Ruiz national championship highlights Jones College's 2024-25 sports year

ELLISVILLE – An individual national championship highlighted the 2024-25 Jones College year in athletics.

Matias Ruiz won the NJCAA Division I Men's No. 1 Singles national championship in April in Florence, S.C., the first time anyone from Jones or an MACCC school has won an individual national tennis championship.
 
As a team, Jones won five NJCAA Region 23 titles in volleyball, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's basketball and softball and four MACCC championships in men's tennis, women's tennis, men's basketball and men's soccer. 
 
Jones finished a combined 216-71-4 during the year for a .749 winning percentage.
 
Women's Tennis
Jones posted its second straight undefeated season, going 17-0 during the year and winning its fifth straight MACCC and Region 23 titles.
 
The Bobcats finished seventh in the NJCAA Division I Tournament in Tyler, Texas. 
 
Helen Hernandez and Molly Bennett became the first Jones and MACCC players to reach the finals of No. 1 doubles in the national tournament. Both were named All-MACCC, ITA First Team All-Americans and NJCAA Second Team All-Americans. Hernandez was named MACCC Player of the Year and ITA Region III Sophomore of the Year.

The Bobcats have won 83 consecutive MACCC matches and have not lost a conference match since Feb. 14, 2019.
 
Hernandez signed with Jackson State University and Bennett signed with Mississippi College. 
 
Head coach Brooks Buffington was named MACCC and Region 23 Coach of the Year. 
 
The team received the ITA Region III Community Service Award and Juan Pinilla was named ITA Region III Assistant Coach of the Year. 
 
Off the court, former head coach Mark Easley was inducted into the NJCAA Women's Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
 
Men's Basketball
Head coach Newton Mealer's team went 30-4 and advanced to the NJCAA Division I Tournament round of 16.
 
The 30 wins were a program record and the team won back-to-back MACCC and Region 23 titles for the first time in school history. It was the first time for Jones to make back-to-back appearances in the national tournament as well. 
 
The Bobcats were ranked No. 4 in the final regular season poll – the highest-ever ranking for a Bobcat team.
 
LJ Hackman was named an NJCAA First Team All-American, just the second in program history. Hackman and Ky Pernell were named All-Region 23. Hackman, Ky Pernell, Dimp Pernell and Avery Thomas II were named All-MACCC and Hackman was named MACCC Player of the Year.
 
Ky Pernell was named Region 23 Tournament MVP. Pernell, Hackman and Thomas made the Region All-Tournament Team.
 
Hackman signed with Western Kentucky University, the Pernell's signed with Texas State University and Thomas and Kylan Howze signed with Louisiana Tech.
 
Mealer was named MACCC and Region 23 Coach of the Year.
 
Men's Tennis
Ruiz defeated Seward College's (Kansas) Samuel Antwi 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in a two hour, 18-minute championship match on April 16. Ruiz won three matches to reach the title round.
 
The Bobcats finished 12th in the tournament for a second straight year. The Bobcats went 19-5 and claimed their fourth straight MACCC title and second straight Region 23 crown. 
 
Ruiz was named First Team All-American by both the ITA and NJCAA, All-MACCC and MACCC Player of the Year. Freshman Ridge Jones was named All-MACCC.
 
Sophomore Ethin McKinnon won the Region III ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. Ruiz was named ITA Region III Sophomore of the Year.
 
Buffington was named MACCC and Region 23 Coach of the Year as well as ITA Region III Coach of the Year. 
 
The team received the ITA Region III Community Service Award. 
 
Ruiz and Alex Holder both signed with Mississippi College.
 
Volleyball
In its first season of competition, the Bobcats went 28-8 and won the Region 23 championship.
 
Jones came within one win of making the national tournament in its opening year of play and received votes in the final national poll.
 
Harmony Jackson was named NJCAA All-American and Mamie Frohmdahl was named MACCC Player of the Year. Fromdahl, Jackson, Emily Boudreaux and Alanah Fitch were named All-MACCC.
 
Head coach John Dussouy was named MACCC and Region 23 Coach of the Year.
 
Men's Soccer 
Jones posted an 11-3-3 record, won its fifth MACCC championship in seven years and were ranked No. 7 in the final ITA poll.
 
Cameron Chamberlain, Lawson Harvey, Callum Black, Xabier Souto-Rodriguez and Matt Reed were named All-MACCC. Black was named NJCAA Division II All-American.
 
Harvey was selected to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American Team and was the recipient of the Jones College Male Athletic Gold Key Award.
 
Five players signed with senior colleges in Souto-Rodriguez (Keiser University), Black (William Carey University), Harvey (Union University), Graham Harris (Belhaven University) and Chamblerain (Thomas More).
 
Softball
The Bobcats went 52-10, won their second straight Region 23 title and finished as national runner-up for a sixth time.  
 
Makynlie Jones was named NFCA NJCAA Division II Player of the Year, MACCC Player of the Year and won the NFCA NJCAA Division II Rawlings Gold Glove for the second straight year. 
 
Jayden Sawyer was named Most Outstanding Pitcher of the national tournament, Marlee Dampeer was named Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Emily Mizelle and Addy Shorter made the All-Tournament Team.
 
Makynlie Jones, Mizelle and Sawyer were named NJCAA Division II All-Americans as well as NJCAA All-Region 23. Mizelle and Makynlie Jones were named NFCA All-Americans. Makynlie Jones, Mizelle, Breelyn Cain and Meredith Fontenot were named NFCA All-Region. 
 
Makynlie Jones, Claire Andersen and Mizelle were named First Team All-MACCC and Sawyer was named Second Team as an infielder and Honorable Mention as a pitcher. Shorter was named Honorable Mention. 

Tori Dew was named Region 23 Coach of the Year for a second consecutive season. 
 
A program record eight players signed with senior colleges in Jones (Northwestern State), Ava Prejean (Lamar), Meredith Fontenot (Spring Hill College), Makayla Lindsey (Alcorn State University), Brooklynn Montana (William Carey University), Sawyer (William Carey University), Kaleigh Steverson (Belhaven University) and Emma Moore (Belhaven University).
 
Women's Soccer
The Bobcats went 11-4-1, advanced to the Region 23 quarterfinals and finished No. 12 in the final NJCAA poll.
 
Sherline King and Boo Mills were named All-MACCC and King was named United Soccer Coaches All-American.
 
Six players signed with senior colleges in Boo Mills (William Carey University), Jona Hennings (Stoney Brook), Mary Bradley McCardle (Belhaven University), Avery Saulter (Tennessee Wesleyan), Jewel Hamilton (Tennessee Wesleyan and Abby Sheriff (Truett McConnell).
 
Men's Golf
The Bobcats made history by becoming the first JC team to qualify for the NJCAA Division II Tournament as a full team.
 
Led by tournament medalist Sebastian Nowak, Jones finished third in the NJCAA Division II Gulf District Tournament at Tunica National Golf Club to qualify them for nationals.
 
Nowak posted a 70-70-69 – 209, 7-under par to win the district by two shots. The Bobcats finished with an 884 as a team to finish third behind Mississippi Gulf Coast and Meridian.
 
In the national tournament at Plymouth, Ind., the Bobcats finished 14th of 22 teams.
 
Nowak also became the first Jones golfer to be selected as an NJCAA Division II PING Honorable Mention All-American.
 
Nowak and Drew Groscost were Second Team All-MACCC. Jones finished third in the MACCC Tournament at Shiloh Ridge in Corinth.
 
Baseball
Jones ended the season with a 35-15 overall record and tied for second in the MACCC at 20-8.
 
Six Bobcats were named All-MACCC, including Caden Freeman, TJ Dunsford, Andrew Marble, Braden Smith, Cole Manuel and Chase Russell.
 
Nine players signed with senior colleges in Evan Rogers (New Orleans), Brycen Smith (New Orleans), Andrew Marble (Samford), Micah Daniell (William Carey University), Cole Manuel (Arkansas State), TJ Dunsford (Tennessee-Martin), Braden Smith (Georgia-Gwinnett), Brice Ainsworth (Auburn-Montgomery) and Dominick Regira (Auburn-Montgomery).

Cheer
Under first-year head coach Kate Ewing, the Bobcats finished third in the UCA Open Coed category in Orlando, Florida. 

They've celebrated national titles in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

Seven student-athletes inked with four-year programs in Brelynn Fetsko (UCF), Anthony Medeiros (UCF), Valentin Conner Hernandez (USF), Madyson Newell (USM), Ethan Johnson (Western Kentucky), Landon Colson (Western Kentucky) and Rylee Burks (Mississippi State).

2024-25 Athletics Record

Softball 52-10

Baseball 35-15

Men's Basketball 30-4

Volleyball 28-8

Men's Tennis 19-5

Women's Tennis 17-0

Women's Soccer 11-4-1

Men's Soccer 11-3-3

Overall 216-71-4

Prior Athletics Records
2023-24        193-69-3
2022-23        204-56-2
2021-22        200-57
2020-21        165-49
2019-20        119-43-1
2018-19        200-44-1
2017-18        175-56-2
2016-17        206-36
2015-16        187-56-1
2014-15        160-49-1

By Shawn Wansley, Jones Sports Information