Kaniya Boyd won’t have to wait long to see some familiar faces during her first SEC game with Texas A&M.
Actually, she won’t have to wait at all.
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The Tennessee transfer’s first conference game in maroon and white will come against the Lady Vols, as Texas A&M is set to open its 16-game SEC schedule against Tennessee on New Year’s Eve at Reed Arena.
The Aggies learned the dates and locations for their entire conference slate Tuesday, and Boyd isn’t the only newcomer who should have a former team circled.
Joni Taylor added four transfers with previous SEC experience this offseason: Boyd from Tennessee, Kailyn Gilbert from LSU, Miyah Verse from Georgia and Essence Cody from Alabama.
A&M will face all four programs.
Boyd gets Tennessee first on Dec. 31. Gilbert returns to LSU one week later on Jan. 7, Verse will face Georgia at Reed Arena on Feb. 22 and Cody gets the latest — and perhaps most interesting — reunion when A&M closes the regular season at Alabama on Feb. 28.
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That’s quite the collection of reunions for a roster Taylor spent the offseason reshaping.
A&M’s eight-game home slate consists of Tennessee, Missouri, Texas, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. The Aggies will travel to Mississippi State, LSU, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas and Alabama.
And yes, Texas appears twice.
The Longhorns are A&M’s only repeat conference opponent, with the first rivalry matchup scheduled for Jan. 21 at Reed Arena before the Aggies travel to Austin on Valentine’s Day.
The back half of February will also require quite a bit less traveling.
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After facing South Carolina and Texas on the road in consecutive games, A&M gets an eight-day break before hosting Georgia on Feb. 22. Kentucky comes to College Station three days later before the Aggies head to Tuscaloosa for the regular-season finale.
That game will conclude a conference schedule A&M enters with some reason for optimism.
Taylor’s group won six of its final seven regular-season games last year, going 4-0 at home and collecting three ranked victories during that stretch.
The Aggies have since supplemented their returners with four players who already know SEC basketball and a recruiting class ranked No. 22 nationally.
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How much better that makes A&M won’t be answered by a schedule release in August.
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We can say Taylor’s newcomers won’t have much trouble finding familiar opponents once conference play begins.
For Boyd, it’ll happen on Night 1.
