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All notes courtesy of SMSU athletics communications.
BURNSVILLE - The Southwest Minnesota State University's men's basketball team was picked to finish third in the South Division and fourth overall in the annual 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Friday.
In the South Division poll, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State both earned 45 points, with SCSU earning four first-place votes, while MSU earned three first-place votes. SMSU garnered 33 points for third place with Winona State placing fourth with 28 points and Concordia-St. Paul picked fifth with 25 points. Augustana was sixth earning 22 points (one first-place vote) followed by Sioux Falls (16) and Wayne State (10).
Senior guard Wyatt Hawks from St. Cloud State was selected as the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year.
In the overall poll, Minnesota State was selected first earning 216 points, with eight first-place votes (coaches can’t vote for their own team). St. Cloud State was selected second with 211 points (six first-place votes), followed by Minnesota Duluth (195, one first-place vote), SMSU in fourth (170), and Concordia-St. Paul rounding out the top five (153).
Minnesota Duluth was chosen as the favorite to win the NSIC North Division followed by MSU Moorhead, Northern State, Bemidji State, Jamestown, Minnesota Crookston, Minot State and UMary.
Fifth-year guard Caleb Siwek from Minnesota Duluth was chosen as the NSIC North Division Preseason Player of the Year.
The NSIC will feature South and North divisions for the second straight season. The 12-team NSIC tournament will be seeded using the 22-game conference schedule, with the top four seeds in the overall standings receiving a first-round bye.
The tournament will begin Feb. 24 with first round games played on campus sites. The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship games will take place Feb. 27-March 2 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
SMSU senior forward Aeron Stevens was named an NSIC 'Player to Watch' this season. Stevens, named All-NSIC second team in 2024-25, ranked second on the team in scoring last season (12.5), while shooting 45 percent (122 of 272) from the field and connecting on 20 3-pointers. He led the squad with 73 free throws made and was second with 21 blocked shots.
"Aeron has been a consistent and important part of our program throughout his career and brings a great deal of experience to our team," said SMSU head coach Brad Bigler. "He is a versatile player who can score in a variety of ways, rebound, and create matchup problems with his size and skill level. Aeron has continued to expand his game each year, and we are excited about the versatility he can provide our team this season. Most importantly, he is a great teammate, has been successful in the classroom, and understands what it takes to compete at a high level in the NSIC."
SMSU returns seven letter winners and three starters from last season's squad that finished 16-12 overall and tied for third in both the overall and division standings at 14-8. The team also welcomes back senior guard Steven Kramer, who started 30 games in 2024-25, but missed all last season with an injury.
The Mustang roster features one fifth-year, four seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and six freshmen.
SMSU has a pair of players joining Stevens as a returning double-digit scorer from a season ago in fifth-year guard Mekhi Shaw and junior forward Micah Schlaak.
Shaw, an All-NSIC second team honoree last season, averaged 11.9 ppg, while shooting 47 percent (128 of 275) from the field. He led the team with 57 steals and was second in assists with 77. Schlaak, in his first season in uniform, led the team with 58 3-pointers, ranked first in blocked shots (40), was second in rebounding (4.9) and fourth in scoring (11.4). He closed the season shooting 52 percent (115 of 222) from the field.
Kramer returns after starting all 30 games in 2024-25 and averaging 9.8 ppg and 3.8 rpg. He shot 44 percent (103 of 234) from the field and 83 percent (75 of 90) from the free throw line.
Junior guard Landon Pokorski played in every game with 22 starts last season and averaged 5.5 ppg with 31 3-pointers and 53 assists. Sophomore forward Brayson Boike played in all 28 games with six starts and averaged 3.3 ppg and 2.7 rpg.
Senior guard Buay Koak returns after seeing limited time the past two seasons, while senior forward Calvin Buss, who played in all 28 games last season, is expected to miss this season due to an offseason injury.
"We are excited about this year’s team and the experience and versatility we have returning throughout our lineup," Bigler said. "We have a group of guys who have played a lot of meaningful basketball in our program, and we believe the competition within our team will help us continue to improve."
"We also understand how challenging the NSIC is every night, and we have tremendous respect for the players and coaches throughout our league," Bigler continued. "I’m excited to watch the growth of Micah (Schlaak) and Brayson (Boike). You can see their confidence is different this fall. Getting Steven (Kramer) back from injury has provided a unique match up at the shooting guard spot. Lots of work to put in."
Bigler, a two-time NSIC Coach of the Year and the program’s all-time leader in victories, begins his 18th season with a career record of 277-211. During his tenure as head coach, SMSU has made five NCAA tournament appearances, won one NSIC regular season title, two NSIC South Division championships, a pair of NSIC tournament championships and has played in five NSIC tournament championship games.
The Mustangs opens the 28-game regular season on Nov. 13-14 competing at MIAA/NSIC Crossover in St. Paul, Minn., facing both Fort Hays State (Kan.) and Nebraska-Kearney.
After opening the season with four non-conference games away from Marshall, SMSU opens NSIC play and its home schedule on Nov. 24 versus the University of Sioux Falls.