A Clemens product and one of the Roadrunners' top 3-point threats, Proctor has been rounding into form after missing the start of the year.
As UTSA was taking the first steps toward a historic season, sophomore Aysia Proctor was watching from the Convocation Center stands. A Clemens product and the Roadrunners ’ second-leading returning scorer, Proctor stepped away from the team during the preseason due to a combination of academics and “other personal things,” she said, missing the start of the year.
Not wanting to become a distraction, Proctor said she saw her UTSA teammates only around campus or in passing at the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence. When the season tipped off, she grabbed a seat among UTSA’s fans, even though she said she felt “really weird” as a spectator for a team she anticipated being part of. “Just sitting there watching the sport that you love and you’re not even playing, it hurts a little bit,” Proctor said. “It makes you want to do anything in your power to fix it. So, that’s what I did. And now, I’m back.” Feeling she had returned to a healthy headspace and wrangled her grades, Proctor resumed practice a few weeks into the season, battling the most nerves she said she’s ever felt stepping onto a court. The hurdles haven’t slowed for her UTSA, which entered Saturday’s matchup against Rice at 22-3 overall, sitting atop the American Athletic Conference standings with a 13-1 record in the league. The Roadrunners are 12-0 at home and have a chance to break the program record for overall wins, set at 24 in 2008-09. The Roadrunners had already proven they had the tools to produce a winning season, and Proctor was wary of rocking the boat. But a UTSA team that sits in range of the program’s all-time wins record again showed the ability to adjust, just as it did when stalwart Elyssa Coleman was forced into a medical retirement over the summer and when two more rotation players were lost for the season through the year. Proctor made her 2024-25 debut Dec. 19 and has steadily expanded her role, returning to form with season highs of 15 points and 24 minutes in last Saturday’s 80-61 win against Memphis. With the most important games of UTSA’s season looming in two weeks at the American Athletic Conference tournament, Proctor is again becoming a key piece for a team that appears ready to weather any storm. “My heart feels happy. I can probably sleep at night,” Proctor said. “I’m really hard on myself, so I always want to be perfect. And knowing that I’m finally doing what I need to do is just, it helped me.” READ MORE: UTSA continues unbeaten run at home, surging past Memphis Anticipating “riding the bench” during her first season at UTSA last year, Proctor instead claimed a role as the team’s top 3-point threat, knocking down 40 on the year at a 38.5% clip and averaging 9.7 points per game. Although coach Karen Aston said Proctor brings “an added offensive punch that we desperately needed on the perimeter,” her practice habits and ability to turn the page from one play to the next needed work. The time away during the fall threatened to throw a wrench into the process. “Her approach to practice isn’t at an extreme high level. What I mean by that is the attention to detail all of the time,” Aston said. “She just needs to continue to improve. She missed a huge segment of time, and I hate that, but it is what it is. If she stays the course, then it’ll continue to improve.” For most of her first two months back, Proctor said she “felt like I was in a slump,” averaging just 3.6 points per game on 20% shooting from beyond the arc. After speaking with her parents and a former coach, Proctor said she “told myself to just go have fun, be confident, and shoot the ball like how you usually play.” The result was her best outing of the year in last week’s win against Memphis, scoring 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting from outside. “I don’t even know how to explain it. I was excited, thrilled,” Proctor said. “When you feel like your old self again after a long time, it’s just good. I’m just so excited to be back to who I was, because I was really struggling.” The Roadrunners’ personnel challenges started during the summer. Forward Elyssa Coleman, who averaged 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game across three years at UTSA while setting the program record for blocks, announced in April that she was returning for the 2024-25 season, only to share the next month that she had been forced into a medical retirement due to complications from multiple ACL surgeries. UTSA brought in transfer forward Nyayongah Gony to pick up some of the frontcourt minutes, but she was lost to a season-ending injury last month. Veteran guard Sienna Guttadauro was positioned as the Roadrunners’ top option off the bench due to her point guard skills and 3-point shooting, but she stepped away from the team after just five games, citing personal reasons. The changes have put more weight on players like sophomore forward Idara Udo, who has averaged 8.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this year. “It’s brought us closer together. It’s just showed us that we are all each other has,” Udo said. “You can wake up one day and not be playing or standing next to somebody you were just playing with. I think it’s special to our team and it shows on the court that we’re playing for something bigger than ourselves, we’re playing for each other, and we’re playing for the people who can’t play with us right now.” Though Udo said UTSA “would be elevated to a whole other level” if all of the expected pieces were still on the roster, Aston doesn't spend much time pondering what could have been. “Every coach in American probably has a ‘what if?’ And you can’t live in that, at all,” Aston said. “This has been a memorable group, and it is what it is. This is what we got handed to us, and I’m so proud of who they are, and what they’ve been this year for us.”
Roadrunners American Athletic Conference Rice Aysia Proctor Roadrunners Elyssa Coleman Aston Idara Udo Clemens Karen Aston Sienna Guttadauro Nyayongah Gony Convocation Center Roadrunner Athletics Center Of Excellence Memphis Aston American
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
UTSA continues record-setting pace, beating East CarolinaThe Roadrunners have won 14 straight in the Convocation Center and are 21-3 overall, moving into range of the program's best season.
Read more »
UTSA Struggles Down Stretch, Falls to Wichita StateUTSA fought hard but ultimately fell to Wichita State in a close game on Wednesday. The Roadrunners had a strong second half, but couldn't hold on in the final minutes. Wichita State countered UTSA's strong run with a run of their own and took control of the game.
Read more »
UTSA Baseball Star Mason Lytle Returns for Senior Season, Eyes AAC TitleMason Lytle, a standout outfielder for the UTSA Roadrunners, opted to return for his senior season after weighing his options in the transfer portal. Lytle, named the AAC's Preseason Player of the Year, aims to lead UTSA to surpass expectations and challenge for the conference championship.
Read more »
UTSA continues unbeaten run at home, surging past MemphisThe Roadrunners are assured of a bye to the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament, holding their spot atop the league standings.
Read more »
Tulsa Tops UTSA in American Athletic ConferenceKeaston Willis scored 19 points to lead Tulsa to an 80-76 victory over UTSA on Saturday night. Willis shot 11 of 13 from the free throw line, while Isaiah Barnes added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Read more »
UTSA rally falls short in loss at TulsaThe Roadrunners cut a double-digit deficit down to one possession in the final minute but could not avoid a fourth straight loss.
Read more »