BROWNSVILLE — A door has been reopened for Rio Grande Valley soccer athletes like Sebastian Gonzalez, Javier Ballesteros and Adamaris Rangel.
On Wednesday, Texas Southmost College announced the return of sports to the campus in the fall of 2023, beginning with men’s and women’s soccer.
“Scorpions athletics is officially back,” said Dr. Armando Ponce, director of athletics and civility, “There are no words that we can say to how excited the TSC community is to bring back athletics to TSC and really to the TSC community that has a reach far past Brownsville and throughout the Valley.”
Men’s and women’s soccer will compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division 1. The Scorpions will compete in Region 14, but will not be allowed to compete in the postseason their first season.
TSC plans on recruiting heavily in the Valley, Ponce said. The Scorpions have seven men and five women on the roster for next season, out of a possible 40 for each program.
Ballesteros and Gonzalez played on the intramural team for TSC this season. Both had standout senior seasons in 2022, Ballesteros for Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Gonzalez for Brownsville Hanna.
“Brownsville is my hometown, so I will give it my all,” Ballesteros said.
Ballesteros and Gonzalez shared The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro co-offensive player of the year award for the 2022 high school soccer season. The athletes found out about the possibilities during this season with the Scorpions.
“I am pretty excited, it is something new to me and my team,” Gonzalez said. “It will be something fun to play in.”
Rangel, a midfielder, played for Brownsville Lopez and on the TSC women’s team this year.
“I have been a soccer player since I was little,” Rangel said. “I am really blessed for this opportunity.”
The Scorpions will announce the schedule for the 2023 season in February, with the season slated for August of 2023.
TSC did not announce plans for other sports.
“Running a program is exciting, but it is also expensive,” TSC President Dr. Jesús Roberto Rodríguez said. “The board of trustees and myself have to be good stewards for the taxpayer’s money. This is the first program we are going to start off with. Hopefully, it will take off and, yes, the intention is to build more programs as we move forward.”