Vinnie Cammarano
Key Points
The Wekiva Lady Mustangs have a district championship to defend, but this year’s team will look considerably different from the group that brought home the title last season.
Coming off a 17-10 campaign, Wekiva returns just four players from last year’s roster after losing three starters. However, with four transfers joining the program and a deeper rotation at his disposal, fifth-year head coach Jerry Middleton believes the Lady Mustangs have the pieces to make another postseason push.
One of the biggest returning pieces is sophomore Alexis Hill, who led Wekiva in points and rebounds as a freshman. Alongside senior Ja’Niya Poole, Hill will help provide leadership for a group that has undergone significant changes.
Junior Jakayla Johnson is also a key contributing returner. She led in points per game with 11.6 and could score at will, but was bitten by the injury bug last season. Middleton has high expectations for her this year.
The Lady Mustangs added sophomore Kristiana Roth and senior Makila Sims from Olympia, junior Brianna Henriques from Southeastern Prep Academy and junior Janiah Batten from Ocoee.
Poole and Hill have emerged as two of the team’s most vocal leaders, while Batten has impressed Middleton with her physical development and dedication to offseason conditioning.
Despite the roster turnover, Middleton believes the team’s experience playing at a high level has helped establish a strong foundation heading into the season.
“Each and every one of them all play on some big circuit-level AAU program, so they play a lot of basketball,” Middleton said. “Our job right now is just to make sure we keep them gelling.”
Building that chemistry has been a priority throughout the offseason. Although Middleton’s football coaching responsibilities slightly affected the team’s ramp-up to the season, the players continued working in the gym, improving their conditioning and finding opportunities to spend time together away from the court.
Those efforts have included team outings to a UCF basketball game and a player-organized trip to Chili’s before attending Wekiva’s senior night football game against Apopka.
For Middleton, those moments have helped bring together a group that will need to develop quickly with many new pieces.
The increased depth is another major difference from last season. Middleton believes the Lady Mustangs are better equipped to handle injuries and other challenges that affected their regional playoff run a year ago.
“I think this team is a lot deeper than what we were the last two years, maybe even three years with the state run,” Middleton said. “Last year we had some injuries that probably limited us before playoffs even started. This year we have enough depth to overcome that adversity.”
On the court, Wekiva’s identity will center on physicality, defensive pressure and rebounding.
Middleton wants his team to apply consistent ball pressure while remaining composed and connected when opponents attempt to speed up the game. He also expects the Lady Mustangs to embrace the physical side of basketball, particularly on the defensive end.
“We’re gonna be physical, and we’re gonna defend,” Middleton said. “That’s pretty much what we’ve been doing the last month and a half. Just defense, rebounding. We’re gonna battle, man, and they know the word right now is grit.”
While defending their district championship is an important part of the season’s expectations, Middleton is also focused on making sure his team finishes the job when tournament play arrives.
“That’s the biggest thing this year: being able to close the deal and not leave any stones unturned,” Middleton said.
The Lady Mustangs faced the Villages Charter Buffalos on Tuesday night in preseason play before opening their regular season at 6 p.m. Tuesday on the road against Lyman.
With a revamped roster, added depth and a returning district championship foundation, Wekiva will look to prove that last year’s success was the next domino to fall en route to a state championship.