October 23, 2025

HELENA, Mont. – The 2025-26 NAIA Men’s Basketball officially kicks off their season tonight.  One Frontier Conference team will be in action Thursday evening (tonight) as Providence (Mont.) makes their trip to Life Pacific (Calif.) in the season opening game.  The Argos continue their action on Saturday at The Master’s (Calif.).

Bellevue (Neb.) kicks off their season Friday evening as they host their two-day Chick-fil-A Classic with Haskell (Kan.) and Hastings (Neb.).  Dickinson State (N.D.) and Montana Tech will play Eastern Oregon this weekend in Butte, Mont.  In addition, MSU-Northern and Carroll (Mont.) will play St. Thomas (Fla.) in Helena this weekend.

Mayville State (N.D.) begins their season Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon versus Providence (Manitoba).  Montana Western travels to Evergreen State (Wash.) on Sunday for the season opening contest.

The remaining Frontier Conference teams will open their 2025-26 season next week.

The Frontier Conference features a 22-game schedule, starting in mid-November.  The four-day postseason conference tournament - the top eight teams in the standings after the final regular season games - will be held at Butte Civic Center in Butte on Feb. 27 through March 2, with the first two days serving as the quarterfinals round, followed by the semifinals round on the third day, and the championship game on the final day.

The twelve Frontier Conference Men’s Basketball Coaches announce their Players to Watch for the 2025-26 season.  

Bellevue - Ahamad Bynum

• 6’3” senior guard from Chicago, Ill.; transfer from UTEP
• 10.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg

Bismarck State - Avery Wesley

• 6’1” sophomore guard from Pittsburgh, Pa.
• 11.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.0 apg

Carroll - Isaiah Crane

• 6’0” redshirt sophomore guard from Portland, Ore.
• Frontier Conference 1^st Team All-Conference
• Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year
• 19.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg

Dakota State - Brayden Pankonen

• 5’9” junior guard from Dell Rapids, S.D.
• 10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.0 spg
• North Star Athletic Association All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2024-25
• NSAA Freshman of the Year in 2023-24

Dickinson State - Cordell Stinson

• 6’5” senior forward from Reno, Nev.
• 2^nd Team North Star Athletic Association All-Conference
• NSAA All-Defense Team
• 9.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.8 spg

Mayville State - Isaiah Smith

• 6’3” junior guard from Tucson, Ariz.
• Transfer from Cochise College
• 9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 spg

Montana Tech - Hayden Diekhans

• 6’6” senior forward from Geraldine, Mont.
• Frontier Conference Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year
• Frontier Conference 1^st Team All-Conference
• NAIA Men’s Basketball All-America 2^nd Team
• 13.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg

Montana Western - Kyle Gruhler

• 6’5” senior guard from Vancouver, Wash.
• Frontier Conference 1^st Team All-Conference
• Frontier Conference Newcomer of the Year
• 14.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.7 spg

MSU-Northern - Leon Sayers IV

• 6’7” senior forward from Spokane, Wash.
• Frontier Conference Honorable Mention
• 11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.5 spg

Providence - Quinn Swanson

• 6’1” sophomore guard from Mount Vernon, Wash.
• 5.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.5 spg

Rocky Mountain - Omari Nesbit

• 6’1” senior guard from Sacramento, Calif.
• Frontier Conference 2^nd Team All-Conference
• 11.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.5 spg

Valley City State - Caden Grinde

• 6’4” senior guard from Spring Grove, Minn.
• 5.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.4 spg

Don’t forget to download the Frontier Conference app, in partnership with Snap! Mobile.  The app is free to download in the App Store on Apple or Google Play for Android.  Click here to download the Frontier Conference app.