SAN ANTONIO – When Karen Aston was hired to lead UTSA Women’s Basketball on March 29, 2021, she inherited a program that had won just two games the previous season and just 15 games in the past three years combined. Fewer than 500 people per game were coming to the Convocation Center to watch the Roadrunners play.
When she steps out on the Convocation Center court on Saturday, Aston will likely be greeted by the largest crowd to ever watch a UTSA Women’s Basketball home game. The Roadrunners, who play Florida Atlantic at 12 p.m. Saturday, are expected to set the all-time single-game attendance record, breaking a mark of 2,000 fans set in 1991 against SMU. (Tickets are still on sale and may be purchased online here or at the Convocation Center Box Office on Saturday).
Having already clinched at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season championship – the first team in any sport at UTSA to win a league crown since joining the AAC on July 1, 2023 – the Roadrunners have the opportunity to secure the AAC Championship outright. They also are seeking their 25th victory of the season, which would set the school’s record for wins in a single season.
“It’s really amazing,” Aston said. “We’ve still got to play Saturday and we’re not just assuming we’re going to win. But we’re going to cut a net down, put a hat on and buy a ring regardless of what happens in that game. Everybody doesn’t get to do that.”
On the precipice of what has the potential to be one of the best days in program history, Aston took time to acknowledge her first UTSA team. The 2021-22 edition of the Roadrunners won seven games, including three in conference play. But the foundation that it created endures within the strong culture of the program.
“The first team I coached here will be one of my all-time favorites because they bought into the process,” Aston said. “They’re really the reason why we’re here today. They’re the ones who decided on what the culture was going to be like. They bought into what we were doing and then we were able to have retention.”
Continuity has been an important part of the success of the UTSA program. In her four years at the helm of the Roadrunners, Aston has only had one member of her coaching staff depart. In the transfer portal era of college athletics when it’s easier than ever for players to move schools, Aston has created a program in which players want to stay and create something special.
“It’s incredible four years later that there’s as many people still here,” Aston said.
After Friday afternoon’s practice at the Convocation Center, Aston visited with a handful of high school coaches from the state of Texas who were in town for the UIL State Championship at the Alamodome and wanted the opportunity to watch the Roadrunners prepare for Saturday’s game. It was another reminder of just how far the program has come since Aston first arrived.
“They wanted to watch us practice, which is a credit to this team,” Aston said. “A few years ago, I don’t think anyone was interested in watching us practice. I think high school coaches appreciate what this team has become.”
Prior to Saturday’s game (fans are encouraged to arrive by 11:30 a.m.), the Roadrunners will recognize seniors Jordyn Jenkins and Nina De Leon Negron, two special players who have been responsible for leading this year’s team to new heights.
“What I will appreciate most is their leadership; it’s been constant,” Aston said. “From Nina getting her feet wet and understanding what the team needed and Jordyn becoming Jordyn after all she went through, they almost met in the middle this summer. They realized we could be special and they were going to take the reins of that. It’s been their leadership. Their numbers are great, their performances have been great and all of that, but I appreciate the efforts that they have made off the court to make this team really special.”
In Jenkins, who transferred to UTSA three years ago from the University of Southern California, the Roadrunners have the best player in the American Athletic Conference and one of the top players in the country. She is complemented by De Leon Negron, who joined the team this offseason as a graduate transfer and has established herself as one of the nation’s leading point guards.
Despite the considerable star power that radiates from this senior duo, Aston coaches a squad with virtually no ego. Every person on the team and associated with the program is focused on the bigger picture and the ultimate goal.
“It’s not normal, for sure,” Aston said. “It’s a priceless year. I think we’ve all been on other teams that you knew had potential, but they had distractions. For whatever reason, this year’s team has decided to put whatever’s going on in their world aside for the time that we have together. It’s really special, there’s no question about it.”
While there are more games to be played and more nets to be cut, Aston recognizes the impressive feat that her team has accomplished by achieving a 24-3 overall record and a 15-1 mark in AAC play. They’ve found a way to win in many different forms, fighting through adversity and deficits, to claim a league title.
“What we’re doing and being able to be focused on your task every day for an 18-game stretch and be selfless with a whole entire group of people is really, really hard to do,” Aston said. “The journey of conference play is so hard. For us to be where we are, it’s incredible. It’s a testament to the commitment that everybody’s made. I want for them to win the [AAC] Tournament. I want them to go to the NCAA Tournament so bad for them. But I’m more proud of this because the journey is so difficult. It takes a really special group to do what we’re doing.”