Pellissippi State Community College will welcome four new sports to its Athletics program in 2024.
The Panthers will add men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball next year to the eight sports Pellissippi State launched this fall.
“These sports will fill a hole Knoxville has had for a long time, giving high school athletes a local community college option,” said Athletics Director Brock Evans. “These are the largest and oldest sports in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association.”
Evans expects the four new sports rosters will nearly double the number of student-athletes at Pellissippi State, which only added athletics this year. Pellissippi State fielded teams in men’s and women’s soccer, cross country and half marathon, men’s golf and women’s volleyball during its inaugural season.
“We are going to ride the momentum of coming off a very successful fall,” Evans said. “We are looking for coaches now and eventually will have interest forms on our website for students who would like to be recruited.”
In the meantime, most of Pellissippi State’s 100 student-athletes have said they will return next year. Only 14 have applied to graduate in spring 2024, Evans said.
“Being a college student-athlete is really a full-time job,” Evans said. “It’s asking a lot, particularly of those who are also doing college-level work for the first time.”
All Pellissippi State student-athletes are required to complete three-to-six weekly hours of study hall in one of three locations: the college’s Educational Resources Center, Multicultural Center or Stay Strong Student Success Center.
“All I asked of our coaches this first year was to build a culture within their individual programs, and we’ve had tremendous buy-in with our student-athletes,” Evans said. “They’ve built a community.”
The teams’ performances also exceeded Evans’ expectations for their first year, with men’s soccer finishing with a winning record of 11-3-2 and women’s soccer racking up accolades including TCCAA Coach of the Year for Mariana Diaz Lopez and Player of the Year for forward Sade Lee, who also was named a NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American. Men’s and Women’s Cross Country had numerous top finishes, and runner Jarek Morton was named the NJCAA National Runner of the Week twice.
Now that Pellissippi State has completed its probationary season, all sports will be eligible in 2024 for postseason play.
“We are dedicated to building championship-level teams with championship-level resources and coaching,” Evans said.
For more information on Pellissippi State Athletics, visit www.psccpanthers.com.
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