The next team in our Summer Clash Team Preview Series are the Lady Cougars of Casa Grande Union High School. Head Coach Kevin Hubbard has been laying a solid foundation in changing the culture. With a young roster, he was able to lead his Lady Cougars to a State Playoff berth. He is doing a great job, as his Lady Cougars have been participating in numerous events to help bring his student-athletes exposure. Here is the Q&A from our conversation:
Q: What was your overall record last season?
A: We battled through illness and injuries, finishing 9-14.
Q: How deep into the playoffs did you and your team go?
A: We drew the #23 seed as we won enough power point games to qualify for the state tournament. We lost to a really good Catalina Foothills team in the play-in round.
Q: How does it feel to be invited to the 2nd Annual Arizona Preps Summer Clash? What makes this event stand out to you and your girls?
A: As a building program we are more than excited to play in the Summer Clash. We want to be like all the great teams that we will play against. The chance to play with the best teams will make us a much better program in the years to come. This will be our 2nd year competing in the field.
Q: Who are your top players to watch for? Do they have college offers?
A: No one on our roster has a college offer. We hope this event will showcase some of the amazing talent that we have one the roster. Keep an eye on Baleigh Nash, Jalyn White and Kaydence Apkaw. I anticipate for those three to have a breakout year this upcoming season.
Q: What is the goal for your team heading into this summer?
A: Our main goal is to develop our talent into great team chemistry. We made the play-in game last season, now we plan to win the play-in game and try to make a deep playoff run next season.
We are super excited to host the Casa Grande Union Lady Cougars, as Coach Hubbard is doing an amazing job in building a great foundation with his program. His Lady Cougars play hard and compete hard night in night out. Two of his prospects in guards Nash and Apkaw are exciting to watch. I anticipate their recruiting to take off, as both are solid sleeper prospects with tremendous upside.
