2024-25 Team Preview: Artesia Bulldogs

2024-25 TEAM PREVIEW: ARTESIA BULLDOGS   OVERVIEW   With a senior heavy roster (seven seniors) last season, Artesia finished 18-9, won its fifth straight district championship and reached the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs, losing to Hope Christian at the Pit, a place they've played at for four straight years.   Bulldogs head coach Michael Mondragon now faces the task of building the roster for 2024-25 knowing all but one player is currently playing for the Artesia football team, a perennial championship contender, so most of those players likely won't make the transition to hoops until mid-to-late November, at the earliest.   “I really like our team”, Mondragon told Prep Hoops New Mexico. “We had a great summer. I'm looking forward to coaching a competitive group. Most of them play football. It will be a fun and exciting year.”                PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='2146038' first='Clay' last='Kincaid'] (F, Jr., 6-8): He started most of the games at center last season as a sophomore and displayed significant improvement from the beginning of the season to the end. Brings considerable experience to the table this season. He spent the summer playing for ABC Prep's U16 team and traveling throughout the country. Plays offensive tackle for the Bulldogs football team.   [player_tooltip player_id='1846065' first='Charlie' last='Campbell'] (G, Jr., 6-2): High energy, high basketball IQ guy who started off and on last season. Still, played a lot of minutes as a sophomore and that experience could play handsome dividends in 2024-25. Classic gym rat. He had a solid summer on the summer hoops circuit. This fall, he' starting at safety for the Artesia football team. “He lit up the stat sheet for us last season as a sophomore,” Mondragon said. "He does it all. He rebounds very well and has great vision. He can get hot from anywhere on the court. He's a great penetrator.”   [player_tooltip player_id='1717327' first='Braylon' last='Vega'] (G, Jr., 6-2): Vega announced about five weeks ago that he was transferring from Hobbs to Artesia. As a sophomore in 2023-24, he averaged 11.1 points per game while shooting 42.9 percent from the field, including an impressive 37.7 percent from 3-point range (54-143). He earned Second-Team All-District honors. “He brings a lot of varsity experience at the guard position,” Mondragon said. With his shooting ability, he'll be able to stretch the floor and keep the defense honest. He gives us another weapon on offense.”      NAMES TO KNOW   [player_tooltip player_id='2684221' first='Trent' last='Egeland'] (F, Sr., 6-4): Perhaps the most underrated player on the Bulldogs. He's one of the Bulldogs' best rebounders.     [player_tooltip player_id='2827160' first='Cael' last='Houghtaling'] (G, Jr., 6-0): Backup QB on the football team. Great athlete. Limited action with the varsity in 2023-24. Likely to come off the bench.      Jack Byers (F, Jr., 6-4): Another football player. Listed as a wide receiver on the 2024 roster. Brings great length to the basketball court.   KEY NEWCOMERS   Tootie McNeil (G, Jr., 6-1): McNeil is an outstanding defensive back for the Bulldogs football team and he will be counted on defensively. He started for the Artesia JV last season and has developed nicely as a hoops player.   Steven Williams (F, Jr. 6-4): Williams will likely contribute off the bench as a big, strong, physical post player. Excellent shooter. Able to stretch the floor. Brings a physical mentality to the court. Offensive line starter for the football team.         FINAL THOUGHTS   Vega brings the 3-point element to the Artesia offensive attack in a big way. Few players in the state had more triples than Vega last season for Hobbs. The Bulldogs will be tall along the front line with Kincaid, Williams, Egeland, Byers and others.   “We have some guys who can do a lot of things,” Mondragon said. “We're going to be big, long and athletic. We're going to get after people on the defensive end. We've got some guys who spent a lot of hours this summer in the gym and playing against some of the best competition in the country. I'm hoping it carries over. I see a lot of guys contributing. We're known for being physical and strong.   For the 2024-25 season, Artesia will compete in District 4A-4 with Goddard, Lovington and Portales. But their non-district schedule is filled with quality Class 5A opponents such as Hobbs, Roswell, Valley, Cleveland, Carlsbad and more.   “I like where we're at,” Mondragon said. “We have a lot of tools. We'll have a lot of guys who can guard people. Our goal is to win another district championship because that allow you to get a good seed for the playoffs and play at home in the first round. We've been fortunate to win five in a row. Our guys don't want to be the group that lest that streak end.”     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BraylonVega2026/status/1818485608278311224 </div></figure>                <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/coach_bmase/status/1798415804591222816 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/c_kin00/status/1816543650622636513 </div></figure>

2024-25 TEAM PREVIEW: ARTESIA BULLDOGS