MANKATO, Minn. – The 2025-26 season for Bethany men's basketball begins this weekend at the Mickey Johnson Tip-Off Classic, hosted by Aurora University (Ill.), and the Vikings will see a dramatic turnover from last year's UMAC playoff championship team.
 
The Vikings, who were picked third in the UMAC preseason coaches poll, lost nearly 90 percent of their scoring from last year, while returning one starter and eight players. This year's squad features two seniors, seven juniors, eight sophomores, seven first-years, and a total of nine transfer students.
 
"It's a bit of an opportunity for a lot of new guys," said Head Coach Pat Garvin, who enters his sixth season at the helm. "It's the first time in my time here that we've had this much turnover on a roster due to graduation. But we're excited. This is the youngest team I've ever coached by far. But this time of year, that youthful energy has really helped us. We've had a lot of really good days, a lot of energy and great work ethic, and a lot of guys competing for minutes. But then sometimes it helps to have some veterans that kind of know how to win some games. We're going to be thrown into the fire here early and see what shakes out, but I'm excited for this young group to form their own identity."
 
Jack Brockmann (So., Lake Crystal) is the lone returning starter after averaging 25.0 minutes, 8.6 points, and 5.8 rebounds last year. Brockmann also recorded a team-high 32 blocks and shot 60.6 percent from the field.
 
"Obviously, he's the most experienced returner that we have," said Garvin. "He started a lot of games at the five last year. He's that lead-by-example type guy. I don't know if we necessarily have an alpha male on the floor, and we definitely don't have an alpha male in the locker room either, but that's okay. We have leadership as a group."
 
Other leaders on the team include Rysley Borman (So., Pipestone), Kaden Butler (So., Hutchinson), and Will Walter (So., Sleepy Eye). Borman is a transfer who played in 29 games last season at Dakota State. Butler and Walter are returners who saw limited minutes last season with the Vikings.
 
"Those guys are kind of our captains, our leaders," said Garvin. "This is a group that's really tight and bought into each other where any given day we have a number of guys that'll be vocal on things."
 
With such a dramatic turnover on the roster, many newcomers will be looked upon to play significant roles. Those newcomers feature a number of transfers. Max Briggs (Jr., Woodbury) played in 22 games last season for UW-Superior, Blue Smaller (Sr., Minneapolis) played in 21 games and shot 70.3 percent from the floor last year at North Central, and Amory Peterson (So., Brooklyn Park) saw limited minutes at Superior. First-year players who Garvin says will be fighting for minutes include Cooper Mensink (Marshall), Hudson Jenniges (Walnut Grove), and Ricky Wengert (Rochester).
 
"We're starting three sophomores, a junior, and a senior on Friday night," said Garvin. "It's going to be a young group. And basically, one of those guys has played legitimate minutes. But we're on the same page as a program of what we try to do, and then we really preach a day-to-day process. And if you start thinking too far ahead about January, February, March, you're going to fall short of your goals. We know what's out there, we know what chances we have, but really, we just try to preach to our guys that every day matters and it takes every day guys to be good. And the more you buy into that, the more fun things are going to happen."
 
The season opener is against Rockford University at 6 p.m. Friday and then the Vikings play host Aurora at 5 p.m. Saturday. The home opener is Nov. 15 against Luther and after 13 non-conference games, the Vikings begin UMAC play Jan. 7 at home against Northwestern.