Western Oklahoma SkyKings | |
---|---|
League | The Basketball League 2022-present |
Founded | 2022 |
History | Wichita SkyKings 2022-2024 Western Oklahoma Skykings 2025–present |
Arena | El Reno High School |
Location | El Reno, Oklahoma |
Team colors | Purple, gold, black |
Ownership | OnPoint Operations Group, LLC |
The Western Oklahoma SkyKings are an American professional basketball team from El Reno, Oklahoma that plays in the Central Conference of The Basketball League (TBL).
In November 2022, TBL's CEO, Evelyn Magley, announced that the Wichita Sky Kings will be playing in the Central Conference for the upcoming 2023 season. [1]
The team is owned by Lebanese-American businessman Ben Hamd. [2] Hamd is the founder of Brookwood Capital Advisors, a real estate investment company that redevelops properties across the U.S., including Wichita, Kansas. [3] According to Hamd, the team's name is a nod to Wichita's aviation history as birthplace of Cessna Aircraft Company, now owned by Textron. [4] The name "Sky Kings" derives from 1950's radio-turned TV show Sky King about a Cessna aircraft pilot of the same name. [5]
Sean Flynn was named as head coach for the Sky Kings' debut season. [6] Flynn was head coach for the Pratt Community College Beavers from 2018 to 2021 where he held a 44 and 40 record. [7] Flynn's assistant coach is former New Mexico State manager César Luján Flores. [8]
Brian Baumgartner, American actor known for playing Kevin Malone in the NBC sitcom The Office, attended the Sky Kings' opening week. [9]
In 2025 the team relocated to Altus, Oklahoma and was renamed the Western Oklahoma SkyKings. [10]
According to head coach Sean Flynn, the Sky Kings' roster is composed of players from Division I and Division II schools. Notable acquisitions include Teddy Allen, Charlie Marquardt, and Justin Moss. [1]
Teddy Allen formerly played for the New Mexico State Aggies, where he ranked 29th nationally in scoring and led the Aggies to an NCAA tournament win after scoring 37 points against Connecticut. [11] During 2022 alone, Allen was recognized as WAC Player of the Year, WAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, and WAC Newcomer of the Year. [12]
From 2018 to 2019, Charlie Marquardt played for G-League NBA team the Brooklyn Nets. [13] Marquardt went on to win the 2021 TBL championship with the Enid Outlaws and played for the Syracuse Stallions in 2022. [14]
Justin Moss formerly played for Blue Collar U, the winning team of The Basketball Tournament 2022 and a $2 million purse. [13]
The Sky King's home arena is Western Oklahoma State College.
The Sky's Kings' season lasts from March through June. [1] The leagues' season ends with a championship tournament between finalists among all four TBL conferences. [15]
Mark Leo Turgeon is an American college basketball coach. Turgeon served as the head men's basketball coach at Jacksonville State University from 1998 to 2000, Wichita State University from 2000 to 2007, Texas A&M University from 2007 to 2011, and University of Maryland, College Park from 2011 to 2021.
Taj Allen Gray is an American professional basketball player. He was a basketball player for the University of Oklahoma.
The Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team represents Texas A&M University in NCAA Division I college basketball. The Aggies compete in the Southeastern Conference. Since 1998, the teams has played its home games at Reed Arena, a 12,989-capacity arena in College Station, Texas on the campus of Texas A&M University. Texas A&M has appeared in the NCAA tournament 16 times, most recently in 2024. The Aggies are currently coached by Buzz Williams who was hired on April 3, 2019, prior to the start of the 2019–2020 season.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team represents the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The team participates in the American Athletic Conference. The Golden Hurricane are led by head coach Eric Konkol, hired from Louisiana Tech on March 21, 2022, to replace Frank Haith who had resigned.
William Joseph Kennedy Jr. is an American basketball coach who last served as an assistant coach for Wichita State University men's basketball team. Previously, Kennedy was the head coach of the Texas A&M University men's basketball team. He took over the position vacated by Mark Turgeon in May 2011. Prior to this, he held the same position at Murray State University for five seasons. Kennedy previously held the same position at Centenary and Southeastern Louisiana. He has served 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach and 13 as an assistant.
The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as "Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Conference USA in all men's and women's sports. New Mexico State sponsors six men's and ten women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports. The athletic director Mario Moccia, who had held the position since January 2015, was fired in January 2025 following an investigation into scandals during the 2022-23 NMSU men's basketball season. Amber Burdge, one of NMSU's deputy athletic directors, is his temporary replacement.
The New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represents New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1904, the Aggies compete in Conference USA after spending 18 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference from 2005 through 2023. The Aggies, who last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2022, are one of 34 college basketball teams with multiple NBA retired jerseys from former players and a team that reached the NCAA Final Four. The team plays home games in the Pan American Center.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team represents Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. All women's teams at the school are known as Cowgirls. The Cowboys currently compete in the Big 12 Conference.
The 2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team represented Syracuse University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 33rd year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Key contributors included senior Kristof Ongenaet, juniors Eric Devendorf, Arinze Onuaku, Andy Rautins and Paul Harris, sophomores Rick Jackson and Jonny Flynn and freshman Kris Joseph.
The Utah State Aggies men’s basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Mountain West Conference, that represents Utah State University. Home games are played at the Smith Spectrum, located on the Utah State University campus in Logan. In the 17 years that former coach Stew Morrill was at the helm, Utah State had the 4th highest winning percentage in the nation at home, behind only Duke, Kansas, and Gonzaga. As of the end of the 2023–24 regular season, the Aggies have an all-time record of 1,714 wins and 1,156 losses.
The 2016–17 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies, led by first-year head coach Paul Weir, played their home games at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 11–3 in WAC play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Chicago State, UMKC, and Cal State Bakersfield to win the WAC tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Baylor.
The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a professional basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to 38 teams as of 2024.
The 2017–18 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies, led by first-year head coach Chris Jans, played their home games at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 12–2 in WAC play to win the WAC regular season championship. In the WAC tournament, they defeated Chicago State, Seattle, and Grand Canyon to become WAC Tournament champions. They received the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Clemson.
The 2018–19 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team represented Wichita State University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas and were led by 12th-year head coach Gregg Marshall as members of the American Athletic Conference. Samajae Haynes-Jones and Dexter Dennis have, in total, three notable buzzer-beaters at SMU, UConn and Tulane. This season was the first time not making the NCAA field of 68 since the 2010–11 season. They finished the season 22–15 overall, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in sixth place. As a No. 6 seed in the AAC tournament, they advanced to the semifinals, where they were defeated by Cincinnati.
Jacinta Renee Hoyt is the head women's college basketball coach for the Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
The Enid Outlaws are an American professional basketball team based in Enid, Oklahoma, and a member of The Basketball League (TBL). For the 2021 season, their home games are played at Stride Bank Center in Enid.
The 2021 TBL season is the fourth season of The Basketball League (TBL). The season began in April and the teams are each scheduled to play 24 games.
Isaac Leon Brown is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at Wichita State.
Teddy Allen is an American basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the New Mexico State Aggies, West Virginia, Western Nebraska Community College, and Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The 2022–23 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies were led by first-year head coach Greg Heiar and played their home games at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 9–15, 2–16 in Western Athletic Conference play to finish in last place. On February 10, 2023, the school announced the men's basketball program's season would be cancelled based on new reports of violations of university policies. The rest of the team's games were canceled and were deemed forfeits by the WAC. The NCAA does not recognize the forfeited games as part of the team's overall record. They did not take part in the WAC Tournament.