![Assistant Athletic Director of Academic Retention & Services Jill Gerloff delivers the opening speech at her final NGWSD dinner before her retirement. “I love all of my athletes and my women's teams always show up for me, and I want to make sure that I can do something to show up for them,” Gerloff said. [File photo]](https://therambler.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/OpeningSpeaker_Gerloff-1200x800.jpg)
The Texas Wesleyan men’s and women’s basketball teams will take over Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 for Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) tournament playoffs.
The No. 5 seed Rams will face No. 4 seed Oklahoma City University on Feb. 25 at 2 p.m., and the No. 8 seed Lady Rams will face No. 1 seed Langston University on Feb. 26 at noon.
The men’s basketball team finished their official 2025-2026 season with a 19-8 overall record. Rams head coach Brian Wanamaker spoke about what got them to where they are now.
“I think our adversity helped us,” Wanamaker said. “I think going through some things early on in the season helped us become better because sometimes when you’re winning very early a lot of things you kind of let go … when we took a couple of losses that helped us.”
Graduate senior Khalil Turner, one of the team’s leading scorers with an average of 13.2 points per game, shared his thoughts on making the playoffs in his final year.
“This is something big so I’m trying to do my best in any way—if it’s scoring, if it’s not scoring, it’s defending, grabbing a rebound,” Turner said. “I’m trying my best to do any little thing to bring this SAC title back to Texas Wesleyan for my last year.”
Texas Wesleyan men’s basketball has a storied history with Oklahoma City beating them for the NAIA National Championship in 2006. 2017 marked the last time the Rams won the national title. The Rams have yet to win a SAC title. Junior guard Anthony Sierras talked about what he expects from Oklahoma City.
“I expect tomorrow’s game to be highly competitive and fast-paced. Both of our regular-season matchups were high-scoring, so I anticipate a similar tempo,” Sierras said. “They’re hosting the tournament, which gives them an advantage, but if we’re detailed and disciplined, this is absolutely a game we’re capable of winning.”
The Lady Rams wrapped up their season with an overall record of 13-15. Lady Rams head coach Scott Hyland talked about the thrilling weekend that helped them get to the playoffs.
“It was an exciting weekend. A lot of things had to fall into place, namely we had to win both our games, and Southwestern Christian had to lose too. It was a little stressful, a lot of scoreboard watching, but the focus was on ourselves,” Hyland said. “For me, it’s been a physical and emotional drain—haven’t had a whole lot of sleep in about the last 96 hours; but it’s exciting.”
Freshman psychology major and guard Kennedy Holmes spoke about what kind of challenges come with facing new opponents when in this tournament.
“I feel like we just have to live in the moment, take it one opponent at a time. We’re not really worried about what they’re [other teams] doing. We’re focused on us and how we’re going to be successful,” Holmes said.
In their last faceoff against the Langston Lions, the Lady Rams won by a single point. Junior mass communication major and point guard Aniyah Sanford said she expects a physical rematch.
“They’re definitely going to be way more aggressive than it was last time. I don’t think they were expecting us to win,” Sanford said. “It’s going to be the underdog game.”
Hyland spoke about the last time they faced Langston Lions winning 55-54.
“The last two years, all four of our games with them have come right down to the wire. They’ve won back-to-back conference championships. They’re a very talented team,” Hyland said.
Both teams will aim to win their first ever SAC tournament title, relying on teamwork and their defensive strengths.
