RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team starts its season at home this weekend with a pair of contests at the King Center, taking on Texas A&M – Kingsville and Texas A&M – International on Friday and Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
South Dakota Mines was selected 11th in the RMAC preseason poll but look to outplay that selection.
The Hardrockers graduated just one player from the 2022-23 season in Kolten Mortensen.
POINT GUARDS:
Kolton Frugoli had a strong season last year and has been the primary floor general for the past couple of years. He averaged 8.8 points per game in 2022-23 along with 5 rebounds per game and 2.7 assists per game. The assists put him in 12th in the RMAC. The former CCU transfer is experienced, starting 48 games over the past two seasons.
Ale Rama is a two-time honorable mention All-RMAC performer and was second on the team in scoring with 19.6 points per game. A 1,000-point scorer for his career, he was one of the top scorers in the conference last season. He shot 49.4% from the field and 44.3% from three last season. He was the sixth leading scorer in the RMAC, had the 16th-best field goal percentage, and the third-best three-point percentage.
OFF-GUARDS:
The Hardrockers bring back several guys with experience at the wings this season.
Returning are Keagan Smith, Bryce Sherrell, Kyle Harris, Jaka Prevodnik, and Abel Hutchinson.
Keagan Smith has started in every game he's been available for over the past two years, starting 54 games. He has been a consistent piece as one of the best defenders on the team over the past couple of years, also adding some shooting as he has shot 44.5% for his career along with over 33% from three each of the past two years. He brings some rebound to the wing position as well, averaging 4.6 per game last season.
Sherrell played in 22 games, averaging just over 10 minutes per game, also starting 10 games. He has played in 47 career games for the Hardrockers.
Kyle Harris and Jaka Prevodnik were known as shooters coming into their time as Hardrockers as transfers last season but didn't see a ton of court time. Harris played in 21 games, averaging 10.2 minutes per game while Prevodnik was out for most of the season. Prevodnik saw 24 minutes in the Hardrockers' exhibition game against Utah State on Monday.
Abel Hutchinson redshirted last year.
Cameron Cohn and Guillem Garcia are the incoming guards.
Cohn is experienced, playing for Division I Fordham University for two seasons, before spending the 2022-23 season at Santa Monica College. At Santa Monica, he averaged nearly 10 points a game along with 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Cohn was a top-100 player in the state of Texas coming out of high school and comes in as a junior.
Guillem Garcia spent his freshman season at Northern New Mexico College after spending his prep career in Argentina. He comes in as a sophomore after averaging 9.2 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game in his freshman season at Northern New Mexico.
FORWARDS:
Charles Christensen and Brannagh Walsh are the lone returning true forwards on the roster.
Brannagh Walsh returns for his senior season. The Australian looks to be in prime position to take over the post spot vacated by the graduation of Kolten Mortensen. After seeing inconsistent playing time pre-break in 2022-23, he came on strong beginning in February, seeing double-digit minutes in each game the rest of the way.
Joining them are freshmen, Ethan Bruns and Guido Wanschelbaum.
Ethan Bruns is a South Dakota native, who graduated from Sioux Falls Christian. He was a South Dakota Mr. Basketball finalist and was an all-conference and all-state selection.
Wanschelbaum hails from Argentina but played two years at prep school ISA Academy leading up to his time as a Hardrocker. He was an all-conference selection each of his two years at ISA Academy.
CENTERS:
The lone true center on the roster is Jasper Reinalda. Reinalda spent his first collegiate season at Montana State University, redshirting before transferring to South Dakota Mines and not seeing any game action in 2022-23. In high school, Reinalda was a prolific shot blocker and rebounder, and the Hardrockers hope to tap into that in the right matchups in 2023-24.
2023-24 SCHEDULE
The schedule is typically difficult for South Dakota Mines and this year is no different. Among its opponents, the Hardrockers are slated to take on seven teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23, including the team that they open the season with on Friday night in Texas A&M – Kingsville. Among its opponents, the Hardrockers face eight teams that finished with 18 or more wins, six with 20 or more.
As usual, the non-conference schedule is designed to be challenging to prepare for RMAC play. The non-conference schedule includes 2022-23 NCAA tournament teams, Texas A&M – Kingsville, MSU Moorhead, MSU Billings, and Black Hills State. It also includes traditional strong squads in Augustana and a Texas A&M International squad that has finished above .500 in each of the last two years and seems to be on the rise.
OPENING WEEKEND
Texas A&M - Kingsville and Texas A&M International are on tap for this weekend at home at the King Center.
As previously mentioned, Texas A&M Kingsville was an NCAA Tournament team in 2022-23 with an overall record of 21-12 on their way to the Lonestar East Division title, and a Lonestar Conference semifinal run. They have a new head coach as Omar Gonzalez takes over on the bench. The Javelinas bring back some firepower, beginning with CJ Smith. Smith was named a Lonestar Conference preseason player to watch after leading the team with 11.1 points per game last season. Their leading rebounder and rim protector Kavon Booker also returns.
Texas A&M International finished last season above .500 for the second consecutive year with a record of 18-12. Their roster underwent some turnover as their top 5 scorers from the 2022-23 season are not on the roster for 2023-24. They do still have some talent returning, however, starting with John Achebe who started 29 games last season with over 25 minutes per game. Achebe shot 48.1% last season and 36.4% from three. He averaged just 6.3 points per game, but he seems to be prepared to make a big jump. Mike Rivera and Michael Ozomah also return as seniors.
LOOKING AHEAD
After this weekend, the Hardrockers are back at home next weekend, hosting the East/West Challenge as they battle with MSU Moorhead and Augustana on Friday and Saturday.
About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 11 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.
