Looking Back on the 2025-26 Arkansas State Sporting Season

I once wrote a post regarding Red Wolves sports so scathing, so blistering, it prompted a wellness check from A-State Athletic officials. Those were dark days. To quote Ron Weasley after having had a poor experience with Dementors, “I thought I would never be cheerful again.”

I’m a cheery sonuvabitch these days. I just enjoyed a thoroughly compelling Arkansas State sporting season, punctuated by a bowl game, a no-hitter, a couple of NCAA Tourney trips, a visit to the Final Four, an NIT title, three victories over Arkansas, and a pair of guys tossing heavy balls in Eugene. What right do I have to complain?

Unfortunately, I don’t require a right to complain – my teeth remain permanently gnashed! While 2025-26 treated A-State fans to plenty of intrigue, it also plied us with an emotional smorgasbord of frustrations. Failures to close escrow on tantalizing opportunities left us shaking our fists to the heavens.

Red Wolves Football: The Good

Butch Jones turned in his second consecutive season of winning football with a 7-6 record underscored by a victory over Missouri State in the first ever X-Box Bowl, which was awfully well done considering its hasty erection. The season was highlighted by a surprisingly competitive home game against ranked Iowa State and pulse-pounding, one-point victories over South Alabama, Texas State and Appalachian State.

Red Wolves Football: The Grody

For the first time in 16 tries, the ULM Warhawks secured a victory over Arkansas State. That was dismaying enough, but the long-awaited dust-up with in-state rival Arkansas was a complete dud, and losing a must-win game to Louisiana sucked all the air out of the season. The Red Wolves had their chances to win the SBC West, but when it came time to seal the deal, Arkansas State refused to seize the opportunity.

JUDGMENT: Meh

Red Wolves Volleyball: The Good

The volleyball program is back, baby! After enduring some years of mediocrity, Arkansas State has seen two outstanding seasons in a row. This year, the Red Wolves took care of business against Arkansas, humbled Missouri, went 12-4 in conference, and won the SBC Tournament (highlighted by wins against Texas State and James Madison), and secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Bad ass.

Red Wolves Volleyball: The Grody

Can’t find much grody to groan about, except possibly allowing Baylor to bounce the Red Wolves from the NCAA first round when the team had victory within its grasp.

JUDGMENT: Yay

Red Wolves Soccer: The Good

We’ll always have that 10-0 victory over UAPB!

Red Wolves Soccer: The Grody

There’s nothing more unsatisfying in sports than a tie, and the Red Wolves soccer team chalked up four of those. The 2-6-2 conference record was abysmal, and the team’s inability to score goals resulted in seven shutouts.

JUDGMENT: Gag me with a spoon

Red Wolves Women’s Basketball: The Good

Was the NCAA Tournament berth in 2024-25 just a fluke? Nope! Coach Destinee Rogers proved that she wasn’t a one-bucket wonder, with her Red Wolves setting a school record for threes while securing big wins over Houston, Arkansas and James Madison. The 27-10 overall record and the 14-4 conference mark was satisfying indeed, and who wouldn’t enjoy watching the artistry of Zyion Shannon and Crislyn Rose?

Red Wolves Women’s Basketball: The Grody

As good as the women were this season, Rogers and her crew just couldn’t figure out Troy and Marshall, the former bouncing them out of the SBC tourney and the latter ejecting them in the NIT. Also, shut-out in the MCA/SBC Challenge? Come on! The lack of a big inside presence made A-State overly reliant on the three.

JUDGMENT: Not Bad. Not Bad At All.

Red Wolves Men’s Basketball: The Good

A twenty-win season was highlighted by a sweep of MAC/SBC Challenge opponents and a legitimate run at the Sun Belt title. In his first year as head coach, Ryan Pannone put together a solid squad of merchant marines who swept Texas State into the Pretend 12.

Red Wolves Men’s Basketball: The Grody

Where the season lacked in memorable wins, it made up for with horrendous losses to Rice, South Alabama, Stephen F Austin, Troy and JMU, with a one-and-done appearance in the SBC tournament to tie the bow on what ended up being a pretty vanilla season of hoops.

JUDGMENT: Meh

Red Wolves Bowling: The Good

Back in the NCAA Tournament, back in the Final Four, and a runners-up performance in the Sun Belt Conference USA Tournament! All the Red Wolves do is roll strikes, underscored by Maggie Thoma’s perfect 300 against Sam Houston.

Red Wolves Bowl: The Grody

Dear Lord, when will the Red Wolves finally get the Natty we so rightfully deserve? Head coach Justin Kostick has built the program from scratch, and it has become household name in bowling circles. But what must be done to finally pick up this pesky spare?

JUDGMENT: [deep sigh]

Red Wolves Tennis: The Good

If you never gave Red Wolves tennis a second thought, you’re excused. Except now head coach Sujay Lama is forcing us to pay respect to this rising power in Jonesboro, chalking up a stellar 16-9 season the concluded with an NIT championship. Aces!

Red Wolves Tennis: The Grody

The tennis program has languished so long in anonymity, it’s impossibly to find grody in a championship season. Too bad the match with Arkansas was canceled!

JUDGMENT: LOVE

Red Wolves Golf: The Good

Led by the mighty Thomas Schmidt and a cast of international athletes, the Red Wolves men’s golf team won the Sun Belt Tournament, Coach Mike Hagen earned SBC Coach of the Year, the squad made its first trip to the NCAA finals after barreling through NCAA regional play, and Schmidt delivered a Top 20 NCAA individual performance.

Red Wolves Golf: The Grody

Arkansas State women finished in the pack of the Sun Belt pack this season, so we’ll just chalk it as a rebuild.

JUDGMENT: Holed It

Red Wolves Baseball: The Good

Red Wolves baseball began the season aflame, sweeping Louisiana Tech, taking 1-of-two from Arkansas, and winning the conference opening series with Southern Miss. For added flavor, Ckyler Tengler tossed the program’s first no-hitter since 2005, blanking UA Little Rock. It was the first competitive baseball season fans in Jonesboro had seen in a very long time, led by the captaincy of Mike Silva.

Red Wolves Baseball: The Grody

After the series win over the Golden Eagles, the Red Wolves simply didn’t look like the same baseball team, staggering through Sun Belt play (winning only three series) and failing to make the conference tournament. It was a jaw-dropping poop-out for the program, which at one point seemed destined for an NCAA appearance.

JUDGMENT: Gloriously Disappointing

Red Wolves Track & Field: The Good

The Red Wolves aren’t quite done of this writing: Menachem Chen and Omar Hussein will compete in the men’s shot put in Eugene, Oregon for the NCAA Championships. Overall, the Red Wolves qualified 12 athletes in NCAA West First Round and place 11 athletes on the 2026 outdoor All-Sun Belt Conference teams. For indoors, Kamil Przybyla was named the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field Elite, and 11 athletes received conference recognition.

Red Wolves Track & Field: The Grody

With respects to Chen and Hussein, the Red Wolves track program is in a bit of a lull. We can thank NIL poaching for much of the talent drain.

IMAGES: a cacophony of photos from A-State Athletics, many thanks