SUMMIT LEAGUE MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- North Dakota State
- Saint Thomas
- South Dakota State
- Omaha
- South Dakota
- North Dakota
- Oral Roberts
- Kansas City
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE 1ST TEAM:
-Kendall Blue – SR, G – Saint Thomas
-Carter Bjerke – SR, F – Saint Thomas
-Connor Dow – SR, G – Oral Roberts
-Austin Herro – SR, G – Saint Thomas
-Joe Sayler – JR, G – South Dakota State (Preseason Player of the Year)
-Andy Stefonowicz – JR, G – North Dakota State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE 2ND TEAM:
-Vince Buzelis – SO, G – South Dakota
-Kalen Garry – SR, G – South Dakota State
-Jaylen Smith – SR, G – Kansas City
-Grant Stubblefield – SR, G – Omaha
-Jesse Van Kalsbeek – JR, F – South Dakota State
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-North Dakota State was last year’s 1st place team and conference tournament winner, so it is not a huge surprise that they are once again considered the favorites. They are faced with the same problem a lot of good under the radar teams face from year to year: rebuilding the roster. Just one starter is back, and that is PG Andy Stefonowicz, who is a solid player to have returning. They do have some D-1 experience transferring in as Rob Diaz comes in from Long Beach State and Melvin Bell Jr. comes in from San Jose State. Both were solid players a year ago who may embrace the opportunity to step into a bigger role. Some standout players from lower divisions also join the mix.
-Saint Thomas has been a tremendous success as a transitional program winning 24 games in each of the last two seasons. The problem is only one starter returns, but the good news is that they have been able to reload their talent and I think they can win the Summit this year. Brogan Madson was a standout D-2 player who is transferring in and Julius Wade put up big numbers in the JUCO ranks. Carter Bjerke is another player to watch, and he is joined by Austin Herro and Kendall Blue in receiving preseason all-conference honors.
-South Dakota State had an uncharacteristically tough year last year where they won 14 total games and went just 7-9 in league play. It was the first year for head coach Bryan Petersen and he looks to get them back to 20+ wins this year like we are used to seeing. They were starting to show a few signs of life down the stretch and with Joe Sayler/Kalen Garry both returning the Jackrabbits have a very solid backcourt. Trey Buchanan is also back after missing the entire second half of the season due to an injury. The challenge for them will be the frontcourt. Can some of the new guys step up?
-Two years ago Omaha became famous for terrorizing trashcans after wins. Last year, they did not win quite as much and this year they are looking to rebuild their roster. Grant Stubblefield returns at PG, but he is the only returning starter. They do not have much in the way of proven D-1 experience, so the rest of the roster will need to step up if Omaha is going to finish in the top half of the conference.
-I have always had a soft spot for the Yotes, but am not even sure why. This year…well…there are a lot of new guys. Melo Sanchez was a solid player for Central Connecticut last year, and Vince Buzelis had a solid freshman year for the Yotes a year ago, but they do not have a lot of experience and right now there are just more questions than answers.
-North Dakota had a rather unremarkable season overall last year, but in the second half of conference play they started to heat up. They finished the season winning 7 of their last 11 and then advanced to the conference championship game where they played a solid game against North Dakota State. Zach Kraft is back, who is a very good outside shooter, and they have added some guys who put up big numbers in D-2, so I am a little surprised North Dakota was picked this low. I do not think they will win the league, but I think they can do a lot better than 6th.
-Oral Roberts won 30 games in 2022-2023 and has been absolutely terrible since. They were just 4-12 in league play last year and do not seem to be showing many signs of being a whole lot better this year. Connor Dow is a solid player, but he will need some help if ORU is going to compete in this league.
-Kansas City…what has happened to the Roos?? They won just one conference game last year, and that was their only D-1 win. They have completely overhauled their roster, which is probably a good thing. Jaylen Smith comes in from East Tennessee State, who was a solid player. Sebastian Hartmann, who put up decent numbers at Chattanooga, also joins the squad. Other than that, it is a young team. I think they will win more than one D-1 game this year, but it still may be a long year.
