Above photo: Taylor McDaniel and UMHB Baseball will look to counter Concordia’s high-powered hitting in a highly-anticipated home-and-home series later this week (Photo courtesy of UMHB Athletics)
It’s a new week in Cru Country, and there’s plenty to keep an eye on. This Monday morning breakdown is intended to do just that, highlighting some of the notable moments and accomplishments from the previous seven days, while giving a look ahead at what is upcoming for UMHB Athletics.
4 things to watch in the week ahead
Softball looks to get back in the win column against former ASC foe on Monday — UMHB Softball has faced a slew of tough tests as of late, including No. 8 ETBU, but The Cru have a chance to get back on the right track in Monday’s 3 p.m. doubleheader in Belton. UMHB hosts one of the strongest teams in Region 10 in Concordia (TX), who is 22-4 with a 17-3 mark in SCAC play. The Tornados come in having won six in a row, anchored by pitchers Kylie Kirk (2.98 ERA, 54 Ks) and Karlee Mathis (2.11 ERA), who are each 7-0 in the circle this season. But UMHB has plenty of firepower in its lineup to counter Concordia’s pitching, led by freshmen Addy Todd (.390 BA, 4 HR, 18 RBI) and Macy Alewine (.348 BA, 3 HR, 14 RBI). The Cru enters Monday’s doubleheader at 11-15 overall.
High-powered offenses square off in a three-game set between Cru Baseball and Concordia — UMHB Baseball might be one of the best run-scoring teams in the country to this point, but the Crusader pitching staff will certainly have its hands full in the Thursday-Friday series later this week. Concordia ranks No. 3 in D-III in hits this season, with 303, and has scored the 17th-most runs in the nation en route to a 16-10 start. The Tornados are led by senior Landon Hyle, who is hitting .440 with 6 HRs and 36 RBIs. UMHB’s offense, meanwhile, certainly has the potential to give CTX’s pitchers trouble, hitting .324 as a team with the 16th-most stolen bases in D-III (66). UMHB is 17-8 overall, and hosts Game 1 on Thursday at 6 p.m. before heading to Austin for Games 2 and 3 on Friday.
No. 8 Men’s Golf set for Greystone Classic in Tennessee — Ranked No. 8 in the latest Clippd D3 rankings, Jordan Cox’s squad begins play Monday morning at the Greystone Classic in Dickinson, TN. Coming off a third-place finish at the Space City Classic in its first tournament of the spring, The Cru will be part of a highly-ranked four-team field that also includes No. 14 Southwestern, No. 15 Trinity, and No. 17 Willamette. Freshman Lucas Latimer is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Space City Classic and is ranked No. 47 nationally, while Colton O’Dell is UMHB’s highest-ranked individual, at No. 22.
Beach Volleyball hosts final tournament of 2026 — The UMHBeach Easter EGGstravaganza is set for Wednesday and Friday in Belton, as UMHB (12-4 overall) closes out the home portion of its schedule with a busy two-day span featuring six matches. Wednesday opens with an 8 a.m. match against Southwest Baptist followed by The Cru’s second meeting of the year against Howard Payne, who is in its inaugural season. Wednesday wraps up with a 4 p.m. rematch against Southwest Baptist. Friday features a trio of NAIA opponents—Oklahoma Baptist, Texas A&M-Texarkana, and Texas Wesleyan—as UMHB seeks to build momentum before facing three D-I opponents in a seven-day stretch. The pair of Kendall Harrington and Saige De La Fuente has been terrific this season, and the duo is 3-0 over UMHB’s last three matches.
3 numbers to know
6 – performances of at least nine runs scored in the last seven games for UMHB baseball. The Cru won Tuesday’s non-conference duel, 11-7, over St. Thomas on Cameron Talburt’s walk-off grand slam, and have scored the 14th-most runs in Division III this season (226).
4 – wins over Division III opponents for UMHB Acrobatics & Tumbling during The Cru’s regular season slate, which wrapped up last Thursday in a 262.085-219.535 win at East Texas Baptist. UMHB is 4-0 against Division III programs in 2026 heading into the NCATA DIII Tournament, which is set for April 9-11.
9 – consecutive home wins for UMHB Beach Volleyball, as Mark Pryor’s squad swept its three matches at the UMHBeach Midweek Madness tournament on Wednesday in Belton. The Cru went 2-0 against Huntingdon and 1-0 against Concordia (TX), moving to 9-0 at home and 12-4 overall this spring.
2 notable individual performances from this past week
Taylor McDaniel, Baseball – McDaniel was a crucial piece of UMHB’s 11-7 win over St. Thomas, going 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs in the cleanup spot. The first baseman drove in UMHB’s first two runs in a four-run first inning, and tallied two doubles in the win. The Amarillo native is now hitting .410 on the year with a team-leading 30 RBIs.
Emma Nordin, Tennis — A freshman, Nordin has solified herself within UMHB’s lineup this spring, and had a key role in The Cru’s conference-opening win over Hardin-Simmons on Saturday. The Klein native teamed up with Breanna Taylor in doubles play for a 6-1 win over HSU’s Taylor Levy and Addyson Tylaska, then beat Brenna Gordon, one of the ASC’s Preseason Players to Watch, in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) in singles play.
1 final thought
The calendar turns to April, which marks championship season for UMHB’s spring sports and brings an increased urgency to the upcoming stretch of games and matches. Keep an eye on the ASC baseball regular season title race in particular, which will wrap up on April 25. While none of the ASC’s four teams have begun conference play, all four currently sit above .500, giving the ASC the seventh-highest conference-wide winning percentage in D-III per Massey Ratings, at .610 (61-39). UMHB begins its ASC schedule on April 9, hosting Howard Payne.
