By UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
It was a sunny, clear, and cool Friday morning in December in Hays, America, a week ago, and Tiger Basketball standout Bjarni Jonsson was still basking in the glow of a big victory.
The night before, Bjarni and his teammates had taken down perennial powerhouse and nationally ranked Northwest Missouri State University for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The 57-49 victory snapped a 16-game losing streak to the No. 17-ranked Bearcats.
“Before last night, I’d played them ten times and lost every time,” Bjarni said.
This is Bjarni’s final season with FHSU, and the team is off to an impressive 8-2 start.
“I think this team is more athletic than last year’s team, and we have a great mix of veterans and new guys. We are all committed to playing at the level Coach Johnson expects,” he said. “Our team defense was the difference in the Northwest Missouri game.”
Jonsson is not a last name you come across very often in Western Kansas. That’s because Bjarni Jonsson is not from around here. He is from Iceland, a wind-swept island nation in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Bjarni is from the coastal fishing town of Borgarnes, which is located north of the capital city of Reykjavik.
While soccer is the premiere sport for most Icelandic kids, Bjarni’s childhood asthma initially drove him to focus on the indoor sport of basketball. He would quickly fall in love with and excel in the sport.
Bjarni’s basketball career kicked into high gear when the lanky 6-foot 7-inch 15-year-old was invited to join the hometown Skallagrimur semi-professional team. Playing nightly against grown men, many with professional and American college experience, the young Bjarni had to adapt to a grinding and physical style of play.
“I had to get tough around the basket and more aggressive on defense pretty fast,” he said.
Bjarni went on to play on the U-18 Icelandic National Team in 2017 and the European Championships for the U-20 Icelandic National Team in 2018. A seasoned veteran of international competitions, he played 30 games for Iceland’s junior national team and two games for his nation’s national team.
One of his Skallagrimur teammates was former FHSU star Dom Samac. Through Samac, Bjarni connected with FHSU Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Johnson, who watched some film of the young Icelander and immediately saw the qualities he looks for in a potential recruit.
“Dom told us about him, and they sent us some film,” Coach Johnson said. “The main thing that stood out was his effort and toughness. I think his nickname was ‘Mr. Charge’ because he took so many charges and was just a physical and tough guy. With his size, quickness, and toughness, we thought he was definitely worthy of an opportunity to play here.”
Knowing little to nothing about the American college experience, let alone anything about life on the High Plains of Kansas, Bjarni took a leap of faith and committed to FHSU. While he encountered several challenges during his transition, he’s always enjoyed teammates who had his back. One of his best friends on the team is Junior Kaleb Hammeke.
“Kaleb and his family in Hutchinson and his grandparents here in Hays, Mr. and Mrs. Swift, are like my second families,” Bjarni said.
The global COVID pandemic necessitated significant changes to college sports throughout 2021. The pandemic also meant that Bjarni would have to remain in Iceland when he desperately wanted to be back on the FHSU campus, playing the game he loved. But it was also during the pandemic that a whirlwind courtship with the daughter of an Atlantic cod fisherman led to marriage for Bjarni and his wife, Bjorg. The two are expecting their first child next spring.
Bjarni will graduate on Friday, Dec. 15, with a degree in computer science and a wealth of professional experience from a recent computer science internship.
He can look back with pride on stellar academic and athletic careers at FHSU. He earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention honors last spring. He was named to the MIAA All-Defensive team in 2022 and 2023. He was also named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll in each of his seasons at FHSU.
Next up for Bjarni and Bjorg after he finishes his FHSU basketball career, this spring will be parenthood and pursuing professional playing opportunities in Europe.
“The dream would be playing in Spain, Germany, or Italy,” Bjarni said. “But I’ll go after the best opportunity for our family.”
But professional ball will have to wait.
Bjarni will close out his career as a Tiger during the second semester, and he and his teammates are determined to build on their fast start with a goal of stretching the season deep into March.