RCTC’s Macaya Copeland named NJCAA Division III Gamer of the
ROCHESTER– Thursday, it was Rochester Community and Technical College’s Jason Bonde being called the NJCAA Department III females’s basketball National Coach of the Year.On Friday came another enormous award. This one went to sophomore point player Macaya Copeland who was named the NJCAA Department III National Gamer of the Year. The latter was a very first for RCTC women’s basketball.
Copeland, a slick ball handler and quick and quick, played at and finished from basketball powerhouse Hopkins High School. She was honored with the Gamer of the Year award after balancing 17.6 points (44% shooting), 3.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game for an RCTC group that completed 24-4 and as nationwide champion.Winning that crown
was the high point for Copeland, whose Yellowjackets caught injuries in 2023-24 when they lost in the championship game game. That consisted of Copeland using a severely sprained ankle.
Macaya Copeland Injuries weren’t much of an issue for Copeland or her group this season. That consisted of in the national championship game, which the Yellowjackets won in a rout, 73-37 over Jefferson Neighborhood College.
“Going out as national champions was a great feeling,” Copeland said. “It was one of the greatest sensations I’ve felt in a long time. After all of the adversity we faced (in 2023-24) and difficulty I have actually faced alone, being able to attain among my objectives was a true blessing to me.”
Copeland reached RCTC after playing beside a pack of future Department I players at Hopkins. She was mostly contacted as a defensive stopper there, deferring much of the offense to her nationally concerned teammates.Things changed substantially at RCTC where Bonde turned her into one of the nation’s top NJCAA Department III offensive players. She scored nearly 1,000 points in 2 seasons with the Yellowjackets, averaging 16.5 points as a freshman and almost 18 this previous season.Copeland credits Bonde for much of her enhancement, the coach mentor her the finer details of being an offensive danger. He also increased Copeland’s belief in herself. “I built my confidence a lot more and Bonde truly helped
with that,” Copeland said.”Confidence plays a big role in being a great player. Plus, he revealed me different methods to score– coming off of ball screens and things like that– and assisted me to see the flooring much better. Coming to RCTC enabled me to reveal the other things that I might do (besides play defense). “I’m truly grateful for all that I got (at RCTC). I liked it here. It was one of my finest experiences ever. The professors here are very caring and they accommodate you so well. And after that on the basketball side of things, I belonged to a championship game program, a winning program with a fantastic coach and a great atmosphere. I enjoyed being able to run the show(as a point player). But I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and Bonde. They got me to this point. “Bonde insists that his group could not have actually attained what it did without Copeland. He regards her both
as a special player and person, and as great a talent as he’s coached.Bonde says her work ethic put her in unusual company.”I’m very happy for her and pleased with all of the work she’s done to
get to this point,”he stated.
“The contributions she’s offered to this program, I can’t say sufficient about it. Plus, the individual she is. It’s simply an excellent honor to have coached her. She is an unique person with a bright future in whatever she chooses to do. She is the whole package.”Copeland will continue playing basketball someplace next season, however hasn’t decided on a location. She is being recruited by a host of Division II schools and has actually even gotten some Division I looks. Pat has actually been a Post Bulletin sports reporter given that 1994. He covers Rochester John Marshall football, in addition to a range of other southeastern Minnesota football groups. Among my other southeastern Minnesota high school beats are girls basketball, boys and girls tennis, boys and ladies track and field, high school and American Legion baseball, volley ball, University of Minnesota sports (on occasion)and the Timberwolves(on event). Readers can reach Pat at 507-285-7723 or pruff@postbulletin.com.