There’s a swirl of energy brewing inside Rougher Village as the Lady Roughers begin what many are expecting to be more than just a turnaround season led by a lineup that includes a trio of players with Division-I offers as Eric Holmes begins his first season as head coach of the Muskogee program. The threesome of VYPE Top 100 nominees includes two of the coach’s daughters, E’Niyah Holmes (6’0, Sr. 13.1ppg) who has committed to Lamar University and Elexis Holmes (6’1, So. 21.9ppg) who has major college offers from SMU, Arkansas, OU and Wichita State. The third is Kashae Brown (6’0, Jr. 11.1ppg) who owns recruiting offers from Oral Roberts and Clemson, transferred to Muskogee after helping Booker T. Washington reach the state tournament last year.

Coach Holmes’ third daughter, Eryanna Rollerson-Holmes (5’7, Sr. 12.1 ppg) will direct the attack from the point guard position while Klaire Bracken (5-8, So.), who missed last year at Keys due to a knee injury settles into the starting lineup.

“Our height and the ability to get up and down the court plays to our advantage, but I think our defensive abilities will change the dynamic of this year’s team and give us the opportunity to win the close games, said the Muskogee mentor who last year guided Madill to the Class 4A state tournament.

The Roughers depth of the bench will play a key role in the team’s ultimate success bolstered by the efforts of Nyaisha Ivy (5’5, Sr.), Charlesia Normore (5’5, So.), Ke’Laishia (5’1, So.)  and Gabbi Davis (5’8, Sr.).

“We’ve got more than just one or two that can get some big points night in night out and players who can defend with intensity,” Holmes said with confidence. “We’re still building our team chemistry in order to become a championship level team.”