Three SGTC basketball players earn national recognition

February 10, 2026
SGTC Jet 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 Jet 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, is ranked third in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in rebounds and Lady Jets freshman guard Ja’Niya Broome is listed as third in the NJCAA in points per game this season.  Sophomore guard Taja Bennett was the other player recognized and she is tied for 16th in the nation in points per game.

   Mbole, who is from Yaounde, Cameroon, is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game this season after 20 games.  He was leading the nation last week with 11.4 rebounds.  A player from Harry S. Truman is listed as tops in the nation with 12 rebounds in one game.  Jermaine Coston, Jr. from Richard Bland College is second with 11.4 rebounds per game in 16 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. 

   All three South Georgia Technical College players were listed in NJCAA rankings last week. Mbole was also selected as the 11th best player in the nation in the initial JucoRecruiting.com Top 100 Players rankings for the 2026 JUCO Class.

   In the NJCAA women’s Division 1 rankings, freshman guard Ja’Niya Broome is ranked 3rd in the nation in points per game this season.  She moved up two spots from last week.  She is averaging 21.5 points over 22 games.  She was also listed as the GCAA Women’s Player of the Week last week.

   Broome is 1.1 points behind Malasia Jamison from Denmark Technical College who is currently tops in the nation.  Maggie Westling from North Dakota State College of Science is second averaging 21.7 points per game.

   Her teammate, sophomore Taja Bennett, 5’ 9” guard from Dallas, is currently tied for 16th in the NJCAA in points per game.  She was ranked 20th last week.  She is averaging 18.9 points over 22 games in the NJCAA Division I women’s basketball rankings.  She has been recognized as the GCAA Player of the Week in the women’s division 1 rankings three times.

   Despite the individual success of these players, the Jets have lost their last two games and the Lady Jets are 1-1.   The Jets are 8 – 14 overall and tied for fourth in the GCAA with a 4-4 conference record.  The Lady Jets are currently in second place in the GCAA with a 5 – 2 conference performance and a 10 – 12 overall record.

  The Jets and Lady Jets hope to add to their win column this week when they travel to Macon Wednesday, February 11th to face Central Georgia Tech in a 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. double-header.  The two teams return home for a double-header with East Georgia State College on Saturday, February 14th at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.