Carpenter named GCAA Coach of Year and Jets, Lady Jets players named to GCAA All-Region teams

March 10, 2026
SGTC Lady Jets Jason Carpenter was named GCAA Women’s Division I Coach of the Year.
SGTC Lady Jets Jason Carpenter was named GCAA Women’s Division I Coach of the Year.

South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter was named the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Coach of the Year for the 2025 – 2026 season and three of his players were selected to All-Region honors. Three SGTC Jets were also named to All-Region positions for the men’s division.
The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets won the GCAA regular season title with a 14 – 1 conference record and Carpenter was selected as the GCAA Coach of the Year for his efforts as leader of the Lady Jets.
In addition to singling out Carpenter for the 2025 – 2026 end of the season honors, Lady Jets freshman guard Ja’Niya Broome was selected as the GCAA Player of the Year for the Division I women’s teams. She was also named Freshman of the Year for her efforts that have her currently listed second in average number of points per game scored in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I women’s rankings. She is averaging 22.8 points per game over 30 games. She was also a first team All-Region nominee.
Joining Carpenter and Broome in the All-Region nominations were sophomore guard Taja Bennett and sophomore guard Jaidyn Elam. Bennett was a first team All-Region player and is currently listed as the 19th leading scorer in points per game in the nation with an average of 18.5 per outing. Jaidyn Elam was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the GCAA second team All-Region squad.
The Lady Jets finished the 2025 – 2026 season with a 14 – 1 conference record and are currently 19 – 11 overall. They will be hosting the Region XVII Tournament as the GCAA Conference champions. They will face East Georgia State College on Thursday, March 12th at 6 p.m. in the Hangar. The winner of that game will advance to the finals on Friday, March 13th at 6 p.m. in the Hanger. They will play the winner of the Central Georgia Tech – Albany Tech semi-final game.
This is Jason Carpenter’s first GCAA Coach of the Year selection and his third season at the helm of the Lady Jets. He is only the third coach of the Lady Jets since their inception in 2004. Brandon Harrell was the initial coach of the Lady Jets and he served from 2004 – 2005 until 2011 – 2012 season. He guided his team to a national tournament appearance in 2010.
Coach James Frey took over as head coach of the Lady Jets for the 2012 – 2013 season and his teams advanced to the NJCAA National tournament in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Jason Carpenter was named head coach of the Lady Jets for the 2023 – 2024 season. The Lady Jets failed to qualify for the National Tournament in his first year as head coach but did qualify for the nationals in the 2024 – 2025 season. This was their 11th time in the 21-year history of the program.
The Lady Jets are currently ranked first in the GCAA and have the opportunity to qualify for the national tournament for the second year in a row under Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter. The Lady Jets are 65 – 39 under Carpenter’s leadership.
In addition to the Lady Jets nominations, South Georgia Technical College also had three Jets recognized for the GCAA All-Region nominations. Sophomore guard Jalexs Ewing and sophomore Center Matt Mbole were both named to the men’s GCAA First team All-Region squad. Mbole was also named to the All-Defensive Region team and then freshman Guillaume Schoentgen, a freshman wing, was selected to the GCAA All-Freshman team.
The Jets are currently 15 – 15 overall this season and 11 – 5 in the GCAA under head coach Chris Ballauer. They finished the regular season in third place behind Central Georgia Tech and South Georgia State College. They will host an NJCAA Region XVII end of the season quarterfinal game tonight (Tuesday, March 10) at 7 p.m. in the Hangar. They will host Albany Technical College. The winner of this game will advance to the semi-finals on Friday, March 13th at Central Georgia Tech at 8 p.m.

Three Lady Jets and Jets were named to the GCAA All-Region teams. Freshman Ja’Niya Broome (0) was the women’s GCAA Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Sophomore Taja Bennett (4) was a first team All-Region and sophomore Jaidyn Elam (11) was the Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the second team All-Region squad.

Three Lady Jets and Jets were named to the GCAA All-Region teams. Freshman Ja’Niya Broome (0) was the women’s GCAA Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Sophomore Taja Bennett (4) was a first team All-Region and sophomore Jaidyn Elam (11) was the Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the second team All-Region squad.

Three Jets were named to the GCAA 2025 -2026 All Region Men’s teams. Sophomore Jalexs Ewing (0) and Matt Mbole (32) were named to the first team All-Region squad and Mbole was also on the All-Defensive team. Freshman wing Guillaume Schoentgen (33) was named to the All-Freshman team.

Three Jets were named to the GCAA 2025 -2026 All Region Men’s teams. Sophomore Jalexs Ewing (0) and Matt Mbole (32) were named to the first team All-Region squad and Mbole was also on the All-Defensive team. Freshman wing Guillaume Schoentgen (33) was named to the All-Freshman team.