By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal
It was clear Friday night after just a few minutes that St. Michael’s Prep outmatched its opponent.
The Warriors (21-4) cruised to a 92-67 win against TMI-Episcopal from San Antonio at Schneider Gymnasium on the campus of St. Michael’s Catholic Preparatory School in Austin.
St. Michael’s, ranked No. 46 nationally and No. 6 in Texas by MaxPreps, had five players score in double digits.
That’s been the calling card for the Warriors all season.
“These guys work really well together, during games, in the gym, and off the court,” said head coach Cooper Land. “They come into the gym together on their own and understand the importance of practice, and they’re all extremely unselfish. That’s the biggest thing. None of them care about their stats. They are all about the team over me.”
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Leadership starts with 6-foot-5 small forward Bo Ogden, who had a modest 17 points against TMI-Episcopal. Ogden is ranked 57th nationally by 24/7 Sports for the class of 2026. He’s averaging 14.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has offers from Purdue, Tennessee, Texas, SMU, and Texas State.
“He leads with his actions more than his words,” Land said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s practice, open gym, or whatever the situation is, he’s extremely competitive. I think the rest of our guys feel that competitiveness and respect him for that.”
Fans in attendance didn’t get to see arguably one of the best matchups of the 2024-25 season in TAPPS or UIL competition.
TMI-Episcopal was missing its best player – small forward Elijah Williams, who was sidelined with an injury.
The 6-foot-6 junior is the son of former NBA coach and current TMI-Episcopal head coach Monty Williams. Like Ogden, Williams is one of the top recruits for the class of 2026 and ranked 22nd nationally and the top junior in Texas. Williams has offers from Arizona, Notre Dame, and Oregon.
Regardless, St. Michael’s was a well-oiled machine against the Panthers.
Senior guard Jake Broxterman scored a game-high 18 points. He is the older brother of Vandegrift super-sophomore Maddie Broxterman.
Sophomore Sun Jinkal added 15 points, while Will Gasink put in 12, and senior Aiden Disu scored 10. Disu is the younger brother of former Longhorns center Dylan Disu, who was a standout at Hendrickson.
The Warriors have seven games left on their regular season schedule, including home games against San Antonio Central Catholic (Jan. 24), Antonian Prep (Jan. 31), and St. Dominic Savio (Feb. 7).
The TAPPS Class 6A basketball playoffs get underway on Feb. 15, where the Warriors will likely get a first-round bye and be the favorite to win it all.
St. Michael’s resume includes impressive wins over last year’s UIL Class 6A state finalist Stony Point; Mississippi’s top-ranked team, Germantown; UIL 6A regional finalist Lake Travis; Tennessee’s top-ranked team, Bartlett; Utah’s third-ranked team, Orem; and Fort Bend Ridge Point.
With a national spotlight on the Warriors, Land says his staff keeps the team grounded by being honest with them.
“(TMI-Episcopal) was missing their best player, so we point that kind of stuff out to them,” Land said. “We coach them as honestly as we can. We tell them when they do things well, and we tell them when they make mistakes with the understanding that it’s not personal. They all bought into that, so it makes it easy and a lot of fun to coach them.”
Come March 1, it could all lead to St. Michael’s hoisting a TAPPS state championship on the court at Waco Robinson High School in Waco.
