NJCAA Region 8 Notebook: January 24

Photo courtesy of Northwest Florida State College Athletics
Photo courtesy of Northwest Florida State College Athletics
Posted: Jan 24, 2023

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 24, 2023) - The Florida College System Activities Association has released its weekly coaches' polls and announced its Player of the Week Awards in Men's and Women's Basketball.

January 23, 2023 Coaches' Polls

NOTE: The first regular season baseball and softball coaches' polls will be released Monday, February 6.

Region 8 Player of the Week Awards (January 16-22)

Congratulations to the following student-athletes who received Player of the Week recognition:

  • Region 8 Men's Basketball Player of the Week: Jacob Crews, Daytona State
  • Region 8 Women's Basketball Player of the Week: Blessing King, Florida SouthWestern

All Player of the Week honorees will be considered for NJCAA Player of the Week honors, which will be announced Wednesday.

Visit Region 8 Player of the Week HQ to read more about this week's honorees.

NOTE: Baseball and Softball Player/Pitcher of the Week Awards will begin Tuesday, January 31. 

Sports Updates

  • NJCAA Network: ESPN+ will feature more Region 8 action on Wednesday when Tallahassee Community College hosts Northwest Florida State College. Coverage begins with women's action at 5:30 p.m. eastern. The NJCAA has also announced the launch of JUCO Jam, a weekly men's basketball show which will debut January 25 at 7 p.m. and air each Wednesday for the remainder of the season on the NJCAA Network.
  • Men's Basketball: As the conference season nears the midway point, seven teams found themselves represented in Monday's NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Poll. Tallahassee Community College, Region 8's new No. 1 team, moved into the No. 3 spot in the national poll while Chipola College sits at No. 5. Daytona State College is No. 18, and Eastern Florida State College re-entered the poll at No. 24. Florida SouthWestern State College, Northwest Florida State College and Indian River State College all received votes in the poll. 
  • Women's Basketball: Eastern Florida State and Northwest Florida State remained Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, in the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Poll while Gulf Coast State College checked in at No. 8. Indian River State earned the No. 16 spot while Pensacola State College is No. 19.
  • Baseball: Region 8 was well-represented in the NJCAA's Division I and Division II Preseason Polls, released on Monday. In the Division I poll, the College of Central Florida is ranked No. 4 followed by No. 10 Chipola and No. 17 Northwest Florida State while both Florida SouthWestern State College and State College of Florida received votes. In the Division II poll, St. Johns River State College, playing its first year in the D2 ranks, is No. 14 while defending Region 8 Champion Florida State College at Jacksonville is No. 19 and Pasco-Hernando State College is among the teams receiving votes. 
  • Softball: Florida SouthWestern enters the 2023 season where it ended each of the last two campaigns - No. 1. The two-time defending National Champion Bucs are one of four Region 8 teams in the NJCAA Division I Softball Preseason Poll. Pensacola State and Central Florida are Nos. 11 and 12, respectively, while Chipola is ranked No. 14. Reigning Region 8 Champion Pasco-Hernando State received votes in the Division II poll.
  • Swimming & Diving: Indian River State continued to prepare for next month's National Championships with a strong showing on its January slate. The Pioneer men have picked up a pair of head-to-head victories over Rochester Institute of Technology (177-104) and Florida Southern College (146-112) in addition to a second-place showing in a quad meet hosted by Nova Southeastern and a win over Florida Atlantic in a divers-only event. The River women, meanwhile, also picked up a head-to-head win against Florida Southern while placing second in a tri-meet with RIT and the University of West Florida and third at NSU's Quad Meet. The College of the Florida Keys have also had an active month, hosting a tri-meet with the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Truman State University, and participating at the Jr. Orange Bowl Meet and TYR SoFlo Open. Up next for all squads is the annual Stanton C. Craigie Invite, hosted by Indian River State College, February 3-5.

The FCSAA sends its condolences to the family of Betty Jo Graber, who passed away on January 15 at the age of 90. Graber helped pioneer the creation of the Women's Division of the NJCAA in 1975, and the NJCAA's Female Student-Athlete of the Year Award bears her name. Previous winners from the FCSAA include Amy Woodham (Chipola, 2018-19), Vanessa Benke (Central Florida, 2012-13), Tyryshia Centeno (Indian River State, 2011-12), Mitsuki Katahira (Daytona State, 2010-11), Natashia Morehead (Gulf Coast State, 2002-03), Kaunda Williams (Gulf Coast State, 1997-98) and Nicole Weed (Daytona State, 1996-97). 

The FCSAA would also like to send its condolences to the Snow (Utah) College Athletics Department, who are mourning the loss of softball student-athlete Paige Rydalch, who was killed in a car crash on January 16 while returning to campus from the holiday break.

For more Player of the Week coverage, follow the FCSAA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at "TheFCSAA."