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DOWAGIAC — Southwestern Michigan College’s inaugural Roadrunner Classic features a total of eight men’s and women’s college basketball games on Friday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 4.

This will be the second season for both Roadrunner teams since SMC re-entered intercollegiate athletics after a 25-year absence. The weekend will be an opportunity to reinforce and refine what the college built in its first season back.

“We said when we revived intercollegiate athletics at SMC that one of the benefits would be the ability to bring opposing teams and their families to the area to help business and tourism. The Roadrunner Classic is a perfect example — teams from the Chicago area, as far north as Petoskey and as far southeast as Piqua, Ohio, will be coming to stay overnight and face the Roadrunners,” SMC Vice President for Institutional Advancement Mike O’Brien said.

The Roadrunner Classic “will let fans see a lot of exciting basketball in 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse and give local high school players a close-up look at what it takes to compete at the college level,” O’Brien added.

SMC’s coaches are approaching the challenge of tweaking winning teams — men 15-11, women 18-9 — in their own ways.

Athletic Director Rodell Davis Sr., men’s head coach, set a goal of recruiting taller players who could better battle for rebounds, reducing reliance on lower-percentage outside shots.

While Rashawn Bost of Evanston, Ill., Nate Goins, Mikel Forrest, Zach Stokes and Mari Nichols, all of Niles, and Michael Smith and Stewart Smith of Dowagiac return, they will be fortified by a sextet of 6-foot-8 Kendrick Caldwell of Lake Charles, La., 6-foot-8 Aries Hull of Bolingbrook, Ill., 6-foot-7 Kenji Ward-Sims of Xenia High School in Dayton, Ohio, 6-foot-6 Prince Adams of Evanston, Ill., Rodell Davis Jr. of Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Ill., and Damarion Travis, Eau Claire High School’s all-time leading scorer.

“We will depend more on pounding inside for higher-percentage shots in the paint and playing defense in the post,” Davis said. “We want to use our size to our advantage.”

Davis likes his team’s chemistry, with new players meshing with veterans and getting along off the court as well as on. It bodes well for disciplined team basketball, which is harder to guard against.

Where Davis went for height, new Women’s Basketball Head Coach Jay Jenkins intends to develop lots of speed.

Jenkins, who has coached women six of his 11-year career, inherited eight returnees. Sophomore Na’Lani Williams transferred from the St. Louis area.

Williams graduated from Hazelwood, Mo., West High School in 2022 and played one year for the Kankakee Community College Cavaliers. Freshman Junahya Johnson is a point guard from University Preparatory Academy in Detroit.

Alanah Smith of Dowagiac and Katie Baumgartner of Mishawaka, both 5-foot-10, round out the 2023 recruiting class. Smith made first team All-Lakeland Conference as the area’s fifth-leading scorer.

Returning Roadrunners include Kamryn Patterson and Amara Palmer of Niles, Ariana Lemons of Michigan City, Indiana, Khashya McCoy of Hartford, Macey Laubach of Edwardsburg, Cameron Thomas of Hillcrest, Illinois, Tori Eldridge of Goshen, Indiana and Charlee Balcom of White Pigeon (Constantine High School).

Since practice began Oct. 1, Jenkins has been molding a team built for speed.

“It’s a big transition from high school to get up to college-game speed,” Jenkins said. “We’re going to be defensive-minded, inducing turnovers that will be layups for us, and high-energy. Playing fast is definitely our style. We’re going to be like a track team. They have incredible camaraderie. Their closeness is a strong point for this team.”

Jenkins came from Kaskaskia College in southern Illinois to take the reins from Jeanine Wasielewski, who joined Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Jenkins will be assisted by former Niles Girls Basketball Coach Jessica Johnson, who resigned earlier this fall to take the position with the Roadrunners.

“It is bittersweet,” Johnson said of her departure as the Vikings’ head coach after seven seasons. “I will still be there [Niles] in my role for the school.”

On Nov. 3, games tip off at 1 p.m. with North Central Michigan Timberwolves women vs. the Glen Oaks Vikings, followed by Glen Oaks facing the North Central men at 3 p.m., SMC vs. the Edison State Chargers women at 5 and SMC men vs. Richard J. Daley College at 7.

On Nov. 4, games tip off at 11 a.m. between the women of Glen Oaks vs. Edison State, followed by Glen Oaks men facing Daley at 1 p.m., the SMC women facing North Central Michigan at 3 p.m. and North Central Michigan men vs. SMC at 5 p.m.

Admission is free. The Zollar Cafe will be open to serve Starbucks beverages and other concessions.