March 5, 2025
HELENA, Mont. – The Frontier Conference announced their 2024-25 Men’s Basketball All-Conference and postseason individual award winners Wednesday. The award recipients are selected by the six head coaches in the conference, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Junior forward Hayden Diekhans of Montana Tech was voted as this year’s Frontier Conference Player-of-the-Year and Defensive Player-of-the-Year. He shot 57.1 percent from the field (88-of-154 field goals) during the conference season. He also leads the overall field goal percentage in the conference with 56.8 percent. Diekhans ranks fourth overall with 7.2 rebounds per game.
Diekhans received the conference’s Defensive Player-of-the-Year for the second straight year for the Orediggers.
Kyle Gruhler of Montana Western was selected as the Newcomer-of-the-Year. His teammate Jacob Ankeny was named the Sixth Man Player-of-the-Year.
Freshman of the Year went to Isaiah Crane of Carroll.
Adam Hiatt was named the conference’s Coach-of-the-Year for the third straight year. He guided the Orediggers to their fourth consecutive regular season and postseason tournament titles. Montana Tech also received the conference’s automatic bid to the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Tournament, which is set to kick off the First and Second Rounds on March 14-15.
| 2024-25 Frontier Men's Basketball Awards |
| Player-of-the-Year: |
Hayden Diekhans, Montana Tech |
| Newcomer-of-the-Year: |
Kyle Gruhler, Montana Western |
| Defensive Player-of-the-Year: |
Hayden Diekhans, Montana Tech |
| Freshman of the Year: |
Isaiah Crane, Carroll |
| 6th Man Player-of-the-Year: |
Jacob Ankeny, Montana Western |
| Coach-of-the-Year: |
Adam Hiatt, Montana Tech |
| 2024-25 Men's Basketball First Team All-Conference |
| Player |
School |
Pos. |
Year |
Hometown |
| Hayden Diekhans |
Montana Tech |
Forward |
Junior |
Geraldine, Mont. |
| Jamil Bowles |
Providence |
Guard |
Senior |
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. |
| Isaiah Crane |
Carroll |
Guard |
Redshirt Freshman |
Portland, Ore. |
| Kyle Gruhler |
Montana Western |
Guard |
Junior |
Vancouver, Wash. |
| Jaylon Lee |
Rocky Mountain |
Forward |
Junior |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Keeley Bake |
Montana Tech |
Guard |
Senior |
Fairfield, Mont. |
| Antoine Boyd, Jr. |
Providence |
Guard |
Senior |
St. Petersburg, Fla. |
| 2024-25 Men's Basketball Second Team All-Conference |
| Player |
School |
Pos. |
Year |
Hometown |
| Jalyn Stepney |
Montana Western |
Guard |
Senior |
Seattle, Wash. |
| Ifeanyi Okeke |
Montana Tech |
Forward |
Senior |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. |
| Jesse Owens |
Rocky Mountain |
Guard |
Senior |
Billings, Mont. |
| Isaac Round |
Carroll |
Forward |
Freshman |
Northampton, England |
| Abi Adedo |
Montana Western |
Forward |
Senior |
London, England |
| Omari Nesbit |
Rocky Mountain |
Guard |
Junior |
Sacramento, Calif. |
| 2024-25 Men's Basketball Honorable Mention All-Conference |
| Player |
School |
|
|
|
| Leon Sayers IV |
MSU-Northern |
|
|
|
| Jack Reardon |
MSU-Northern |
|
|
|
| 2024-25 Men's Basketball All-Defensive Team |
| Player |
School |
Pos. |
Year |
Hometown |
| Hayden Diekhans |
Montana Tech |
Forward |
Junior |
Geraldine, Mont. |
| Ifeanyi Okeke |
Montana Tech |
Forward |
Senior |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. |
| Onwaja Thomas |
MSU-Northern |
Forward |
Senior |
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. |
| Kevin Bethel |
Montana Western |
Guard |
Senior |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Jaylon Lee |
Rocky Mountain |
Forward |
Junior |
Las Vegas, Nev. |