SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the first time in program history, St. Thomas was selected at the top of the Summit League men’s basketball preseason poll, while Tommie sophomore Nolan Minessale was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year, league officials announced Tuesday. The voting panel included the League’s nine head coaches, sports information directors and select media members.
The Tommies finished runner-up in the conference standings at 12-4 a season ago, which was their final one during the program’s transition to the NCAA Division I level. St. Thomas, who will be eligible for NCAA postseason play this year, edged 2024-25 regular season and tournament champion Omaha in the poll, earning 17 first-place votes to finish 501 points.
The Mavericks, who won those respective titles for the first time as a Summit member, corralled 13 first-place votes and tallied 495 points in what was one of the closest margins between the top two spots in the poll’s history.
South Dakota State, who is under the direction of first-year head coach Bryan Petersen, was picked to finish third. The Jackrabbits earned five first-place votes and 450 points.
North Dakota State was pegged fourth with 358 points, while South Dakota, who earned the final of 36 first-place votes, was just behind the Bison in the poll’s middle spot, taking fifth with 342 points.
Kansas City took sixth with 187 points, while the final three spots were separated by just four points. Denver, under the guidance of first-year head coach Tim Bergstraser, was seventh with 169 points, North Dakota was eighth with 168 points and Oral Roberts was ninth with 165 points. The Golden Eagles also have a new leader as Kory Barnett is set lead the ORU program in 2025-26.
Minessale averaged 12.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg, while topping all shot blockers in Summit play with 22 and tied for fifth with 19 steals as a freshman last season. The Brookfield, Wis., native started all 34 games last year.
The Tommies were the only team with a pair of players on the preseason all-league first team as sharp-shooting forward Carter Bjerke joined Minessale. Bjerke shot 41 precent from 3-point range and was fifth among Summit League players with 74 makes from beyond the arc, including 33 in Summit play.
Joining the Tommie duo on the preseason first team was South Dakota guard Isaac Bruns, South Dakota State guard Kalen Garry, Omaha guard Tony Osburn, and Kansas City guard Jayson Petty.
Bruns is the league’s top returning scorer after averaging 16.7 ppg as a sophomore in Summit action for the Coyotes last season. Garry, who like Bruns earned honorable mention all-league honors, chipped in 13.2 ppg in 15 Summit starts for the Jacks last year.
Osburn is the top returning scorer from the Mavericks’ roster that went 13-3 in league play and ran the table as the top seed in Sioux Falls last season. Osburn averaged 12.9 ppg in Summit play and made 35 triples in 16 conference starts.
Petty, who was the 2024 Newcomer of the Year, is the Roos top returning scorer after posting 11.0 ppg in 33 games last season.
The all-preseason second team was comprised of the North Dakota State duo of Noah Feddersen and Markhi Strickland along with Omaha’s Ja’Sean Glover, Denver’s Carson Johnson, and North Dakota’s Eli King.
Feddersen averaged 8.6 ppg and a team-high 6.0 rpg in 32 starts for the Bison a year ago. Glover and King were both members of the 2024-25 Summit League All-Defensive Team.
Johnson arrives in the Mile High City after following Bergstraser to Denver from Minnesota State-Moorhead. Johnson averaged 19.8 ppg in 23 starts for the Dragons and was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament MVP.
Strickland played at Western Michigan the past two seasons and was third on the Broncos in scoring with an 11.2 ppg average in 32 starts.
Points for the preseason poll were compiled on a 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, while all-league teams were compiled on an 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. The top six vote-getters earned first-team honors and the next five were selected to the second team. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes or team.
2025-26 Preseason Summit League Player of the Year
Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas
Preseason All-Summit League First Team
Carter Bjerke, St. Thomas, Jr., F (10.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Isaac Bruns, South Dakota, Jr., G (16.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.3 spg)#
Kalen Garry, South Dakota State, Jr., G (13.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg)#
Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas, So., F (12.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.4 bpg)#
Tony Osburn, Omaha, Sr., G (12.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 apg)#
Jayson Petty, Kansas City, Jr., G (8.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 spg)#
Preseason All-Summit League Second Team
Noah Feddersen, North Dakota State, F, Jr., (8.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.7 bpg)#
Ja’Sean Glover, Omaha, Sr., G (8.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.0 spg)#
Carson Johnson, Denver, So., G (19.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.4 apg)@
Eli King, North Dakota, Sr., G (9.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.1 spg)#
Markhi Strickland, North Dakota State, Sr., G (11.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg)^
*Preseason Player of the Year automatically earns a spot on first team
#stats are from 2024-25 Summit League games
@stats are from 2024-25 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games
^stats are from 2024-25 Mid-American Conference games
2025-26 Summit League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
| Rank |
School |
Points (1st) |
2024-25 Record (SL) |
| 1. |
St. Thomas |
501 (17) |
24-10 (13-3) |
| 2. |
Omaha |
495 (13) |
22-13 (12-4) |
| 3. |
South Dakota State |
450 (5) |
20-12 (11-5) |
| 4. |
North Dakota State |
358 |
21-11 (10-6) |
| 5. |
South Dakota |
342 (1) |
19-14 (9-7) |
| 6. |
Kansas City |
187 |
13-20 (4-12) |
| 7. |
Denver |
169 |
11-21 (5-11) |
| 8. |
North Dakota |
168 |
12-21 (5-11) |
| 9. |
Oral Roberts |
165 |
7-23 (3-13) |
#SummitMBB | #ReachTheSummit
