During his four seasons at the helm of the budding Blinn program – in one of the toughest regions in NJCAA – the Buccaneers have elbowed their way into the conversation of Region XIV’s best squads, and McBride is hopeful his team will continue its rise this fall.
“It’s incredible the turnaround we’ve seen in our region,” said McBride. “It used to be Tyler Junior College at the top and then everyone else. Then it was Tyler and Angelina College. Now, we’re seeing Tyler, Angelina, Jacksonville (College), and other teams that are clawing their way to the top, and we’re in that mix as well.”
Entering just their fifth season since men’s and women’s soccer debuted at Blinn in 2018, the Buccaneers have reached the playoffs in each of their first four campaigns, including last season’s fourth-place finish with a 7-6-1 mark in Region XIV.
With Tyler atop the standings, Angelina, Coastal Bend College, Blinn, Jacksonville, Northeast Texas Community College, and Paris Junior College followed second through seventh, respectively.
Overall, Blinn finished with an 11-7-2 record, its highest single-season win total in program history.
The Buccaneers are reloading for what they hope will be another run to the playoffs this season behind a sizable roster and an influx of young talent.
On a roster of 37 players, a mere 11 Buccaneers are sophomores, but the mixture of youth and sheer numbers has second-year midfielder Cesar Cabrera excited for what’s in store for his team this fall.
“Players are looking great, we’ve got great touch on the ball, and we’re playing together with some great chemistry that we’ve built up these past couple weeks,” Cabrera said. “Things are looking pretty good, we’re feeling confident, and we’re just ready to go.
“There’s a lot of competition at every single position, so we’re pushing each other to be the best, and the best start. There’s a lot of motivation and energy here – everybody is hungry.”
Other sophomores on this season’s club include goalkeeper Kevin Pena; midfielders Felix Mesquita, Abraham Lopez, and Joseph Boyce; forwards Favio Chavez and Kamille Kum; and defenders William Spellman, Crispin Tshimanga, Anderson Micolta, and Peyton Robinson.
Blinn’s roster also features 12 international players hailing from Canada, Chaguanas, Trinidad & Tobago, England, Mexico, and South Africa.
McBride said his roster’s size coupled with a dash of international flavor and the experience carried over from 2021’s success has added new dynamics to his daily practice sessions.
“Size, experience, and a difference in backgrounds is good for healthy competition and it gives us a lot of utility with the things we can do now during practices,” McBride said. “There are certain things you need a requisite number of players to do. We can have two separate, really good training sessions going on at one time now, so in that respect, it’s a huge advantage for us.
“Plus, based off the personalities of all our players, they all understand what they came here for. They know how hard it’s going to be to crack our starting lineup and what we’re expecting out of each one of them. That ups the ante for everybody, so to speak, and brings out everyone’s best.”
Mesquita said that as the Buccaneers vie for starting positions on the field, the collective goal has been established for a team whose arrow is pointing up.
“Everybody wants to win,” he said. “We’re pushing for the playoffs and going much further than last season. We have a lot of talent on this team, so we’re going to take each game as it comes and aim for the win every time.”
The Buccaneers open their season at home against Dynamos FC at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at Hohlt Park’s Rankin Field in Brenham. Blinn will play five non-conference matches before opening region play at home against Paris at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
