We are just a week or so away from the return of our students on the campus of Manhattan Christian College, and the athletic department is in full swing to have everything ready for their student athletes. Between phone calls, visits and pushing papers the Athletic Director, Jordan Strom, took a few minutes to answer a few questions about the excitement of the upcoming year here at MCC.  

Q: The 2020-21 sports year was crazy. As the AD, what are you feeling for the year to come?

A: I couldn’t be more thrilled to get closer to ‘normal’ in 2021-22. With everything that our teams had to go through last year it will be good to be able to see them compete in a more familiar environment. Each of our sports are returning significant numbers from 2020-2021 and our coaches have been working hard to prepare for this season.

Q: What are you looking forward to this coming year?

A: I’m anxious to see all of our student-athletes compete and grow this year. We’ve resumed the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country after a few years of absence, and we’ll have more student-athletes on campus than we did last year. It’ll be fun to watch all of them compete and grow as teams, but I’m most looking forward to watching all of them grow academically and spiritually while they’re here. 

Q: Volleyball and both our Soccer programs will kick start the activities here on campus, can you give us your overall thought on what we can expect from each?

A: There’s so much tradition and consistency with our fall sports teams. Coach Sanders and the Women’s Volleyball team will be looking to repeat as conference champions. After declining an at-large bid to the national tournament last year because of COVID I know that there will be a determined focus to return to the tournament. Women’s Soccer grew so much last year, even though the wins and losses didn’t necessarily show that. They competed so well, and I believe they’re ready to take the next step. On the men’s soccer front it’ll be sort of a farewell tour for Coach Wright. He was inducted into the NCCAA HOF this summer and will cross the 400-win plateau this season. They have a large recruiting class coming in and should be able to compete for an opportunity to get to the national tournament again this season.

Q: MCC is bring back the Men’ and Women’s Cross-Country teams but also E-Sports, touch a little on these sports.

A: Both the Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country teams are back after a few years of inactivity. Coach Eckert will head those programs up and I’m looking forward to seeing them run this fall. Each of the student-athletes that have committed to running are great representatives of the college and reflect our values as an institution.

E-Sports will be in their second semester as a club sport. We’re in the process of creating a specific space on campus for the E-Sports Arena. We had great participation last semester and I am hoping to see that grow some more this fall!

Q: The Women’s and Men’s Basketball teams are looking to have a full slated schedule, compared to last season. What are you thought for on each of these programs heading into the 2021-22 season?

A: For the first time in 4 years the Women’s Basketball team will have the same coach in consecutive seasons. I’m a big believer that consistency is a major factor in success on and off the floor and with Coach Eckert returning for her second season I believe the ladies are poised to take a big leap forward in 2021-22. They’re returning a large portion of their roster from last year and have added key pieces in the recruiting process. It should be an exciting season for the Lady Thunder.

On the men’s side of hoops, the team is coming off of an Elite Eight appearance after being ranked in the top 10 all season. They return ALL of their players from last year and have added pieces during the recruiting period that should make them better. I believe there are some high expectations, but at the same time it’s a new year and everyone else has made themselves better this summer too, so we’ll see if they’re ready to be great teammates and play for one another.

The Thunder Nation is pumped for what the 2021-22 season will hold for our athletes and coaches. The unseen hours everyone puts in to accomplish a common team goal will come to full light this year, and the fans will not want to miss it.