APTOS >> In community college sports, it’s both a curse and a thing of beauty that teams only feature freshmen and sophomores.

With such heavy personnel turnover, success can be short-lived. A lot can change with each graduating class, so coaches make sure to stay on top of their game, especially recruiting.

On the other hand, with each incoming class, less competitive teams have the ability to improve and become contenders quickly.

The Cabrillo College women’s basketball team — 3-24 overall last season, 0-12 in the Coast Conference South Division — is hoping to make one of those massive transformations.

The Seahawks feature a new head coach and several talented freshmen in the their bid to go from conference doormat to darling. They open the 2024-25 season against Santa Ana in the Santa Barbara Tournament on Nov. 2.

Tony Marcopulos, 60, a former University of Pacific and University of Portland assistant who became the winningest men’s basketball coach in Cabrillo history, begins his first season at the helm. He coached the Seahawks’ men’s program for 20 seasons and led it to conference titles in 10 of his final 13 seasons.

“I’m excited about our team,” Marcopulos said. “I think we have a chance to be good, and competitive, and compete for the conference championship.”

Marcopulos stepped down as the men’s coach four years ago to provide care for his ailing parents, both of whom were diagnosed with dementia in 2018. They live on his family on a 4-acre property in Royal Oaks.

Marcopulos, who teaches pickleball and serve as Cabrillo’s assistant athletics director, said he’s in a better position to give coaching the attention fully it deserves.

After Marcopulos defines his players’ roles, he hopes each athlete will not only accept the role, but embrace it. That, paraphrasing his words, means they’re intent on becoming the best versions of themselves in those roles.

“When you start getting them to think like that, then you’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Marcopulos said. “Hopefully I can get them there and we can embrace the things I’m asking them to do. We’re moving in that direction.”

Players’ roles may change over the course of the season due to unforeseen circumstances, like injuries, he noted.

A heralded recruiter, Marcopulos has eight new student-athletes on his 12-player roster, five of them are out-of-state talents.

The players aren’t the only ones learning.

“I’ve never coached women’s sports, period. In my life,” said Marcopulos, who is married and has two daughters. “It’s been super challenging to do this. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of trying to figure out how to communicate. The only thing I can tell you is the message that I’ve always delivered to the guys isn’t any different than the message I’m delivering to the women. The difference is how I deliver the message. And that has been the big challenge for me.”

The players are getting used to their new coach.

“We’re get used to things, his type of coaching,” said Renee Parker, a veteran forward. “He’s tough on us, but tough in a good way. He’s trying to make us better.”

Four of the newcomers are from Nevada: Sydney Chesnut, Gabriella Dela Cruz, and Gabrielle Brooks from Henderson, and Faith Esquer from Las Vegas.

Chesnut, a 5-foot-4 guard, helped Bishop Gorman High win the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Division 5A state title last season. Dela Cruz, a 5-8 forward, and Brooks, a 5-9 forward, previously played at Coronado, and Esquer, a 5-5 forward, played at Liberty.

“I feel like this year is going to be our year,” Parker said. “We’ve got new people, a new coach, a new environment. It’s more intense. It’s a very competitive group of girls.”

Parker, a 21-year-old primipara out of Soquel, rejoins the program after sitting out the past two seasons. The 5-10 sophomore last shined for the Seahawks in 2021-22.

Parker said her 5-month-old son, Kamar, will attend every home game and be easy to find. He’l be wearing a Seahawks jersey with “Mommy” inscribed above the No. 13 on the back.

Another sophomore talent includes 5-8 center Lily Thayer, a Soquel alumna who played for Monterey Peninsula College last season. (The Lobos canceled their program this season.)

Parker and Thayer will be joined in the frontcourt by Jess Berry, a 5-9 forward out of Sonora. Berry, 21, served as an assistant coach for the Seahawks last season.

“It’s definitely a different environment, entirely,” Berry said. “It’s a good group of people with good heart. I’m excited to see how it translates.”

The Seahawks return four other players: guards Jade Crum (Milpitas) and Majella Luna (Santa Cruz), forward Haley Ortega (Aptos), and center Morgan Wilson (Soquel).

Rylan Davis, a 5-5 guard who prepped at Madras in Oregon, will sit out this season after tearing her ACL.

Gustavo Indarose, a former Seahawk who played for Marcopulos, will serve as assistant after coaching Watsonville’s junior-varsity team last season.

“The 10 championships we won at Cabrillo on the men’s side, we probably played about every different style you can imagine during all the years I coached there,” Marcopulos said. “So I’m not particularly attached to any particular way to play. I just want to win.

“And I need to figure out how this group, given the skill, talent, and ability that we have, what’s the style of play that’s going to give us the best chance to win games.”