St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Ranked 2nd in NSIC Preseason Poll, Wyatt Hawks Named South Division Player of the Year

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball was projected to finish first in the 2026-27 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Poll (NSIC) announced by the league office Friday morning. Senior forward Wyatt Hawks was named the South Division preseason Player of the Year, after a 2025-26 season where he was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Year.

Huskies Hoops is Back

The Huskies are coming off one of their best seasons in the Quincy Henderson era, posting 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.

"I am excited about the growth potential of this team." said Henderson. "This is the most tenured group our staff has had at SCSU, and we've enjoyed every minute of working with these guys. The 11 returners have meshed well with our incoming 5 and preseason workouts have been competitive. I'm not entirely sure what the final result will look like, but I know this group will play inspired basketball. The NSIC looks to be incredibly competitive yet again, which should make for some high-level basketball night in and night out."

Coming off a career season in Huskies history, Wyatt Hawks accumulated several accolades including the D2CCA Second Team All-Central Region, First Team All-NSIC, and NSIC All-Tournament Team. Hawks started 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).

"Wyatt has been a steady presence for our program the past three years." said Coach Henderson. "Like many of our recruits, he was relatively unheralded coming out of White Bear Lake. Yet, he got to work, bought in to what was asked of him, and has turned himself into an exceptional NSIC player. His year-to-year growth has been a joy to watch, and he has elevated the SCSU basketball program during his time here. He is a great player, a great teammate, and a joy to coach. I am excited to see what he does in his senior season. He has been heavily invested in our program and has forged strong relationships in the process. Once hoops is over, I know he'll have a tremendously positive impact on whatever community is fortunate enough to have him."

The Huskies will return four of their top five scorers from last season including 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, 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.

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 Junior Landon Riebel and bring in four Freshman, Hamze Yusuf, Alex Schroepfer, Kevin Kemp, and Rhys Nebben as well as Junior transfer Luke Christensen from North Dakota State College of Science.

2026-27 NSIC Preseason Poll

1. Minnesota State-Mankato (T-1 South)

2. St. Cloud State University (T-1 South)

3. University of Minnesota-Duluth (#1 North)

4. Southwest Minnesota State (#3 South)

5. Concordia-St. Paul (#5 South)

6. Augustana (#6 South)

Winona State (#4 South)

8. Minnesota State-Moorhead (#2 North)

9. Bemidji State (#4 North)

10. Northern State (#3 North)

11. University of Sioux Falls (#7 South)

12. Wayne State (#8 South)

13. Jamestown (#5 North)

14. Minot State (T-6 North)

University of Minnesota-Crookston (T-6 North)

16. UMary (#8 North)

From the NSIC

NSIC coaches rank each team in the NSIC in the overall poll and team from their division in the divisional poll. In the overall poll coaches rank from 1 to 15 with a first-place vote receiving 15 points, second place 14, third place 13, etc. Coaches do not rank their own team or vote for their own players.

The regular season champion will be based on the 22-game NSIC schedule. Each team will play teams in their division twice (14 divisional games) and teams in the other division once (8 out-of-division games). An NSIC North and South Division Champion will also be awarded. Divisional standings will also be based on all 22 NSIC contests played. In the event of a tie, co-champions will be awarded.

Look Ahead

The Huskies will kick off their season with an exhibition against St. John's University (MN) on October 29th in Collegeville at 6:00 p.m. CT. They'll begin the regular season on November 9th in a non-conference contest against the University of Minnesota-Crookston.

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.