Road to States

The MDC Basketball Team started their Southern Conference play on January 7. During conference play, the Men's Basketball team played each team three times in hopes of winning the conference and ultimately competing in the State Tournament. During conference play, the Sharks won big against Hillsborough Community College and nationally ranked Florida Southwestern State College. Unfortunately, when it came to Indian River State College and State College of Florida, the Sharks could not close the door on 2-3 games. Everything came down to the third round for MDC Sharks. The Sharks defeated Hillsborough and the State College of Florida at the end of conference play and finished third in the conference, 6-6. 

Their third-place finish in the conference is one spot away from automatically qualifying for the FCSAA State Tournament. However, the state committee met, and the Sharks got a bid on March 2.  

On March 9, during the first round of the 2023 FCSAA State Tournament, the MDC Sharks played against #1 in the State, Chipola College. The Sharks played tough defense throughout the game. During the first half, the Sharks were up by 15 points. After halftime, Chipola cut the lead down, and unfortunately, they defeated the Indians. MDC Sharks lost to Chipola by 2. The Shark's trip to the FCSAA State Tournament ended an eight-year drought of non-appearances.

The MDC Men's Basketball Team had played a solid season. Several players stood out throughout the second half of the season:  Jamichael Stillwell, Tyriek Weeks, and Dylan Edwards. 

Overall, the Sharks had massive improvements under Coach Jorge Fernandez, DJ Jenkins, and Thomas Roque.