MELBOURNE, Fla. –  With the curtain rising on the Florida Tech women's basketball 2024-25 season this Saturday, both the players and coaching staff enter the new season with confidence that they will improve on last season's 10-21 record.
 
The Panthers, who won four of their final six games to close 2023-24, return 12 players from last year's team, including the top four leading scorers. Among that group are guards Sarah Liberatore and Tai Roberts.
 
Tech welcomes four newcomers into the fold as well. Joining the Panthers are Nadine Johnson, Sydney Logsdon, Mikayla Morin, and Esra Sen. The quartet has already left quite a first impression on the team, as well as Head Coach John Reynolds.
 
"I think Esra Sen is going to be an outstanding player in our conference. I know Mikayla Morin has really impressed me in practice," says Reynolds. "Nadine Johnson has gotten better every day. Sydney Logsdon is a newcomer, and I think once she settles into her role, figures out what her contribution needs to be, she's going to be able to help us this year."
 
"It's been fun. Honestly, these freshmen definitely remind me of my time as a freshman," says Roberts. "Michaela and Esra are really good pieces that we needed, and it's been great working with them. They all have a great work ethic, and they show up, they're vocal, so they've been really great additions."
 
"I love all of our newcomers. From Esra to Sydney, everyone is a positive addition to the team, it's been great," says Liberatore, a senior. "I always love meeting new teammates, and it'll be fun to add them to the 12 that we have."
 
The Crimson and Gray's strong close to last season featured a 25-point comeback victory over eventual SSC Tournament champion Eckerd as well as close defeats to Tampa, who reached the Elite Eight and Embry-Riddle, who also reached the NCAA Tournament.
 
Moral victories obviously don't appear on the record, but what the Panthers did take away from those games was belief and proof that not only could they compete with the SSC's best but beat them too.
 
"I thought they got it figured that they can compete at that level when everyone on the team makes their contribution," says Reynolds. "And your contribution is tied to consistency, like on the nights that the guys who score 15-16 points, when they get 10, they need to get five rebounds. I think that stuff started to happen as we went on during the year."
 
"We should be competing with every team in our conference," says Liberatore. "I would say it's an even playing field across the board. A lot of the games that we were close to winning and didn't pull it out last year, I see us winning more of those close ones this year."
 
"I'd say it's a testament to us staying strong," says Roberts. "Obviously, it's not fun to lose those close games, but it felt like, 'Okay, we're in it, we can do it, there are tiny adjustments we need to make to close it out.' So it definitely did help."
 
Roberts, the team's leading scorer each of the past two seasons, is focused on becoming a more complete player during her junior year and believes her best play is ahead.
 
"I think I have grown more so in the point guard aspect, just knowing what my coach needs of me and how to get my guys open, to get their shots and get them flowing into the game," says the Euclid, Ohio native. "So, I definitely do feel more prepared. I feel like I understand plays much better now, and how we can use each play to set up someone different, I'm excited."
 
Then of course, there's the elephant in the room. When the Panthers enter the win column for the first time this season, they'll be making history as it will also mark Reynolds' 600^th career victory, all with Tech. For the man who's been on staff for all 38 years of the program's existence and in charge for the past 37, the motivation has never been in the results but rather with the people and the relationships that come with them.
 
"In all the years I've been here, I haven't scored any points, I don't have any rebounds, any steals, but I think the best part about it is just the relationship with alumni," says Reynolds. "I think that's the greatest benefit of being here for a long time; it's tied together with our alumni over the years. They all got the same common experience."
 
"Coach Reynolds is awesome! I think the coolest thing about him is he values each of our relationships with him off the court more than him just being our coach," says Liberatore. "So, I've built a really good relationship with him. He's a really funny guy!"
 
The Crimson and Gray will begin their slate in Americus, Georgia, against #17 ranked Georgia Southwestern State, who reached the Elite Eight last season before falling to eventual national champion Minnesota State-Mankato.
 
"I think it was important for us to get a team like that," says Reynolds. "They bring back three really solid players off of last year's team. They have a new coach, so for us, there's no video on them."
 
After Saturday, 26 more games await the Panthers over three and a half months. Neither one result nor one achievement will define this season. Rather, this team believes their improvement across the whole of the season will be what makes this season worth remembering.