2025-26 Team Preview: St. Pius X Sartans

2025-26 ST. PIUS X SARTANS PREVIEW   OVERVIEW   St. Pius X earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A state tournament last March but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Highland, bringing a sudden and unexpected conclusion to what had been a fantastic season to that point.   Eight seniors were on last year's roster. In addition, [player_tooltip player_id='1717294' first='Kenneth' last='Zamora'] moved to ABC Prep, so the Sartans will rely on a new core of players in 2025-26. The good news is these players are outstanding. The bad news is most of them are on the highly successful St. Pius X football team, meaning they won't be available for hoop duty until Monday at the earliest (St. Pius X is hosting Chaparral Saturday in the 4A semifinals).   “By all accounts, we had a great year (in 2024-25),” St. Pius X head coach Ryan Myers told Prep Hoops New Mexico. “We had eight of our 13 varsity players graduate and one left to go to ABC Prep. We're going to be a very different team this season. Most of the core of last year's team had been three-year varsity players.   “We're starting new, basically. We're going to have a lot of guys playing varsity for the first time. They'll have to get up to speed on how fast and physical the varsity game is and the attention to detail you need to have. We're going to be young and inexperienced, but that's all right. We're looking forward to the challenge.”                  PLAYERS TO WATCH   Isaiah Carpenter (Jr., 6-5, F): Quarterback on the football team. One of St. Pius X's best players a season ago. “By the end of last season, Isaiah was our second best player,” Myers said. “He's a top five player in 4A this season as a junior. He's a basketball stud with his size and athleticism.”      Curtis Flakes III (Jr., G): Talented wide receiver on the football team. Suffered an injury last January and missed the rest of hoops season.       Hershul Olloway (Jr., G): FBS caliber running back for the football team. Elite speed. Holds football offers from New Mexico, New Mexico State and UTEP. Considered a defensive specialist last season for the hoops team. Often asked to guard the opponent's best offensive backcourt player. “I expect Hershul will continue to be one of the best defensive guards in the state,” Myers said. “But I also expect him to grow and have an opportunity to contribute on the offensive end as well.”          Marcos Chavez (Sr.): Couldbe the only senior on the 2025-26 roster. This, Chavez will be expected to provide leadership. “We're counting on Marcos to help bring the young guys along. As a player, he's described as an ‘athletic wing.' Myers said Chavez can “guard multiple positions” and has the ability to slash, drive to the basket and finish at the rim.”         FINAL THOUGHTS   St. Pius X opens the 2025-26 season Dec. 2 on the road at St. Michael's and will play at least three games in the first seven days to start the campaign. They'll participate in the Sandia Prep Tournament Dec. 4-6. Right now, St. Pius X is playing a waiting game until football season ends. The Sartans will likely have to rely on a lot of young players until then.   “We're big on multi-sport athletes at St. Pius,” Myers said. “We hope we won't see those guys until the last weekend (in November). I think they have a great shot to play for another state championship. We expect them to do well. Right now, I don't expect any of the football guys to be available for the St. Michael's game. That game, we'll be starting a lot of guys who haven't played varsity before. It's a tough opener because St. Michael's is going to be very good this year. They should be the favorites in 3A.”   Myers predicts it won't be until Dec. 19 or so (after a 10-day break for final exams) before St. Pius X has its full 2025-26 roster available for duty.   “The first couple of weeks we're going to have to hang on and fly by the edge of our seats,” Myers said. “We're eager to see who picks things up quickly and establishes themselves. There is a lot of opportunity for a lot of guys to make a name for themselves.”   Myers said St. Pius X has numerous talented players at the eighth grade through 10th grade levels.   “There's a lot of talent but also a lot of unknowns,” Myers said. “We could have guys who start the year playing JV and end up playing heavy minutes on varsity. It's up in the air. We'll probably have some growing pains early on. But the future is very bright.”

2025-26 ST. PIUS X SARTANS PREVIEW