No. 23 Walters State boast talented roster heading into 2025-26 season

MORRISTOWN, TN – Year three of the Jerry Nichols Era at Walters State begins on Friday evening, and the 23rd-ranked Senators come in loaded with talent. 

For Walters State, the roster is a solid balance between returners, freshmen and transfers. While that could present challenges early in terms of building chemistry, Nichols feels his team is already up to speed and gelling nicely. 

"The guys are progressing well," Nichols said. "We have a whole bunch of new guys; at the junior college level there is always a lot of turnover. Because of that, our ability to gel quickly is very, very important. I feel like these guys have really bought into our motto of 'get up the hill.' I think that is going to help us throughout the season."

While the regular season starts on Friday, Walters State has already battled the likes of Carson-Newman, Union College, Chipola and East Mississippi in preseason. One thing Nichols has been impressed by with his team during those scrimmages has been their response to adversity.

"Our fight has been on display multiple times," Nichols said. "We have a saying in our program that 'you are who you are when adversity hits.' Our guys have been able to handle a lot of adversity that has come their way. They have responded well to it all through some of our exhibitions."

As far as the roster goes, Walters State returns three players from last season. Last year's first team All-TCCAA member Da'Mori Lytch (Dillon, SC) is one of the returners, and he averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game. 

Another returner is point guard Malaki Brooks (Union City, TN). As a freshman, Brooks averaged 10.4 points, four assists and four rebounds per game. 

The final returner is redshirt freshman Jaceion Coffey (Pulaski, TN). Coffey played in four games last season before suffering a season-ending injury.  

"I expect leadership out of them," Nichols said about his returners. "They've been through the fire and know what it feels like. Da'Mori had really stepped up in regard to his conditioning. Mali, we need him to be more of a vocal leader, and he's starting to do that for us. We have a lot of new talent who will help out in that regard as well."

Another returner is redshirt sophomore Jamar Livingston (Johnson City, TN). Livingston played for the Senators during the 2023-24 season and averaged 11.7 points, shooting 53% from the field and 43% from 3-point range.

"We are very excited to have Jamar back," Nichols said. "Jamar is a great shooter and gives us experience. He knows what it takes to win at this level." 

In terms of transfers, Nichols brought in Brian Carter (Memphis, TN), Jayden Nesbitt (Huntsville, AL), Jaquavious Wallace (Decatur, GA) and Derrell Bateman (Hopkinsville, KY). 

"We need those guys to have a huge impact on our team," Nichols said. "Anytime you recruit a transfer, you expect them to come in and be a force. I think all of them have done that."

Walters State also has seven freshmen. Those freshmen are Taquez Butler (Memphis, TN), Trae Rideau (Clarksville, TN), Carter Webb (Murfreesboro, TN), Caiden Bauldwin (Chattanooga, TN), Mou Riiny (Juba, South Sudan), Tyrese Stovall (Cleveland, TN) and Elijah Elliott (Knoxville, TN). 

"We were able to pluck out some of the best players in the state," Nichols said. "First notable is Taquez Butler. He can score at will and at a high level. He was Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee in 4A last year. We were able to get Tyrese Stovall, who is very physical inside and a high-jumping athlete that makes plays off the bounce.

"We've got Trae Rideau. He was the Clarksville Player of the Year. Carter Webb has really, really improved. We have a lot of high school kids that were highly talented and really good players. Caiden Bauldwin is another one, and the list goes on and on."

With this roster, Nichols is excited about going back to a fast-paced offense and a high-pressure defensive philosophy. That makeup was a big reason for Walters State's NJCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance during the 2023-24 season. 

"This team is definitely different than last year's team," Nichols said. "Last year, we were bigger and weren't able to press as much as I wanted to. These guys, I wanted to get back to what I've been doing my whole career, and that is speeding the tempo up. This is a group that can definitely speed the tempo up, play fast and shoot a lot of 3's."

Schedule wise, Walters State faces a challenging 20-game conference schedule. Non-conference games include the likes of Wabash Valley, Georgia Highlands, Southern Crescent and Denmark Tech.  

"I think the schedule is going to prepare us a lot for the conference tournament," Nichols said. "It's always hard at this level to schedule games and find the best teams to play, but I feel like we have done that. We're going to Wabash Valley right after Christmas Break, and we have Denmark Tech who was one of the top teams in their league. Then, we have Georgia Highlands and Southern Crescent as well. We're excited about the games we have scheduled."

As far as goals go, it's the same as always for Nichols and his Walters State team. 

"Our goal is always to win a championship," Nichols said. "We want to win our league and continue to graduate student-athletes. Our main goal is to get to Hutch and muster up some ways to win it. It's always tough to win, but we definitely want to do that. That's always been a goal of mine every year." 

Walters State opens the season on the road on Friday, taking on Union College JV. Tip is set for 5 pm ET. The Senators home opener is Tuesday, November 4, against Tusculum University JV at 5:30 pm ET.