BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University's men's basketball team was picked to win both the South Division and overall title in the annual 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Thursday.
 
SMSU senior guard, Jakob Braaten, was also named the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year.
 
In the overall poll, SMSU earned 219 points, with 11 first-place votes (coaches can't vote for their own team). St. Cloud State was selected second with 194 points (two first-place votes), followed by Minnesota State (189, one first-place vote), Concordia-St. Paul (179, one first-place vote) in fourth, while Augustana (one first-place vote) and Minnesota Duluth were picked tied for fifth (174).
 
In the South Division poll, SMSU earned 48 points, including six first-place votes to finish atop the division. St. Cloud State (two first-place votes) garnered 44 points for second place with Augustana and Minnesota State picked third (31), followed by Concordia-St. Paul (30), Sioux Falls (15), Winona State (14) and Wayne State (11).
 
Minnesota Duluth was chosen as the favorite to win the NSIC North Division followed by MSU Moorhead, Minot State, Bemidji State, Northern State, Jamestown, Minnesota Crookston and UMary. Junior guard Caleb Siwek from Minnesota Duluth was chosen as the NSIC North Division Preseason Player of the Year.
 
The NSIC is returning to divisions for the first time since the 2022-23 season. The NSIC tournament will feature 12 teams and will be seeded by division (S 1-6 & N 1-6) using overall conference record (22 games). The tournament will begin on Feb. 25 with first round games played on campus sites. The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship games will take place Feb. 28-March 3 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The top two seeds in each division will receive a first-round bye.
 
Braaten earned All-NSIC first team honors last season leading SMSU in scoring at 14.3 points per game, while pouring in a team-high 159 field goals and leading the squad with 102 assists. He tied for first on the team with 53 steals, ranked third in rebounding at 5.6 per game and shot 53 percent (159 of 299) from the field.
 
"Jakob has been one of those players who got better every year he was in college," said SMSU head coach Brad Bigler. "As we begin this season he understands the challenge ahead. Jakob is a complete player. His skill set combined with his strength gives him many advantages on both offense and defense. What I appreciate most about Jakob is that we can coach him hard. His humility allows for him to be coached. This sets a great example for everyone in the program."
 
SMSU returns 10 letter winners and four starters from last season's 21-9 team that won a share of the NSIC regular season championship with a record of 16-6. It was the third regular season championship (2001, 2009, 2025) in team history along with two division championships (2017, 2018). The team also advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season and seventh in team history.   
 
Joining Braaten as a returning double-digit scorer from last season is junior forward Aeron Stevens, who earned All-NSIC second team accolades a season ago. Stevens averaged 13.9 ppg and tied for the team lead in rebounding at 5.9 per game. Junior guard Steven Kramer returns after starting all 30 games last season and averaging 9.8 ppg and 3.8 rpg, while senior guard Mason Lund also is back after making 30 starts a season ago and ranking second on the team with 49 3-pointers and averaging 9.1 ppg.  
 
Junior guard Mekhi Shaw started six games last season averaging 7.9 ppg, while ranking tied for first on the team with 53 steals and second with 76 assists. Also returning is sophomore guard Landon Pokorski, who played in 15 games and averaged 4.7 ppg. Senior forward Caleb Schlaak appeared in 26 games averaging 3.2 ppg, while sophomore forward Calvin Buss averaged 2.9 ppg in 29 games.
 
Sophomore guard Buay Koak and sophomore center Ethan Koltz both return after seeing limited time last season.
 
"This year's team has several key players coming back from last year's NSIC regular season co-champion," Bigler said. "Our fan base is excited about this group. We have a lot of people giving us praise which is ok. As a coach, it's my responsibility to keep us in a space where we put in the work. Everyone in the NSIC works hard. That's what makes our conference one of the best in the country. It will be another fun year of NSIC hoops."
 
The Mustang roster features four seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and four true freshmen.
 
Bigler, a two-time NSIC Coach of the Year and the program's all-time leader in victories, begins his 17th season with a career record of 261-199. During his time as head coach, SMSU has made five NCAA tournament appearances, won one NSIC regular season title, two NSIC South Division championships, a pair of NSIC tournament championships and has played in five NSIC tournament championship games.
 
The Mustangs opens the regular season on Nov. 15-16 competing at MIAA/NSIC Challenge in Hays, Kan., and will face both Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney.
 
SMSU opens NSIC play at the University of Sioux Falls on Nov. 25 and will open its 12-game home schedule on Dec. 6 versus Wayne State.