#3 Chaparrals take Perfect Record to Clarendon College for the 2026 WJCAC Opener
The Midland College Chaparrals will open the conference schedule on the road at Clarendon College on Monday, January 5, 2026.
Midland College Basketball
WJCAC Opener
Monday, January 5, 2026
Clarendon, TX
Photo Credit to: Armand Cruz, Midland College Media Services
The Midland College Chaparrals basketball team will put their perfect record on the line in Monday's WJCAC opener at Clarendon College. The Chaparrals, under first-year head coach, Isaac Fontenot-Amedee were picked to finish 5th in the preseason WJCAC Coaches Poll. MC obviously didn't take that ranking to heart as they have successfully navigated the preconference slate of games and emerged with a 14-0 overall record. The Chaparrals are also ranked #3 in the NJCAA Men's Division I rankings.
Current NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Rankings: https://www.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/rankings/DI/index
The NJCAA Men's DI Pollsters currently have five WJCAC teams ranked among the nation's Top 20 teams. Following the #3 Chaparrals (14-0) are #8 Howard College (13-1), #10 Odessa College (12-2), #11 South Plains College (11-2) and #17 New Mexico Junior College (13-1). The WJCAC is widely regarded as the toughest and most competitive league in the nation.
Current NJCAA Region 5 Standings (WJCAC and NTJCAC): https://njcaaregion5.com/sports/mbkb/index
To open the conference schedule Midland College will travel to Clarendon College for a game versus the Bulldogs. Clarendon College enters the game at 7-7 on the season and they are expected to offer strong resistence at home. Midland College and Clarendon College have one common opponent this season. Both teams played Trinity Valley Community College in the East-West Classic in Plano back in November. The Chaps defeated, then #1 ranked Trinity Valley CC, on November 14th by a score of 75-62. Trinity Valley CC defeated Clarendon College the following day by a score of 78-68.
Midland College is led by sophomore transfer Darius Carr who averages 17.3 points per contest. MC returnee Antoine Bo Hurns is second in scoring with a 13.4 ppg average. Freshman Yeison Liberato comes in at just under ten points per game. Sophomore transfer Solomon Ominu leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game followed by Hurns and Liberato at 5.5 and 4.5 caroms per game, respectively. Freshman point guard Cayden Reed sets the offense for MC and leads the team with 5.5 assists per game. Liberato is second in assists with 3.5 "dimes" per outing.
The Chaparrals enter Monday's conference opener averaging 88.2 points per game on 52.7% from the floor, 34.4% from the three-point line and nearly 75% from the charity stripe. The Clarendon College Bulldogs average 80.9 ppg on 53.4% from the floor, 32.8% from three and 65.7% from the freethrow line. The Bulldogs are led by a quartet of double-digit scorers. KD Davis leads the team at 16.2 points per contest, followed by Jamari Briggs at 11.5, Ryder Cate who chips in with 10.8 and Ra'Kai Crawford at 10.2 points per game.
Midland College will return to conference action, hosting South Plains College on Thursday, January 8th @ 7:30 p.m. and Odessa College on Monday, January 12th also at 7:30 p.m.
Watch the Chaps versus the SPC Texans and the OC Wranglers at https://tsbnsports.com/click-title-of-game-to-watch/
Go Chaps!