UMAC Coaches Select Northwestern as Repeat Champions in 2015-16

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2015-2016 UMAC Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll
1.   64 Points – University of Northwestern (8 First Place Votes)
2.   52 Points – College of St. Scholastica (1)
3.   51 Points – University of Wisconsin-Superior
4.   43 Points – University of Minnesota Morris
5.   35 Points – Bethany Lutheran College
6.   27 Points – Northland College
7.   23 Points – Crown College
8.   20 Points – North Central University
9.   9 Points – Martin Luther College
 
ST. PAUL – 2014-15 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's basketball champion, the University of Northwestern, is predicted to again claim the conference title in 2015-16. The Eagles earned a total of 64 points and eight first place votes to take the top spot in the annual coaches' preseason poll. The College of St. Scholastica finished in second place earning one first place vote and 52 points, and the University of  Wisconsin-Superior landed the third spot on the list earning 51 points. 
 
1. University of Northwestern
2014-15 Overall Record: 20-10
2014-15 UMAC Record: 14-0
2014-15 UMAC Finish: 1st  
Starters Returning: 4
Starters Lost: 1

The Eagles will look to repeat on last year’s historic season, as Northwestern earned its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament invite, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. UNW pulled off upsets against higher-seeded St. Thomas and Elmhurst, before its Cinderella season came to an end against East Texas Baptist. The Eagles made it through their conference schedule with an unblemished 14-0 record and finished the season 20-10.

Northwestern welcomes back four its five starters from last year’s squad, including reigning Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Player of the Year Michael Carney. Carney had an outstanding junior campaign, as the Ames, Iowa, native garnered several individual accolades after pouring in 14.9 points per game. Joining Carney will be Will Gisler, Porter Morrell and Kyle Ooms, who were all mainstays in the starting five in 2014-15. In addition, Cody Sprenger will be back for his junior season after averaging 23.3 minutes per contest a season ago. Head Coach Tim Grosz, the 2014-15 UMAC Coach of the Year, will welcome a strong group of newcomers as he enters his 16th year at the helm of the men’s basketball program. Included in that group is Division II transfer Clay Elrod, who saw significant playing time during his true freshman season at Bemidji State last season. The season gets underway Nov. 14 when Gustavus travels to St. Paul.

2. College of St. Scholastica
2014-15 Overall Record: 12-14
2014-15 UMAC Record: 8-6
2014-15 UMAC Finish:  4th
Starters Returning: 4
Starters Lost: 1

The St. Scholastica men's basketball team returns its top five scorers from a season ago. The Saints are looking to carry momentum into this season after forcing overtime and nearly knocking off eventual champion Northwestern in the UMAC Tournament semifinals to end last year.

Second Team All-UMAC choice Andrew Laughlin returns as does honorable mention All-UMAC choice Jake Naslund. The guard-heavy Saints also feature returners Julius Johnson, Joe Stark and Zach Dahlman (once football is over). Marc Peterson missed a portion of last season due to injury, but returns as well after earning all-conference accolades in golf.

Head Coach David Staniger landed some key local products this season in Brandon Newman of Barnum and Nate Weets of Cloquet.

3. University of Wisconsin-Superior
2014-15 Overall Record: 9-16
2014-15 UMAC Record: N/A
2014-15 UMAC Finish:  N/A
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 2

If nothing else, the 2014-15 season can be described as inconsistent for the UW-Superior men’s basketball team. That being said, it also served as a learning experience for a team that graduated just one senior, meaning big things are expected heading into the 2015-16 season, the first in the UMAC for UW-Superior.
 
The Yellowjackets will roster just four seniors in 2015-16, led by Brian Lindblom, who averaged 13.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game on his way to All-WIAC honorable mention a year ago. Junior guard Zach Schradle will also carry a heavy load on the floor after 11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season. The Yellowjackets also have several key role players returning, including seniors Marquise Slay and Taylor Mattison, both of which made contributions a year ago.
 
Despite having just one senior last year, the Yellowjackets will roster a youthful group in 2015-16. Several newcomers will have a chance to make their presence known early, including junior college transfer Domineik Banks, and freshmen Montroy Scott and Sam Mueller. Also look for Vid Milenkovic to step into a bigger role this year after playing in the European Championships this summer as a part of Team Switzerland.
 
The Yellowjackets should also be one of the biggest teams in the UMAC and will look to capitalize on their size and strength. The roster coupled with the move to a new conference has UW-Superior excited for the coming campaign.

4. University of Minnesota Morris
2014-15 Overall Record: 12-15
2014-15 UMAC Record: 9-5
2014-15 UMAC Finish: 2nd
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 2

Last season Minnesota Morris reached the UMAC Tournament Championship for the first time since 2012, but came up short and did not bring home the title. Head Coach Paul Grove is hoping that his increased team roster size in 2015-16 will help them take the crown this year.

The Cougars lost a trio of guards, including starters RJ Dean and Neil Helgeson. Morris gets back CD Douglas, who as a freshman averaged 10.3 points per game. John Haseman and Joe Roggenbuck are also returning this season for the Cougars. Other returners Kevin Heysee, Tyler Ukkelburg and Dylan Erickson will look to have a bigger role this year.

Newcomers; Anthony Fisher, Jeffrey Halverson, Jeremy Halverson and Noah Grove will add both size and depth to the cougar squad this season.

5. Bethany Lutheran College
2014-15 Overall Record: 5-20
2014-15 UMAC Record: 5-9
2014-15 UMAC Finish: 6th  
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost:1

The Bethany men’s basketball team, under the direction of 3rd year head coach Greg Holzhueter, returns 10 players from last year’s squad in hopes to make a stand in the top half of the league standings and make an appearance in the UMAC Postseason Tournament.
Nick Sanborn will provide the Vikings with veteran leadership as he enters his senior season. The forward averaged 10.7 points and four rebounds per game last season to earn UMAC Honorable Mention recognition. Sophomore Neil Eichten earned UMAC Honorable Mention recognition a year ago for the Vikings, while sophomore teammate Brady Rose was named to the UMAC All-Defensive team.

Other top returners for the 2015-16 men’s basketball team include Nate Chadderdon, Zach Brandts, and Bradley Rose who all played key roles last season in their freshman campaigns.

The Vikings welcome many new players to the 2015-16 roster. Highlighting the list of newcomers is Walker Froehling a 6’6” transfer guard from Carleton College, Brandon Egge who is also 6’8” will look to have a huge presence down low for the Vikings, and Jamar Kelly a junior college transfer from Dakota County Technical College.

6. Northland College
2014-15 Overall Record: 8-17
2014-15 UMAC Record: 4-10
2014-15 UMAC Finish: 7th
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 0

After achieving several goals set for the program last year, including winning the most games since 2007, the LumberJacks have seven returners for the 2015-2016 season. Point Guard Dan Campion returns for Northland after being named UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention last season.  Campion’s 3.6 assists-per-game were good for 2nd in the UMAC and his 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio was tops in the UMAC, as well as good enough for 17th overall in NCAA Division III.  Campion’s backcourt teammate Maverick Harris also returns for his junior season after starting 14 of 25 games last season.  Forward Bryshaun Brown will serve as Northland’s lone senior for the 2015-2016 season.  Brown, who is Northland’s leading returning scorer, averaged 8.5 points-per-game to go along with 4.9 rebounds per game.  Forward Tyler Peterson will also look to help lead the Jacks by taking on a bigger offensive role. 
 
The Jacks also return forward Thomas Whiting who started 22 games last season while averaging 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds, as well as Nathan Nicholls, and Harrison Lucas.
 
Northland’s seven returners are joined by eight new additions.  Rijo Jackson joins the Jacks from Allen Hancock Community College in California, and freshmen Aaron Houle and Cristopher Tovar will look to stretch the defense with their ability to hit outside shots. Freshman Brandon Galland will finally give the Jacks a true point guard to back up Campion, and freshman Jake Dunbar will provide added versatility with his ability to play multiple spots. 

Northland also picked up a couple of transfers who come to the LumberJacks as freshmen athletically. High-motor wing-forward Kyle Szilagyi will give the Jacks some another athletic option.  The added depth on the front line provided by Szilagyi will be a huge benefit during the back-to-back UMAC weekends.” Mitch Bonk returns to his home region and will give the Jacks some additional length and athleticism, and Chicago native Brandon Bellissimo provides the LumberJacks with even more depth in the backcourt.

7. Crown College
2014-15 Overall Record: 3-22
2014-15 UMAC Record: 3-11
2014-15 UMAC Finish:  8th
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost:2

The Crown men’s basketball team returns many of its core players from a year ago, including UMAC leading scorer James Brown and Freshman of the Year Austin VanDerHeyden.  In all, seven of the top nine players in the rotation will be back.

Adding depth to the team will be a host of incoming freshman and transfers, with guards Tyler Barker, Mitchell Peterson, and transfer Seth Moan (AFLBS) all expected to compete for a starting job at the guard position.  Trey Peace and Terrell Thomas, who played three seasons ago, will join the team at the conclusion of football season.

With an experienced team returning, Crown hopes that a year of seasoning plus the addition of some talented newcomers can help the team get back to into the conference playoff picture after their championship game appearance two years ago.

8. North Central University
2014-15 Overall Record: 14-14
2014-15 UMAC Record: 8-6
2014-15 UMAC Finish: 3rd  
Starters Returning: 2
Starters Lost: 3

North Central men’s basketball will have a different look to its team this season. Returning players and new additions will be expected to step up and fill the roles left by a pair of all-conference athletes from a year ago. Though inexperienced, the roster has talent and with time there is reason to believe the Rams could challenge for a second straight UMAC playoff appearance.

The Rams must replace their top two scorers and rebounders from a year ago. Luke Chafin (18.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and Jordan Harrell (11.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) as they have both graduated. They also lost a third starter in Clarke Mossman who did not return to school this year. But the Rams guard play will be very strong with the return of senior, Josh High, sophomore Travis Voigt and junior Cody Martin. Both Martin and Voigt can play the point guard position while the trio combined for one of the most lethal three point shooting combos in the UMAC after shooting a combined .436 with over six made three point shots per game last season. Other key returners include guard Isaiah Rustad and forward Joel Cline who are both expected to get more minutes and opportunities this year.

North Central will have a solid group of recruits to add into the rotation that combine solid scoring and rebounding in their high school careers. Hunter Roeder, cousin of NCU scoring record holder Nate, transfers in from Mt. Hood Community College after a standout career at Sam Barlow High School (Oregon). Freshman Levi Herrick led his Lakeland-Union (Wis.) high school team in scoring and rebounding last year and could combine with Roeder on the wings to give NCU a very balanced scoring look. Jared High, son of head coach Jon High, comes to NCU after a stellar career at Buffalo High School (Minn.) where he was a first team all-conference selection knowing for accurate three point shooting. Freshmen Austin Bulthuis brings size to the Rams front line after his Central Minnesota Christian team finished third in the MSHSL tournament where he was named an all-tournament selection. Cameron Cummings and Ross Anderson will be additional athletic scoring threats for the Rams on the perimeter and in the paint.

9. Martin Luther College
2014-15 Overall Record: 6-19
2014-15 UMAC Record: 5-9
2014-15 UMAC Finish: 5th
Starters Returning: 2
Starters Lost: 3

The Martin Luther College men’s basketball team returns several key players from last season’s team that finished 5-9 in conference play, and eyes a return to the UMAC Postseason Tournament this season.

Senior Todd Brassow (First Team All-UMAC) returns after leading the Knights and finishing third in the UMAC with an average of 17.2 points per game last season. The versatile wing also averaged 4.2 rebounds per game, and finished with 31 steals on the defensive end.

Senior Mike Paulsen will join him in the backcourt, along with returners Austin Eisenmann and Phil Bunkowske. All three came off the bench for much of last season, but offer athleticism and defensive ability on the perimeter. Paulsen will likely start the season at point guard, while Eisenmann and Bunkowske will see time on the wing and potentially down low. First-year guard T.J. Babinec also figures to play a role in the backcourt rotation during the season, while returning players JD Uhlhorn, Josh VonDeylen and Alex Lindemann provide depth.

The Knights must replace last year’s starting center Andrew Nemmers, and the first crack at the job figures to go to junior Zach Peterson, who played in 23 of 25 games last season. He will be joined by newcomers Phil Kieselhorst and Daniel Leverence, with all three getting an opportunity for minutes at the position.