PREVIEW: UMAC Men's Basketball Season Preview

PREVIEW: UMAC Men's Basketball Season Preview

Bookmark and Share

ST. PAUL, MN - For the third time in four years, the University of Northwestern Eagles took home both the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season and conference tournament title. There were a trio of teams in Bethany Lutheran, Crown, and North Central all tied for second and all three of those teams expect to push Northwestern again this season.

The Northwestern Eagles have been selected by the coaches to repeat as UMAC regular season champions. The Eagles went 13-1 in UMAC play a year ago before going on to win the UMAC Tournament and representing the UMAC in the NCAA Tournament. This season, the Eagles return their entire frontcourt from that championship team a year ago. Kyle Kaemingk returns for the Eagles after being named an All-UMAC Second Team honoree a season ago. The senior averaged over fifteen points per game and shot over 47% from the field. Henry Fahnbulleh and Caleb Hoilien also return to help anchor the Eagles frontcourt after averaging a combined 19.7 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game a year ago.

Coming in second in this year's preseason poll is the Bethany Lutheran Vikings. The Vikings went 9-5 in UMAC play last year before losing to Northwestern in the UMAC Semifinals. Hunter Nielsen returns for the Vikings after being an All-UMAC Second Team honoree a year ago after he averaged over thirteen points and eight rebounds per game. Justin Schrupp is another familiar face that is returning for Bethany this season. The senior averaged over eleven points per game to lead the Vikings backcourt. Riley Ashburn also returns for the Vikings after averaging just over five points per game and four rebounds per game a year ago.

Selected third in this season's poll is the Crown College Polars. The Polars exceeded preseason expectations a year ago, finishing tied for second in the conference and advancing to the UMAC Championship game where they fell to Northwestern. This season the Polars return their top seven players from last season's rotation including player of the year candidate Cade Carroll. Carroll was an All-UMAC First Team player a season ago, averaging over twenty-two points per game while shooting over 50% from the field. Seth Royston also returns to anchor the Polars frontcourt this season, Royston averaged almost ten points and seven rebounds per game a season ago. Jacob Van Dam also returns after averaging over fifteen points per game last season and shooting over 90% from the foul line.

Coming in fourth in the preseason poll are the Rams of North Central. First year head coach Jeremy Becker is in his first year leading the Rams after serving as an assistant for the past several years. The Rams finished tied for second in the UMAC a year ago with a 9-5 record and lost to Crown in the UMAC Semifinals. All-UMAC First Team performer from last season Micah Filer returns for the Rams after averaging over twenty points per game a season ago and shooting over 40% from three. Jonathon Thompson also returns after scoring over nine points per game last year and averaging almost five rebounds per game. Cameron Thomas is another key returner for the Rams after he also averaged nine points per game last year and over five rebounds per game.

In the fifth spot in this year's poll is the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets. The Yellowjackets finished 6-8 in UMAC play a season ago and lost to Bethany Lutheran in the UMAC Quarterfinals. J'Vaun Walker returns for the Yellowjackets after averaging over eleven points per game and shooting over 50% from the field. Josef Fahrenholtz also returns to anchor the frontcourt for the Yellowjackets this season, the senior averaged over seven points and five rebounds per game last year for UW-Superior. In total, the Yellowjackets have ten letterwinners returning from last season.

Voted sixth is the Minnesota-Morris Cougars. The Cougars went 3-11 in UMAC play last season. All-UMAC Second Team performer Noah Kannegiesser returns for his senior season after averaging over sixteen points per game a year ago for the Cougars. Ian Carlin and Jaret Johnson also return after averaging a combined twenty points and ten and a half rebounds a season ago.

The Lumberjacks of Northland College come in at number seven in this seasons preseason poll. Northland finished 5-9 in UMAC play a season ago. Returning for Northland is All-UMAC Second Team player Jordan Brennan after he averaged over thirteen points per game a season ago. Ryan Rawlings also returns after averaging over eleven points per game last season.

The eighth team selected in this years poll is the Martin Luther Knights. The Knights finished 2-12 last season in UMAC play and lost to Northwestern in the UMAC Quarterfinals. Returning for the Knights this season are three key contributers from a year ago in Ezra Blumer, Micah Kieselhorst, and Seth Veers. Blumer averaged over nine points per game while Kieselhorst and Veers averaged a combined fourteen points per game.

Men’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll
  1. Northwestern (6)
  2. Bethany Lutheran (1)
  3. Crown (1)
  4. North Central
  5. UW-Superior
  6. Minnesota-Morris
  7. Northland
  8. Martin Luther
*First place votes are in parenthesis

Bethany Lutheran College
  • Pat Garvin | 3rd season |
  • 2021-22 Season
    • 9-5 UMAC, 14-12 overall | 4th |
  • Postseason:
    • Lost in UMAC Semifinals to Northwestern
  • Top Returners
    • Hunter Nielsen, Sr., Center | Second-Team All-UMAC | 13.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.2 bpg
    • Justin Schrupp, Sr., Guard | 11.1 ppg, 2.8 rep, 3.5 apg
    • Riley Ashburn, So., Forward | 5.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.5 apg

Crown College
  • Luke Herbert | 13th season|
  • 2021-22 Season
    • 9-5 UMAC, 17-14 overall | T-2nd |
  • Postseason:
    • Lost in UMAC Championship Game to Northwestern
    • Lost in NCCAA DII National Championship Game vs. Campbellsville-Harrodsburg
  • Top Returners
    • Cade Carroll, JR., Wing  | 1st  Team All-UMAC | NCCAA Region POY, 1st Team All-American | 22.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 50.8% FG
    • Seth Royston, GR., Post | Honorable Mention All-UMAC, UMAC All-Defensive Team | NCCAA National Tourney Team | 9.9 ppg, 7 rpg, 29 blk 
    • Jacob Van Dam, SO., Wing | HM All-Conference | | 15.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 90.9% FT|
  • Need to Know: Crown returns their top 7 players from last season’s rotation.

Martin Luther College
  • Greg Holzhueter | 7th season |
  • 2021-22 Season
    • 2-12 UMAC, 5-21 Overall | 8th |
  • Postseason:
    • #8 seed in UMAC tournament, lost to Northwestern in the 1st round of the UMAC tournament.
  • Top Returners
    • Ezra Blumer, Sr., G | 9.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG
    • Micah Kieselhorst, Sr., F | 7.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG
    • Seth Veers, So., F | 6.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG

North Central University
  • Jeremy Becker | 1st Season |
  • 2021-22 Season
    • 9-5 UMAC, 16-11 Overall | T-2nd |
  • Postseason:
    • Lost to Crown 72-68 in the UMAC Semifinal
  • Top Returners
    • Micah Filer, G-SR, G | 1st Team All UMAC | NCCAA 1st Team All American | 20.6ppg, 49.3 FG%, 42.8% 3pt FG%
    • Jonathon Thompson, JR, F | 9.4ppg, 4.9rpg, 51.2 FG% |
    • Cameron Thomas, JR, F | 9.0ppg, 5.4rpg, 35 3ptFG%|
  • Need to Know: Return 5 of the top 7 scorers from a year ago.

Northland College
  • Scott Sorenson | 11th Season |
  • 2021-22 Season
    • 5-9 UMAC, 6-20 Overall | 6th |
  • Top Returners
    • Jordan Brennan, SR, G | 2nd Team All-Conference | Academic All-Conference | 13.4 ppg; 3.7 rpg |
    • Ryan Rawlings, SR, PG | 11.7 ppg; 3.5 rpg |
    • Kevon Powell, SO, G | 6.9 ppg; 47.8 FG% |
    • George Butvilas, SR, WG | 9.0 ppg; 35.1 3FG%

University of Minnesota Morris
  • Paul Grove | 21st Season |
  • 2021-22 Season
    • 3-11 UMAC, 8-18 Overall | 7th |
  • Top Returners
    • Noah Kannegiesser, Sr, Guard | 2021-22 Second Team All-UMAC | 16.5 ppg, 2.1 apg, .429 3-pt pct. |
    • Ian Carlin, Sr, Forward | 10.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, .592 FG pct. |
    • Jaret Johnson, Sr, Forward | 9.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, .400 3-pt pct. |

University of Northwestern
  • Tim Grosz | 23rd Season |
  • 2021-22 Season
    • 13-1 UMAC, 22-7 Overall | 1st |
  • Postseason:
    • UMAC Tournament Champions, defeating Martin Luther 112-78 in quarterfinals, Bethany Lutheran 96-88 in semifinals, and Crown 85-69 in final.  
    • Lost to Pomona-Pitzer 67-66 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
  • Top Returners
    • Kyle Kaemingk, Sr., F | UMAC Second-Team All-Conference, 2x UMAC Player of the Week | NCCAA North Central All-Region | 361 points, 15.7 ppg, 47.6 FG% |
    • Henry Fahnbulleh, Jr., C | UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention, UMAC All-Defensive Team | | 9.9 ppg, 213 rebounds, 24 blocks |
    • Caleb Hoilien, Jr., F | UMAC Team Sportsmanship Award, UMAC All-Academic | 9.8 ppg, 51.5 FG%, 23 blocks |

University of Wisconsin-Superior
  • Greg Polkowski | Sixth season |
  • 2021-22 Season
    • UMAC record 6-8, 10-16 | 5th |
  • Postseason:
    • Lost to Bethany Lutheran, 80-78 in UMAC Quarterfinals
  • Top Returners
    • J’Vaun Walker, Jr., G | UMAC Player of the Week (Nov. 22) | 11.4 ppg, 51.1 FG%, 1.8 spg
    • Josef Fahrenholtz, Sr., C | 7.3ppg, 5.5rpg, 15 Blocks
    • Joey Barker, Jr., W | 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg
  • Need to Know: The Yellowjackets return 10 letterwinners from 2021-22 season.