Men's Basketball | 10/9/2025 11:02:00 AM

Burnsville, Minn. – Basketball is back in the air. The NSIC announced the men's basketball annual preseason poll on Thursday morning.
 
Minnesota Crookston is projected to finish 15^th overall in the conference and seventh in the North half of the Northern Sun. The NSIC is moving back to two divisions with the addition of the University of Jamestown.
 
The conference announced two Preseason Players of the Year, one in each division. Jakob Braaten of Southwest Minnesota State University was named the Player of the Year in the South and Caleb Siwek of Minnesota Duluth was named the Player of the Year in the North.
 
Overall, Southwest Minnesota State is projected to finish atop the entire NSIC and the South Division. St. Cloud State earned a pair of first place votes, while Minnesota State, Concordia-St. Paul and Augustana round out the top five and each earned one first place vote.
 
In the North, Minnesota Duluth is picked to finish at the top of the division, while MSU Moorhead and Minot State see themselves in the top three. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish seventh.
 
Heading into his fourth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles, head coach Bryan Beamish likes what he had heading into the season.
 
"This year's roster has good length, versatility and speed. After graduating 6 seniors, my staff did a great job filling those positions," mentioned Beamish. "We have had good competition and energy so far in workouts. Building our team chemistry and trust will be important as we gear up for the season."
 
The most experienced Golden Eagle, Chandler Meeks (R-Jr., G, Omaha, Neb.) was selected as the player to watch for the Golden Eagles.
 
Meeks, coming off an injury suffered in early January, is expected to play a large role in the Golden Eagle backcourt.
 
Meeks played in 15 games a season ago before going down for the rest of the year with injury and averaged 9.7 points per game and 1.8 rebounds per game with seven double-digit scoring outputs on the season. Meeks scored a season-high 20 points in a loss to Parkside early in the season.
 
"Chandler has been a leader in our program since his freshman year. He's had to battle some adversity but his work ethic is unmatched and I'm really looking forward to getting him on the court again."
 
Coach Beamish also likes what Meeks brings on both ends of the floor.
 
"Chandler's ability to guard on defense, mixed with his attacking mindset on offense will help our team."
 
Minnesota Crookston will officially open practice for the season on Monday and lift the lid on the season on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 P.M., against Central Oklahoma, who was one win away from an NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago.