of his favorite books in the Bible.
His faith went from something he followed because his parents did it to something he now claims as his. So when the decision to transfer schools came, he said it felt like “peace amongst chaos” when he got that “green light” from the Lord.
“There’s a lot of things swirling, a lot of people in your ear, but internally you have this gravity telling you that it’s going to be OK,” he said. He heard the Lord telling him to follow in His steps and He would lead him in the right direction.
“Adversity is inevitable. We see that all throughout the Scriptures,” he said on the podcast. “But at the same time, Christ isn’t going to take that away, necessarily, but He’s going to help us walk through that. I definitely believe and feel that’s what He was doing with me through that time.”
Awaka and Arizona next face Big 12-foe Kansas State at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.
