Three SGTC basketball players earn national recognition

March 10, 2026
SGTC Jets Matt Mbole (33), and Lady Jets Ja’Niya Broome (1), and Taja Bennett (4) were all recognized as individual leaders in the NJCAA Division 1 basketball standings this week.
SGTC Jets Matt Mbole (33), and Lady Jets Ja’Niya Broome (1), and Taja Bennett (4) were all recognized as individual leaders in the NJCAA Division 1 basketball standings this week.

South Georgia Technical College’s Matt Mbole, a 6’ 11” sophomore center for the Jets, has been leading the nation in average rebounds per game for the past several weeks but he dropped one position into second place in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Lady Jets freshman guard Ja’Niya Broome remained in second place in the NJCAA women’s Division 1 rankings in points per game and Lady Jets Sophomore guard Taja Bennett was also listed among the leading scorers in the NJCAA Division 1 women’s rankings.
Mbole, who is from Yaounde, Cameroon, is averaging 12.3 rebounds per game this season after 28 games. He has consistently remained in the top five in the nation. Jermaine Coston Jr., from Richard Bland College moved into the top spot with an average of 12.5 rebounds over 22 games this season.
Mbole was joined in the national ranking list by Lady Jets freshman guard Ja’Niya Broome from Hamilton, GA, and sophomore guard Taja Bennett from Dallas, Texas.
In the NJCAA women’s Division 1 rankings, freshman guard Ja’Niya Broome is ranked 2rd in the nation in points per game this season. She is averaging 22.8 points over 30 games. She was also listed as the GCAA Women’s Player of the Week last week for the second time.
Broome is .4 points behind Malasia Jamison from Denmark Technical College who is currently tops in the nation averaging 23.1 points per game. Broome’s teammate, sophomore Taja Bennett, 5’ 9” guard from Dallas, is currently ranked 19th in the NJCAA in points per game. She is averaging 18.5 points over 30 games. She has been recognized as the GCAA Player of the Week in the women’s division 1 rankings three times.
Both the Jets and the Lady Jets have finished the regular season and will be advancing to the NJCAA Region XVII men’s and women’s end of the season basketball tournament. The Jets finished the season in 3rd place with an 11 – 5 record. They will now host Albany Tech in the Region XVII Quarterfinals tonight (Tuesday, March 10th) at 7 p.m. in the Hangar.
The winner of the quarterfinal game will advance to the semi-final round and play at 8 p.m. on Friday at the highest seed home court (currently Central Georgia Tech). They will play the winner of the South Georgia State College (13 – 3) – Georgia Highland (6 – 10) game.
The Lady Jets are the GCAA regular season champions and are going into the tournament with a 14 – 1 record. They received a bye in the Region XVII quarter-final round and will now face East Georgia State College at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 12th. East Georgia defeated Andrew College 80 – 65 to advance. East Georgia is currently 3 – 11 after forfeiting several games due to an ineligible player.
The winner of the SGTC Lady Jets East Georgia game will advance to the NJCAA Region XVII finals on Friday at 6 p.m. against Central Georgia Tech and Albany Tech. The winner of the tournament will advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in St. Charles, Louisiana.