Men's Basketball Receiving Votes in Preseason Top 25 Poll

The North Dakota State College of Science men's basketball team received votes in the NJCAA D1 Preseason Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday, unofficially ranking them at 27^th nationally entering the 2020-21 season. They’re the only team in the Mon-Dak Conference – on either the men’s or women’s side – receiving votes nationally.

The Wildcats – who are coming off of the program’s 10^th consecutive 25-win season – return just one starter in 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Khari Broadway. An All-Region selection as a freshman, Broadway averaged 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He also shot 53 percent from the field and had a 1.9:1 assists-to-turnover ratio.

Classmate Jeremiah Smith is the program’s only other returning rotational player from the 2019-20 campaign.

NDSCS figures to receive a bump from sophomores JaQuan Sanders-Smith and Ty Horner. Sanders-Smith, a 6-foot guard from Minneapolis, redshirted at NDSCS last year and hasn’t played season the 2017-18 season when he averaged 9.2 points and 3.2 assists at Northeast CC (Neb.). Horner, a 6-foot-10 post player, averaged 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds at Lane CC (Ore.).

The Wildcats have 10 freshmen currently on the roster, nearly all of whom are from the region.

RaShaun Parker (Maple Grove), Jacob Daing (Rochester Marshall), Parker Jones (Winona) and Cole Chapman (Mahtomedi) all hail from Minnesota. Connor Hollenbeck attended St. Thomas More HS in Rapid City, SD. Logan Jedwabny (Kaukauna) and Elijah Lambert (St. Catherine’s) are Wisconsin natives.

The outliers are Anthony Ignowski (Omaha, Neb.), Malik Cooper (Miami, Fla.) and Kareeme Davis Jr. (Trenton, NJ).

NDSCS is in its ninth season under Stu Engen, who is assisted by Jordan Burton and Brad Shaw. The Wildcats have amassed a 217-45 record under Engen, including a 117-17 mark at Ed Werre Arena and an 83-13 Mon-Dak Conference record.

Engen has the highest winning percentage in program history.

The Wildcats open the 2020-21 season on Friday, Jan. 22nd by hosting rival Lake Region State. NDSCS will then have a travel day Saturday before visiting Dakota College at Bottineau and Williston State on Sunday and Monday respectively. This is part of a 22-game schedule that features 21 region games and a non-conference tilt against Dakota County Tech, who is currently ranked No. 17 in the NJCAA D2 Top 25 Poll.