By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Coming off its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament overall and eighth under head coach Mark Johnson, Fort Hays State Men’s Basketball was picked atop one of two MIAA Preseason Polls released on Tuesday morning at MIAA Basketball Media Day, presented by Seigfried Bingham. The Tigers were picked first in the Media Poll and second in the Coaches Poll.
The Tigers led the Media Poll with nine first-place votes and 247 voting points overall. Pittsburg State was second with 229 points and three first-place votes, while Northwest Missouri State was third with 217 points and five first-place votes. Washburn and Central Oklahoma also picked up a pair of first-place votes.
In the Coaches Poll, Washburn led the way with 161 points overall and eight first-place votes. Fort Hays State was second with 156 points overall and three first-place votes. Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri State trailed in third and fourth respectively, also receiving first-place votes.
The Tigers finished second in the 2023-24 MIAA Men’s Basketball regular season standings behind Northwest Missouri State, which claimed its 11th-straight MIAA regular season title. Both the Tigers and Bearcats, along with Pittsburg State, were participants in the NCAA Central Regional last year in Mankato, Minnesota, home to the eventual region and national champion Minnesota State.
The Tigers return four players who started games during the 2023-24 season, including All-MIAA First Team and D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team selection Kaleb Hammeke. He will enter his fifth season on the floor for the Tigers after his first season was during the COVID-19 year in which all players retained a year of eligibility. Hammeke will enter the 2024-25 season with 1,559 points, 441 assists, and 432 rebounds. He ranks fifth in career scoring and fourth in career assists at FHSU. Hammeke averaged a team-best 13.6 points and 4.1 assists per game in 2023-24. Overall, he is a four-time All-MIAA selection.
Other starters returning include Shaun Riley, Traejon Davis, and R.J. Crawford. The trio combined for 19.6 points per game in 2023-24, while Riley and Davis each averaged better than four rebounds per game. Kyle Grilland Lucas Hammeke also return this season. Grill saw plenty of action in his first year on the floor for the Tigers, averaging 3.1 points, while Hammeke was limited to just eight games due to injury.
The strong suit of the Tigers in 2023-24 was their defense. They had the top scoring defense in NCAA Division II, allowing only 57.9 points per game. The Tigers held 15 opponents to less than 60 points last year and only four opponents reached at least 70 in a game. Their season high allowed was 77 in an overtime contest.
Fort Hays State will be in its 24th season under the leadership of Mark Johnson, who enters the year with a 451-220 record overall. He is the all-time wins leader at FHSU. The Tigers open their year with an exhibition contest at Kansas State University on October 29. Their regular season begins with a pair of contests in Marshall, Minn. on November 8-9 and host their first home game on November 19 against South Dakota School of Mines.
Below are the MIAA Preseason Men’s Basketball Polls for 2024-25.
2024-25 MIAA MEN’S PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Washburn [8] – 161 points
2. Fort Hays State [3] – 156 points
3. Pittsburg State [2] – 149 points
4. Northwest Missouri [1] – 125 points
5. Central Oklahoma – 120 points
6. Missouri Western – 105 points
7. Central Missouri – 96 points
8. Rogers State – 88 points
9. Emporia State – 79 points
10. Missouri Southern – 66 points
11. Northeastern State – 44 points
12. Nebraska Kearney – 39 points
13. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 24 points
14. Newman – 22 points
[#] – Number of First-Place Votes
2024-25 MIAA MEN’S PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
1. Fort Hays State [9] – 247 points
2. Pittsburg State [3] – 229 points
3. Northwest Missouri [5] – 217 points
4. Washburn [1] – 212 points
5. Central Oklahoma [1] – 174 points
6. Rogers State – 165 points
7. Missouri Western – 163 points
8. Emporia State – 134 points
9. Missouri Southern – 130 points
10. Central Missouri – 106 points
11. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 74 points
12. Northeastern State – 65 points
13. Nebraska Kearney – 42 points
14. Newman – 36 points
[#] – Number of First-Place Votes