St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Set for Exhibition Game Against St. John’s University

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball will play their opening exhibition game at the St. John's University Johnnies in Collegeville, MN at 6:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, October 29th at Sexton Arena prior to the beginning of the regular season. This will be the first time the Johnnies and Huskies have faced each other since 2017.

Huskies Hoops is Back

The Huskies are coming off one of their best seasons in the Quincy Henderson era where they posted a 26-7 overall record and a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) best 20-2 record. Henderson enters his fifth season with the Huskies after capturing his first NCAA Tournament appearance and win as head coach of the Huskies last season.

The Huskies will return four of their top five scorers from last season including reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, Wyatt Hawks. Hawks accumulated several accolades including the D2CCA Second Team All-Central Region, First Team All-NSIC, and NSIC All-Tournament Team. Hawks started in all 33 games in one of the great big man seasons in Huskies history, where he averaged 30.3 minutes, 12.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks. He shot 47.7% from the field, 34% from three, and 80.4% from the free throw line. Hawks enters the 2026-27 season with record breaking potential, as he ranks third all-time in blocks (128) and 10th in rebounds (684).

Hybrid post player, Bob Griechen, who missed the majority of last season due to injury after a Freshman season at West Texas A&M where he was named to the Lone Star Conference All-Freshman Team returns this season and will be a key player to have back in the rotation. Other notable returning scorers, Anish Ramlall, who's coming off career highs of 9.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals while shooting career-bests of 43.3% from the field, 38.1% from three, and 84.7% from the free throw line and Nate Dahl who is one year removed from his All-Conference season in 2025, averaged 8.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 41.2% from the field last season.

More key returners for the Huskies include Lee Marks III, who started all 32 games he played in last season averaging 7.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.8 stocks as a versatile defensive player, Kynan Philippe who started in 24 of his 33 games played last season averaging 7.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and sharpshooter Azayah Washington who played in all 33 games last season and averaged 7.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.6 steals as a Freshman. Izaac Neal appeared in 23 games last season, averaging 5.3 minutes per game, and Will Brands played in 25 games last season, scoring a career high of 13 points against Sioux Falls.

Huskies also return Landon Riebel and include a roster with four incoming Freshman, Hamze Yusuf, Alex Schroepfer, Kevin Kemp, and Rhys Nebben as well as Junior transfer Luke Christensen from North Dakota State College of Science.

Scouting St. John's

The Johnnies finished second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) last season, falling in the MIAC Playoff Championship to Gustavus Adolphus College. The Johnnies graduated just one senior last year, meaning they'll have a returning team of experienced players. The Huskies are 15-7 all-time against St. John's winning the last match-up 73-67.

In the 2025-26 season, Peyton Podany led the Johnnies in scoring averaging 15 points per game as a Freshman. He also led the team in rebounds per game with 5.9 while Baiden Bean led the team and the MIAC conference in assists per game with 5.5.

The Johnnies are coached by Pat Mckenzie who's in his 12th season with the team. McKenzie led SJU to its sixth MIAC playoff championship game in the past seven seasons last year, earning his 200th-career victory in a 74-71 win over Central (Iowa) in the Johnnies' home opener. SJU tied for second in the conference and earned the No. 2 seed in the MIAC playoffs, the program's 14th-consecutive appearance and 32nd since the postseason tournament started in 1984-85.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the teams on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.