AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas men's basketball team welcome back 12 returners to the 2021-22 roster, looking to reach the American Southwest Conference Tournament for the 10th consecutive year, opening the season against Trinity on Saturday.

The Tornados, who have all five All-ASC honorees returning from last season's team, will open the year on the road at the Southwestern Classic, facing the Tigers of Trinity on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Robertson Gymnasium in Georgetown, Texas.

In the conference's preseason poll, CTX was voted to finish seventh after garnering 113 points.

Meanwhile, Mary Hardin-Baylor was picked to finish atop the conference with 237 points and 19 of the 22 first-place votes, followed by Hardin-Simmons and UT Dallas, respectively.

The Tornados had three players, Antoine Henderson, Luis Gonzalez and Trevon Hester, selected to the ASC Preseason Players to Watch list.

Henderson was an ASC Second Team selection last season after a career year where he set the program and conference's single-season field-goal percentage record after shooting over 68% from the floor.

The Bryan, Texas native averaged 14.5 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds a game during CTX's 11-game season. In the Tornados' 82-78 exhibition win over D-I Incarnate Word on Tuesday, Henderson produced 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and added four rebounds.

Gonzalez returns for year three with the program after averaging double figures in scoring in his first two seasons, including a team-high 16.8 points a game last year. The Puerto Rico native has been a key scoring threat throughout his career, earning ASC West Freshman of the Year honors in 2020.

On Tuesday, against the Cardinals, Gonzalez scored 16 points on six shots and went 5-of-7 from the charity stripe as CTX outscored UIW 42-37 in the second half to pull out the victory.

Hester is also in his third year with the Tornados, looking to run the offense from atop the key at the point guard position. The North Richland Hills, Texas native, dished out a team-best 4.2 assists a game and poured in nearly 12 points a game and was named an ASC West Honorable Mention last season.

He will continue to push the pace for CTX in the upcoming year. In the exhibition game on Tuesday, Hester also scored in double figures, tallying 15 points, including a 3-of-3 showing from behind the arc and tacked on three assists.

The Tornados will rely on veteran leadership from seniors Zaid Harris and Alexander Estrada.

Harris earned his second career ASC West All-Defense accolade last year after being a menace on the court, averaging 1.3 steals a game and pulling down 2.3 rebounds. The Houston native has been a mainstay on the court for CTX throughout his career, starting in 37 games.

Estrada, meanwhile, will continue to make himself an offensive 3-pointer threat after averaging nearly 40% shooting from behind the arc in the last two seasons. The San Antonio native averaged a career-best 9.8 points a game last season, including a career-high 18-point performance against Belhaven back on Jan. 15.

The Tornados will open the season against four-straight Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference programs, including Trinity and Southwestern on Saturday and Sunday in the Southwestern Classic.

Concordia Texas will host Schreiner on Nov. 27 in their home opener at 3 p.m. inside Concordia Fieldhouse before traveling down to Seguin, Texas for a matchup against Texas Lutheran on Nov. 29.

The Tornados will open conference play at home against the defending-ASC champions in Ozarks on Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Concordia Texas will have two more home conference contests during the month of December, hosting UT Dallas and LeTourneau on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19, respectively.

After a non-conference matchup against Texas Lutheran, CTX will return to conference play on Jan. 2, opening the new year on the road against ASC foe Mary Hardin-Baylor.

The Tornados will begin the final month of the regular season with a four-game road trip, which includes games against Sul Ross State and Howard Payne, before returning to Concordia Fieldhouse for the final homestand of the season.

Concordia Texas will play host to Mary Hardin-Baylor on Feb. 14, followed by East Texas Baptist on Feb. 17 and Belhaven on Feb. 19 to wrap up the regular season schedule.

It all begins on Saturday as the Tornados will take on Trinity in a neutral-sited contest in Georgetown, Texas on the campus of Southwestern at 2 p.m.