SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A year after finishing runner-up in the Summit League regular season standings, Kansas City was selected to top them in the 2024-25 men’s basketball preseason poll, while Oral Roberts graduate student Issac McBride was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year, league officials announced Tuesday. The voting panel included the League’s nine head coaches, sports information directors and select media members.

The Roos finished 10-6 a season ago under the direction of Summit League Coach of the Year Marvin Menzies as the program posted its best finish since the 2004-05 season. Kansas City earned nearly half of the first-place votes in the poll, securing 514 points and 17 top-spot selections.

South Dakota State, the reigning regular season and tournament champions, was picked to finish second. The Jackrabbits won the regular season by two games thanks to a 12-4 mark and earned 474 points and 12 first-place votes.

Menzies will have Newcomer of the Year Jamar Brown, a first team all-league selection, and Freshman of the Year Jayson Petty back amongst a core group of players that return for the third-year head coach.

Six of the nine programs received at least one first-place vote, including North Dakota State, who was slotted third with 384 points and three first-place tallies. The Bison are guided by Dave Richman, who is the league’s longest-tenured head coach entering his 11^th season.

St. Thomas, who has finished fourth in each of the past two seasons, was selected to finish their again by the voters, earning 308 points and holding a slight advantage on fifth-place Oral Roberts by three points. The Golden Eagles earned 305 points.

North Dakota, who shared second place with Kansas City a year ago, was picked to finish sixth with 283 points. The Fighting Hawks earned one first-place vote as did South Dakota, who took seventh with 250 points.

In the closest margin between two spots, Omaha and Denver, a tournament finalist for the first time in program in 2024, rounded out the poll and were separated by just one point. The Mavericks finished with 159 points while the Pioneers garnered 158 points.

McBride is the league’s top returning scorer after averaging 20.0 ppg against League foes for an Oral Roberts squad that endured a 5-11 league campaign after winning regular season and tournament titles in 2022-23. Brown, who averaged 16.5 ppg and pulled down 5.8 rpg, and McBride are the only returning all-league players from the 11 that were named to the first and second teams.

 

Joining Brown and McBride on the first team were St. Thomas’ Kendall Blue, the North Dakota duo of Treysen Eaglestaff and Amar Kuljuhovic, and South Dakota’s Kaleb Stewart. Kuljuhovic and Stewart were part of the all-newcomer team a season ago that Brown was also a member of.

The all-preseason second team was comprised of South Dakota State’s Oscar Cluff, who was the only newcomer among the 11 honored, Denver’s DeAndre Craig, Cluff’s Jackrabbit teammate Kalen Garry, Omaha’s Marquel Sutton and North Dakota State’s Jacari White.

Points for the preseason poll were compiled on a 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, while all-league teams were compiled on an 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. The top six vote-getters earned first-team honors and the next five were selected to the second team. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes or team.

2024-25 Preseason Summit League Player of the Year

Issac McBride, Oral Roberts

Preseason All-Summit League First Team

Kendall Blue, St. Thomas, (11.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg)#

Jamar Brown, Kansas City, Sr., G (16.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg)#

Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota, Jr., G (12.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg)#

Amar Kuljuhovic, North Dakota, Sr., F (9.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg)#

Issac McBride, Oral Roberts, Gr., G (20.0 ppg, 3.1 apg)#

Kaleb Stewart, South Dakota, Sr., G (15.6 ppg; 1.6 apg)#

Preseason All-Summit League Second Team

Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State (7.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg)**

DeAndre Craig, Denver (5.5 ppg, 2.6 apg)#

Kalen Garry, South Dakota State (5.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg)#

Marquel Sutton, Omaha (14.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg)#

Jacari White, North Dakota State (11.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg)#

*Preseason Player of the Year automatically earns a spot on first team

#stats are from 2023-24 Summit League games

**stats are from 2023-24 Pac 12 conference games

2024-25 Summit League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll

 
#SummitMBB | #ReachTheSummit