University of St. Thomas Athletics
Monday, November 2
Clinton, S.C.
6:00 p.m. CT
at
Presbyterian
Photo by: kyliemacziewskiphotography.mypixieset.com
2024
10/30/2026 9:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Tommies and Blue Hose play for first time ever to tip-off non-conference schedule
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The University of St. Thomas men's basketball team opens its 2026-27 season Monday, Nov. 2, traveling to Clinton, S.C., for a 6 p.m. CT matchup against Presbyterian at Templeton Center. The Tommies and Blue Hose will meet for the first time in program history, with the season opener streaming live on ESPN+.
TUNE IN
at Presbyterian
Clinton, S.C. | Templeton Center
Watch | Live Stats | Listen
SERIES HISTORY | Presbyterian
St. Thomas and Presbyterian have never played. The Tommies are 1-0 against Big South opponents after beating UNC Asheville 80-59 on Dec. 13, 2025 in Asheville, N.C. The win marked the 300th career victory for St. Thomas Head Coach Johnny Tauer, becoming the fastest head coach in program history to reach the milestone (411 games).
THE NEXT CHAPTER: CHASING 25
St. Thomas enters the 2026-27 season looking to build on one of the most successful stretches in program history. The Tommies tied their Division I single-season record with 24 victories in 2025-26, marking their third consecutive season with at least 20 wins and their fourth straight with at least 19. St. Thomas also advanced to the Summit League Championship semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.
The Tommies' 24 victories were the third most by a program during its first full season of NCAA postseason eligibility. St. Thomas also finished with the highest end-of-season NET and KenPom rankings among Summit League programs, closing at No. 113 in the NET and No. 115 in KenPom.
THREE TOMMIES, ONE FIRST TEAM
St. Thomas placed three players on the 2026-27 Preseason All-Summit League First Team, the only instance for a Summit League program since the Tommies joined the league. Graduate students Carter Bjerke, earning his second preseason all-league first team honor, and Kendall Blue and junior Austin Herro earned the distinction after the Tommies were picked second in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
St. Thomas received 410 points and 11 first-place votes, finishing eight points behind preseason favorite North Dakota State, which collected 418 points and 13 first-place votes. South Dakota State ranked third with 396 points and seven first-place votes.
THE TAUER STANDARD
Johnny Tauer enters his 16th season as head coach of St. Thomas men's basketball in 2026-27, continuing a tenure that has spanned the program's success in Division III and its transition to Division I.
In December 2025, Tauer earned his 300th career victory at St. Thomas with an 80-59 win at UNC Asheville. He reached the milestone in 411 games, faster than either of the program's previous 300-win head coaches, Steve Fritz and Tom Feely. The Tommies have won at least 19 games in each of the past four seasons and have recorded the Summit League's most overall victories since 2022-23.
CARTER BJERKE: A MODERN UNICORN
Graduate student Carter Bjerke returns for his fifth season with St. Thomas after establishing himself as one of the most productive 3-point shooters in the program's Division I history. He is just one of eight players across NCAA DI who is in their fifth season with the same program, all while growing up attending Head Coach Johnny Tauer's basketball camps and being the son of two St. Thomas alumni.
Bjerke started all 34 games in 2025-26, averaging 9.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44.9% from beyond the arc, including 53.0% during conference play to lead the league.
His most memorable performance came Feb. 1 against Kansas City, when he scored a career-high 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting from 3-point range. The 10 made 3-pointers tied St. Thomas' all-time single-game record, originally set by Curt Kietzer in 1986-87. Bjerke also became the program's Division I career leader in made 3-pointers during a win over North Dakota State.
Bjerke enters his graduate season with 841 career points and 200 made 3-pointers. He needs 159 points to become the fourth Tommie to reach 1,000 career points in Division I games. He also returns after earning honorable mention All-Summit League recognition and a place on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team in 2025-26.
BACK IN PURPLE
Graduate student Kendall Blue returns to St. Thomas for the 2026-27 season after spending the 2025-26 campaign at Nebraska, where he was part of a historic season for the Cornhuskers, having won a school-record 28 games and reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Blue appeared in 19 games, including 10 Big Ten contests, and made his NCAA Tournament debut during Nebraska's victory over Troy.
Blue spent the first three seasons of his career at St. Thomas, becoming the program's DI leader in starts by the end of his third season. He's one of three Tommies to score 1,000 career points in the Purple during the DI era and is one of 20 with 1,000 points and 375 rebounds all-time at St. Thomas. Blue has 17 career games with at least three 3-pointers made and 12 with at least 17 points.
HERRO'S BACKCOURT
Junior Austin Herro returns as one of St. Thomas' three Preseason All-Summit League First Team selections after starting 24 of 27 games played in. The Milwaukee native's seven-steal performance in a Jan. 15, 2026, win at North Dakota established a program Division I-era single-game record, as Herro also recorded 10 assists with 2 turnovers in the game for the program's second 10+ assist performance.
Herro finished last season ranked among the top 100 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (44th), leading the Summit League, and steals per game (84th), and ranked among the top 10 in the league in steals per game (3rd), assists per game (4th) and total steals (6th).
THE NEXT WAVE
With St. Thomas returning just over 28% of its minutes played from last season, the team will see fresh faces making appearances on the court in 2026-27. Bjerke (24.8 mpg) and Herro (23.8 mpg) were each regular starters a season ago, while junior Hayden Tibbits (10.8 mpg) is the only other returner who averaged over 5.0 minutes per game.
The Tommies welcome in seven newcomers, six transfers including Blue, along with one true freshman.
LORENZ JOINS THE FRONTCOURT
Junior Jeremy Lorenz joins St. Thomas for the 2026-27 season after playing at DePaul and Wofford. He played at Wofford from 2023-25 before transferring to DePaul for the 2025-26 season. At DePaul, he appeared in nine games before missing the remainder of the season and averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game. He scored a season-high eight points and added three rebounds, three assists and two steals in one of his appearances.
Lorenz played in 59 games with 12 starts during his two seasons at Wofford, leading the Terriers in blocks both seasons. He recorded a career high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting during his freshman season against Coastal Carolina and put up 12 points and 10 rebounds during his collegiate debut against Brevard.
THE SUMMIT OF WINS
St. Thomas has established itself as one of the Summit League's most consistent programs since joining the conference in 2021-22. The Tommies totaled 87 victories from 2022-23 through 2025-26, eight more than the next-highest total among Summit League programs during that span.
The program's consistency extends beyond overall wins. St. Thomas recorded at least 12 home victories in each of the previous four seasons (52 total), the only Summit League program to accomplish that feat. The Tommies also rank fifth nationally in home winning percentage since 2022-23, posting a .912 mark during that period.
St. Thomas' 2025-26 season continued that trend with 24 wins, tying the program's Division I single-season record. The Tommies advanced to the Summit League Championship semifinals for the fourth straight season and finished with the league's highest NET and KenPom rankings.
OUR LUCKY PENNY
Though the location of Tommie Basketball changed over the past year, the success has not. Lee & Penny Anderson Arena carried over its home-court advantage for the Purple following a 14-1 campaign during its inaugural season. The Tommies opened the arena for basketball on Nov. 8, 2025, with an 83-76 victory over Army. The game marked the culmination of a project announced Jan. 17, 2023, and gave the program a new home as it continued its Division I development.
St. Thomas entered the 2025-26 season with an established home-court advantage and extended its nation-leading home winning streak to 28 games before the run ended with an 81-80 loss to North Dakota on Jan. 29, 2026. The streak began Feb. 8, 2024, and spanned two venues, including Schoenecker Arena and Anderson Arena.
Through its home games during the DI era, St. Thomas has won by an average margin of 21.1 points, including a margin of 15.1 points against DI opponents. Fourteen of the program's 42 home wins against DI opponents since that time have been by more than 20 points while 11 were decided by fewer than 10 points.
VALUE THE BALL
Ball security has long been a defining characteristic of Johnny Tauer's teams, and St. Thomas continued that tradition during its first five seasons of Division I competition.
The Tommies ranked among the nation's best in fewest turnovers per game in each of their first four Division I seasons, including a national-leading mark of 8.7 turnovers per game in 2021-22. They followed with 9.9 in 2022-23, 9.2 in 2023-24 and 9.5 in 2024-25.
St. Thomas continued its efficient approach in 2025-26, finishing among the nation's top 35 teams in turnovers per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Tommies averaged 16.8 assists per game and ranked 14th nationally with a 1.72 assist-to-turnover ratio.
EFFICIENT BY DESIGN
St. Thomas' offensive success during the 2025-26 season was built on shot selection, ball movement and an ability to convert opportunities around the basket. The Tommies ranked seventh nationally in effective field goal percentage at .589 and seventh in overall field goal percentage at .506. They also led the nation in 2-point field goal percentage at .630, the second-highest mark recorded by a Division I program since the 1996-97 season.
The Purple paired that efficiency inside with a productive perimeter attack, ranking 48th nationally with 9.6 made 3-pointers per game. Their balanced approach helped St. Thomas average 81.8 points per game, placing the Tommies among the nation's top 50 scoring offenses.
THE STANDARD IS SET
St. Thomas has made winning seasons a consistent part of its Division I identity. The Tommies recorded at least 19 victories in each of the past four seasons, including three consecutive 20-win campaigns from 2023-24 through 2025-26. Their 24 wins in 2025-26 tied the program's Division I single-season record.
The stretch also reflects the program's success through the final years of its Division I transition. St. Thomas became the only program to record four consecutive 19-win seasons spanning the final three seasons of its transition and its first full season of NCAA postseason eligibility.
The 2025-26 campaign marked another milestone, as the Tommies made their first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament during the Division I era. Their postseason berth followed four consecutive appearances in the Summit League Championship semifinals or better, including a title-game appearance in 2025.
FROM THE SUMMIT TO THE SPOTLIGHT
St. Thomas continues to demonstrate its ability to compete beyond the Summit League, entering the 2026-27 season with a nonconference schedule that features seven top-200 programs in the final 2025-26 NET Rankings and seven among the top-200 programs in the 2026-27 preseason Ken Pom Rankings. That group also includes UNC Wilmington, Liberty and UC San Diego as teams on Joe Lunardi's Bracketology as of Oct. 27, 2026.
The Tommies have two tests against Power 5 programs Nov. 6 at Minnesota, ranked 42 in the KenPom, and Dec. 22 at Stanford, ranked 67 in the KenPom. It will be the first time St. Thomas has faced a Big Ten or ACC program. St. Thomas is 0-4 against Power 5 schools since joining Division I, going 0-2 against the Big East and 0-2 against the Big 12.
St. Thomas' trip to the Live Oak Holiday Classic over Thanksgiving will put the Purple up against UNC Wilmington (105 KenPom), Liberty (139 KenPom), and traditional Ivy League power Princeton. After returning in December, St. Thomas welcomes in some of its toughest non-conference opponents to Anderson Arena as it hosts UC San Diego (91 KenPom) Dec. 15 and Arkansas State (191 KenPom) on Dec. 12.
THE START OF SOMETHING SPECIAL?
St. Thomas and Minnesota will meet on the basketball court for the first time in nearly 100 years when the Tommies travel to Williams Arena on Nov. 6, 2026. The matchup marks the eighth all-time meeting between the programs and their first since Dec. 11, 1934. Minnesota won the most recent meeting, while St. Thomas' lone victory in the series came Dec. 16, 1933.
All seven previous meetings took place at Minnesota, making the upcoming contest another chapter in a series that predates the modern Division I era. The game will also be the first meeting between the programs since St. Thomas completed its transition to Division I and gained full NCAA postseason eligibility.
Minnesota finished the 2025-26 season 15-18 overall during Head Coach Niko Medved's first season at the helm. The Gophers finished 8-12 in Big Ten play and went 2-0 against Summit League opponents last season.
BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
St. Thomas returns to Lee & Penny Anderson Arena for its home opener Nov. 8, welcoming Green Bay for the first of 15 scheduled regular-season home games in 2026-27. The Tommies opened the arena for basketball on Nov. 8, 2025, with an 83-76 victory over Army. The win marked the beginning of a new chapter for the program following the arena project's announcement in January 2023.
St. Thomas is 3-1 against Green Bay during its Division I era, while Head Coach Johnny Tauer is 2-0 against Phoenix Head Coach Doug Gottlieb. The Tommies have outscored the Phoenix 16.5 points per game over the past two seasons. Carter Bjerke led all returners with eight points against GB last season while Kendall Blue put up 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting during a 90-76 win in Green Bay, Wis., on Nov. 8, 2024.
A RETURN TO WEST POINT
St. Thomas returns to West Point on Nov. 14 for a rematch against Army, nearly one year after the Tommies opened Lee & Penny Anderson Arena with an 83-76 victory over the Black Knights. The November 2025 contest marked a milestone for St. Thomas, which had waited more than 1,000 days from the arena's announcement to its opening for basketball.
The matchup carries deep meaning beyond the court. Anderson Arena benefactor Lee Anderson, a West Point graduate, has long supported both institutions through his philanthropy. Adding to the connection, Edward C. Christl, namesake of Army's Christl Arena, grew up in Minneapolis and attended St. Thomas before entering the U.S. Military Academy in 1941. Christl was killed in action in 1945 and is buried at West Point Cemetery - his story linking the two universities through service, sacrifice, and shared legacy.
AN EARLY EXIT TO THE 2025-26 SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
No. 2 seed St. Thomas saw its Summit League Championship run end in the semifinal round with a narrow 67-66 loss to No. 3 North Dakota in Sioux Falls, S.D. Nolan Minessale led the Tommies with 23 points and nine rebounds while Ben Oosterbaan added 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. St. Thomas carried a 34-28 halftime lead despite shooting 35 percent from the field, controlling the glass with a 26-14 rebounding advantage and a 12-0 edge on the offensive boards.
North Dakota chipped away in the second half and eventually tied the game at 54-54 with just over seven minutes remaining. The teams traded the lead in the final minutes as Minessale converted a layup and two free throws to put St. Thomas ahead 64-63 before the Fighting Hawks responded. Minessale tied the game again with a late drive, but North Dakota drew a foul with 0.1 seconds remaining and made a decisive free throw to secure the 67-66 victory. Minessale was named to the Summit League All-Tournament Team, averaging 22.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
20-WIN THREE-PEAT, ONE COACH
The second victory over Oral Roberts on Feb. 7, 2026 secured St. Thomas' third straight 20-win season, the only Summit League team to do so since the Tommies joined the league in 2021-22. Among current Summit League programs, it's the fourth instance of three straight 20-win seasons since 2004 and the first time done with the one head coach through all three-plus seasons since Oral Roberts from 2004-08 (Scott Sutton). South Dakota State won at least 20 games from 2017-20 with two different head coaches, while North Dakota State did the same from 2012-16.
Head Coach Johnny Tauer secured his 10th 20-win season leading St. Thomas and the third of the Division I era. His teams have won at least 19 games in 12 of his 14 seasons (not including the 2020-21 COVID season). As a player from 1991-95, Tauer was part of two 20-win Tommie teams and totaled at least 19 wins in three of his four seasons on the team.
With it's 20th win of the 2025-26 season, St. Thomas became one of eight programs to reach the milestone during its first full season of NCAA Division I eligibility. The most recent was San Diego with 30 wins in 2024-25 while only three teams have reached 24 wins during their first full season. Of Summit League teams to transition to DI, only North Dakota State won at least 19 games in its first full season, securing 26 victories during the 2008-09 season.
Among teams to transition to Division I since 2000, St. Thomas is the only program to record four straight 19-win seasons through the final three seasons of its transition and into year one of full eligibility. St. Thomas joined Grand Canyon as the only teams to record three straight 20-win seasons through years 3 and 4 of its transition and into the first full season of eligibility into DI.
TRACKING THE MILESTONES
Carter Bjerke is the next Tommie approaching 1,000 career points in the Purple, entering his graduate season with 841 points. He's 22 points shy of tying Drake Dobbs for fourth in the program's DI scoring list, and will become the fourth Tommie with at least 1,000 points, joining Kendall Blue (1,026), Nolan Minessale (1,055) and Parker Bjorklund (1,131). Bjerke already owns the program's 3-point makes record with 200 and is 18 3-point attempts shy of current assistant coach Riley Miller for the most in the DI era. Bjerke also ranks third in 3-point field goal percentage and is fourth with 277 career rebounds. He has played in 101 career games for the Tommies, 31 shy of the program's career record.
BIG MAN, BIG 3-POINT RECORD
Redshirt junior Carter Bjerke set the program's Division I era single-game record with 10 3-pointers Feb. 1, 2026 against Kansas City, helping to a 99-64 win. He dropped seven in the first half, setting a career high in 3-point field goals and tying a career high 21 points over the first 20 minutes. Bjerke added three 3-pointers over the first nine minutes of the second half, recording his first career 30-point game, before sitting for the final 11:00 minutes of the game. The 10 3-pointers are tied for the fourth most ever by a Summit League player and it's the fourth instance last season of a DI player reaching 30 points on 3-pointers alone (Nov. 7: Harrison Reed, IUW, 12 3FGM; Nov. 21: Ruben Dominguez, Texas A&M, 10 3FGM; Dec. 2: Braden Appelhans, Drake, 10 3FGM).
Bjerke surpassed the previous DI era record of nine set by Riley Miller against Merrimack during the 2022-23 season and tied the St. Thomas all-time 3-point record set by Curt Kietzer during the 1986-87 season. Bjerke accounted for 10 of the team's 18 3-pointers against UMKC, which is the program's most against a DI opponent (22 twice versus DIII opponents).
AN OFFENSE NEVER SEEN IN THE SUMMIT
The 2025-26 Tommies did something the Summit League hadn't seen in over two decades: score at least 90 points in four straight games. The Tommies' scoring onslaught began Dec. 20, 2025 with a 92-78 win over UC Riverside before adding 105 points against North Central, 92 against Denver and 99 against South Dakota. The streak is the first instance in program history and is the third streak of at least three 90+ point games under Johnny Tauer, previously doing so during the 2017-18 season and twice during the 2012-13 seasons. Prior to Coach Tauer taking over in 2011, St. Thomas had just two three-game streaks, coming during the 1993-94 and 1971-72 seasons.
During all Summit League games last season, St. Thomas led the league scoring 85.7 per game. The average is the highest for a Summit League team since South Dakota State (87.1) in 2021-22 and the second highest since 2012-13. The Tommies' 83.2 points per game through the entire season ranked 49th among all of DI.
MR. 300
Johnny Tauer became the third St. Thomas head men's basketball coach to record 300 career victories, joining Steve Fritz (1980-2011) and Tom Feely (1954-1980), following the win at UNC Asheville. Tauer is the fastest of the three to reach the milestone, doing so in 411 games compared to 464 games for Fritz and 480 for Feely. Tauer is now just one of eight active coaches among all of NCAA with 300 victories and a .725 winning percentage at one school, and joins Gonzaga's Mark Few as the only two to do so currently at the Division I level. The only two head coaches in the Summit League with 300 career wins are Tauer and Paul Sather of North Dakota.
NOTHING BUT NET/KEN POM RANKING
St. Thomas finished the 2025-26 season 113 in the NET Rankings and 115 in the KenPom Rankings, both bests among Summit League teams. The Tommies' NET Ranking was ahead of programs from the Big Ten (3), ACC (2) and the Big 12 (1), while its KenPom Ranking was ahead of programs from the Big Ten (3), ACC (2) and the Big 12 (1).
Entering 2026-27, St. Thomas is currently 172 to lead all Summit League teams in the KenPom Rankings. North Dakota State trails just behind at 173 while South Dakota State is 232.
POLL TOMS
The Purple began the 2025-26 season receiving 78 votes in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and finished as the No. 20 ranked team with 135 votes. North Dakota State finished as the top ranked Summit League team last season at No. 8, while South Dakota State enters 2026-27 receiving the most votes among league members with 173 to rank No. 19. NDSU received 25 votes in the current preseason poll followed by five for St. Thomas.
St. Thomas is set to face three Mid-Major Top 25 ranked opponents and five that received votes during its non-conference schedule. All three of the Tommies' opponents for its Thanksgiving tournament enter the season ranked: No. 4 UNC Wilmington, No. 20 Princeton and No. 21 Liberty.
St. Thomas landed on the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for the first time in program history in January 2025, debuting at No. 25 and reaching as high as No. 16 last season heading into the Summit League Championships.
WELCOME BACK, RILEY MILLER!
Tommie Basketball alum Riley Miller has rejoined the program as an assistant coach starting in 2026-27, replacing the vacancy left by Kenneth Lowe who moved on to his alma mater Purdue. Miller most recently served as a Video and Player Development Associate with the NBA's Houston Rockets, where he assisted with scouting, player development, and game preparation. Prior to his time with the Rockets, he served as an assistant coach at Macalester College, overseeing player development, and competed professionally in Australia's NBL1 Central league with the Southern Tigers, where he was named team captain during his rookie season.
In addition to his professional and collegiate coaching experience, Miller served as Associate Head Coach for the Tonga National Team program, working with both the men's and women's teams in player development, scouting, and practice planning.
As a student-athlete at St. Thomas from 2018-23, Miller was a three-time team captain and finished his career with the second-most three-pointers in program history. He earned D3hoops.com All-America honors and West Region Player of the Year recognition in 2020-21, was an All-MIAC selection in 2019-20, and received multiple academic honors, including Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence recognition and NABC Honors Court accolades. Miller earned his bachelor's degree in Business Marketing from the Opus College of Business in 2022 and later completed a Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing at St. Thomas.
The remainder of the staff, including Tauer, associate head coach Mike Maker, and assistant coach Cameron Rundles, continue to provide consistency as each have been on the Tommie bench since the start of the Division I era.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops. Tommie Athletics is now on TikTok at @tommiesports.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
TUNE IN
at Presbyterian
Clinton, S.C. | Templeton Center
Watch | Live Stats | Listen
SERIES HISTORY | Presbyterian
St. Thomas and Presbyterian have never played. The Tommies are 1-0 against Big South opponents after beating UNC Asheville 80-59 on Dec. 13, 2025 in Asheville, N.C. The win marked the 300th career victory for St. Thomas Head Coach Johnny Tauer, becoming the fastest head coach in program history to reach the milestone (411 games).
THE NEXT CHAPTER: CHASING 25
St. Thomas enters the 2026-27 season looking to build on one of the most successful stretches in program history. The Tommies tied their Division I single-season record with 24 victories in 2025-26, marking their third consecutive season with at least 20 wins and their fourth straight with at least 19. St. Thomas also advanced to the Summit League Championship semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.
The Tommies' 24 victories were the third most by a program during its first full season of NCAA postseason eligibility. St. Thomas also finished with the highest end-of-season NET and KenPom rankings among Summit League programs, closing at No. 113 in the NET and No. 115 in KenPom.
THREE TOMMIES, ONE FIRST TEAM
St. Thomas placed three players on the 2026-27 Preseason All-Summit League First Team, the only instance for a Summit League program since the Tommies joined the league. Graduate students Carter Bjerke, earning his second preseason all-league first team honor, and Kendall Blue and junior Austin Herro earned the distinction after the Tommies were picked second in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
St. Thomas received 410 points and 11 first-place votes, finishing eight points behind preseason favorite North Dakota State, which collected 418 points and 13 first-place votes. South Dakota State ranked third with 396 points and seven first-place votes.
THE TAUER STANDARD
Johnny Tauer enters his 16th season as head coach of St. Thomas men's basketball in 2026-27, continuing a tenure that has spanned the program's success in Division III and its transition to Division I.
In December 2025, Tauer earned his 300th career victory at St. Thomas with an 80-59 win at UNC Asheville. He reached the milestone in 411 games, faster than either of the program's previous 300-win head coaches, Steve Fritz and Tom Feely. The Tommies have won at least 19 games in each of the past four seasons and have recorded the Summit League's most overall victories since 2022-23.
CARTER BJERKE: A MODERN UNICORN
Graduate student Carter Bjerke returns for his fifth season with St. Thomas after establishing himself as one of the most productive 3-point shooters in the program's Division I history. He is just one of eight players across NCAA DI who is in their fifth season with the same program, all while growing up attending Head Coach Johnny Tauer's basketball camps and being the son of two St. Thomas alumni.
Bjerke started all 34 games in 2025-26, averaging 9.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44.9% from beyond the arc, including 53.0% during conference play to lead the league.
His most memorable performance came Feb. 1 against Kansas City, when he scored a career-high 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting from 3-point range. The 10 made 3-pointers tied St. Thomas' all-time single-game record, originally set by Curt Kietzer in 1986-87. Bjerke also became the program's Division I career leader in made 3-pointers during a win over North Dakota State.
Bjerke enters his graduate season with 841 career points and 200 made 3-pointers. He needs 159 points to become the fourth Tommie to reach 1,000 career points in Division I games. He also returns after earning honorable mention All-Summit League recognition and a place on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team in 2025-26.
BACK IN PURPLE
Graduate student Kendall Blue returns to St. Thomas for the 2026-27 season after spending the 2025-26 campaign at Nebraska, where he was part of a historic season for the Cornhuskers, having won a school-record 28 games and reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Blue appeared in 19 games, including 10 Big Ten contests, and made his NCAA Tournament debut during Nebraska's victory over Troy.
Blue spent the first three seasons of his career at St. Thomas, becoming the program's DI leader in starts by the end of his third season. He's one of three Tommies to score 1,000 career points in the Purple during the DI era and is one of 20 with 1,000 points and 375 rebounds all-time at St. Thomas. Blue has 17 career games with at least three 3-pointers made and 12 with at least 17 points.
HERRO'S BACKCOURT
Junior Austin Herro returns as one of St. Thomas' three Preseason All-Summit League First Team selections after starting 24 of 27 games played in. The Milwaukee native's seven-steal performance in a Jan. 15, 2026, win at North Dakota established a program Division I-era single-game record, as Herro also recorded 10 assists with 2 turnovers in the game for the program's second 10+ assist performance.
Herro finished last season ranked among the top 100 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (44th), leading the Summit League, and steals per game (84th), and ranked among the top 10 in the league in steals per game (3rd), assists per game (4th) and total steals (6th).
THE NEXT WAVE
With St. Thomas returning just over 28% of its minutes played from last season, the team will see fresh faces making appearances on the court in 2026-27. Bjerke (24.8 mpg) and Herro (23.8 mpg) were each regular starters a season ago, while junior Hayden Tibbits (10.8 mpg) is the only other returner who averaged over 5.0 minutes per game.
The Tommies welcome in seven newcomers, six transfers including Blue, along with one true freshman.
LORENZ JOINS THE FRONTCOURT
Junior Jeremy Lorenz joins St. Thomas for the 2026-27 season after playing at DePaul and Wofford. He played at Wofford from 2023-25 before transferring to DePaul for the 2025-26 season. At DePaul, he appeared in nine games before missing the remainder of the season and averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game. He scored a season-high eight points and added three rebounds, three assists and two steals in one of his appearances.
Lorenz played in 59 games with 12 starts during his two seasons at Wofford, leading the Terriers in blocks both seasons. He recorded a career high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting during his freshman season against Coastal Carolina and put up 12 points and 10 rebounds during his collegiate debut against Brevard.
THE SUMMIT OF WINS
St. Thomas has established itself as one of the Summit League's most consistent programs since joining the conference in 2021-22. The Tommies totaled 87 victories from 2022-23 through 2025-26, eight more than the next-highest total among Summit League programs during that span.
The program's consistency extends beyond overall wins. St. Thomas recorded at least 12 home victories in each of the previous four seasons (52 total), the only Summit League program to accomplish that feat. The Tommies also rank fifth nationally in home winning percentage since 2022-23, posting a .912 mark during that period.
St. Thomas' 2025-26 season continued that trend with 24 wins, tying the program's Division I single-season record. The Tommies advanced to the Summit League Championship semifinals for the fourth straight season and finished with the league's highest NET and KenPom rankings.
OUR LUCKY PENNY
Though the location of Tommie Basketball changed over the past year, the success has not. Lee & Penny Anderson Arena carried over its home-court advantage for the Purple following a 14-1 campaign during its inaugural season. The Tommies opened the arena for basketball on Nov. 8, 2025, with an 83-76 victory over Army. The game marked the culmination of a project announced Jan. 17, 2023, and gave the program a new home as it continued its Division I development.
St. Thomas entered the 2025-26 season with an established home-court advantage and extended its nation-leading home winning streak to 28 games before the run ended with an 81-80 loss to North Dakota on Jan. 29, 2026. The streak began Feb. 8, 2024, and spanned two venues, including Schoenecker Arena and Anderson Arena.
Through its home games during the DI era, St. Thomas has won by an average margin of 21.1 points, including a margin of 15.1 points against DI opponents. Fourteen of the program's 42 home wins against DI opponents since that time have been by more than 20 points while 11 were decided by fewer than 10 points.
VALUE THE BALL
Ball security has long been a defining characteristic of Johnny Tauer's teams, and St. Thomas continued that tradition during its first five seasons of Division I competition.
The Tommies ranked among the nation's best in fewest turnovers per game in each of their first four Division I seasons, including a national-leading mark of 8.7 turnovers per game in 2021-22. They followed with 9.9 in 2022-23, 9.2 in 2023-24 and 9.5 in 2024-25.
St. Thomas continued its efficient approach in 2025-26, finishing among the nation's top 35 teams in turnovers per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Tommies averaged 16.8 assists per game and ranked 14th nationally with a 1.72 assist-to-turnover ratio.
EFFICIENT BY DESIGN
St. Thomas' offensive success during the 2025-26 season was built on shot selection, ball movement and an ability to convert opportunities around the basket. The Tommies ranked seventh nationally in effective field goal percentage at .589 and seventh in overall field goal percentage at .506. They also led the nation in 2-point field goal percentage at .630, the second-highest mark recorded by a Division I program since the 1996-97 season.
The Purple paired that efficiency inside with a productive perimeter attack, ranking 48th nationally with 9.6 made 3-pointers per game. Their balanced approach helped St. Thomas average 81.8 points per game, placing the Tommies among the nation's top 50 scoring offenses.
THE STANDARD IS SET
St. Thomas has made winning seasons a consistent part of its Division I identity. The Tommies recorded at least 19 victories in each of the past four seasons, including three consecutive 20-win campaigns from 2023-24 through 2025-26. Their 24 wins in 2025-26 tied the program's Division I single-season record.
The stretch also reflects the program's success through the final years of its Division I transition. St. Thomas became the only program to record four consecutive 19-win seasons spanning the final three seasons of its transition and its first full season of NCAA postseason eligibility.
The 2025-26 campaign marked another milestone, as the Tommies made their first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament during the Division I era. Their postseason berth followed four consecutive appearances in the Summit League Championship semifinals or better, including a title-game appearance in 2025.
FROM THE SUMMIT TO THE SPOTLIGHT
St. Thomas continues to demonstrate its ability to compete beyond the Summit League, entering the 2026-27 season with a nonconference schedule that features seven top-200 programs in the final 2025-26 NET Rankings and seven among the top-200 programs in the 2026-27 preseason Ken Pom Rankings. That group also includes UNC Wilmington, Liberty and UC San Diego as teams on Joe Lunardi's Bracketology as of Oct. 27, 2026.
The Tommies have two tests against Power 5 programs Nov. 6 at Minnesota, ranked 42 in the KenPom, and Dec. 22 at Stanford, ranked 67 in the KenPom. It will be the first time St. Thomas has faced a Big Ten or ACC program. St. Thomas is 0-4 against Power 5 schools since joining Division I, going 0-2 against the Big East and 0-2 against the Big 12.
St. Thomas' trip to the Live Oak Holiday Classic over Thanksgiving will put the Purple up against UNC Wilmington (105 KenPom), Liberty (139 KenPom), and traditional Ivy League power Princeton. After returning in December, St. Thomas welcomes in some of its toughest non-conference opponents to Anderson Arena as it hosts UC San Diego (91 KenPom) Dec. 15 and Arkansas State (191 KenPom) on Dec. 12.
THE START OF SOMETHING SPECIAL?
St. Thomas and Minnesota will meet on the basketball court for the first time in nearly 100 years when the Tommies travel to Williams Arena on Nov. 6, 2026. The matchup marks the eighth all-time meeting between the programs and their first since Dec. 11, 1934. Minnesota won the most recent meeting, while St. Thomas' lone victory in the series came Dec. 16, 1933.
All seven previous meetings took place at Minnesota, making the upcoming contest another chapter in a series that predates the modern Division I era. The game will also be the first meeting between the programs since St. Thomas completed its transition to Division I and gained full NCAA postseason eligibility.
Minnesota finished the 2025-26 season 15-18 overall during Head Coach Niko Medved's first season at the helm. The Gophers finished 8-12 in Big Ten play and went 2-0 against Summit League opponents last season.
BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
St. Thomas returns to Lee & Penny Anderson Arena for its home opener Nov. 8, welcoming Green Bay for the first of 15 scheduled regular-season home games in 2026-27. The Tommies opened the arena for basketball on Nov. 8, 2025, with an 83-76 victory over Army. The win marked the beginning of a new chapter for the program following the arena project's announcement in January 2023.
St. Thomas is 3-1 against Green Bay during its Division I era, while Head Coach Johnny Tauer is 2-0 against Phoenix Head Coach Doug Gottlieb. The Tommies have outscored the Phoenix 16.5 points per game over the past two seasons. Carter Bjerke led all returners with eight points against GB last season while Kendall Blue put up 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting during a 90-76 win in Green Bay, Wis., on Nov. 8, 2024.
A RETURN TO WEST POINT
St. Thomas returns to West Point on Nov. 14 for a rematch against Army, nearly one year after the Tommies opened Lee & Penny Anderson Arena with an 83-76 victory over the Black Knights. The November 2025 contest marked a milestone for St. Thomas, which had waited more than 1,000 days from the arena's announcement to its opening for basketball.
The matchup carries deep meaning beyond the court. Anderson Arena benefactor Lee Anderson, a West Point graduate, has long supported both institutions through his philanthropy. Adding to the connection, Edward C. Christl, namesake of Army's Christl Arena, grew up in Minneapolis and attended St. Thomas before entering the U.S. Military Academy in 1941. Christl was killed in action in 1945 and is buried at West Point Cemetery - his story linking the two universities through service, sacrifice, and shared legacy.
AN EARLY EXIT TO THE 2025-26 SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
No. 2 seed St. Thomas saw its Summit League Championship run end in the semifinal round with a narrow 67-66 loss to No. 3 North Dakota in Sioux Falls, S.D. Nolan Minessale led the Tommies with 23 points and nine rebounds while Ben Oosterbaan added 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. St. Thomas carried a 34-28 halftime lead despite shooting 35 percent from the field, controlling the glass with a 26-14 rebounding advantage and a 12-0 edge on the offensive boards.
North Dakota chipped away in the second half and eventually tied the game at 54-54 with just over seven minutes remaining. The teams traded the lead in the final minutes as Minessale converted a layup and two free throws to put St. Thomas ahead 64-63 before the Fighting Hawks responded. Minessale tied the game again with a late drive, but North Dakota drew a foul with 0.1 seconds remaining and made a decisive free throw to secure the 67-66 victory. Minessale was named to the Summit League All-Tournament Team, averaging 22.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
20-WIN THREE-PEAT, ONE COACH
The second victory over Oral Roberts on Feb. 7, 2026 secured St. Thomas' third straight 20-win season, the only Summit League team to do so since the Tommies joined the league in 2021-22. Among current Summit League programs, it's the fourth instance of three straight 20-win seasons since 2004 and the first time done with the one head coach through all three-plus seasons since Oral Roberts from 2004-08 (Scott Sutton). South Dakota State won at least 20 games from 2017-20 with two different head coaches, while North Dakota State did the same from 2012-16.
Head Coach Johnny Tauer secured his 10th 20-win season leading St. Thomas and the third of the Division I era. His teams have won at least 19 games in 12 of his 14 seasons (not including the 2020-21 COVID season). As a player from 1991-95, Tauer was part of two 20-win Tommie teams and totaled at least 19 wins in three of his four seasons on the team.
With it's 20th win of the 2025-26 season, St. Thomas became one of eight programs to reach the milestone during its first full season of NCAA Division I eligibility. The most recent was San Diego with 30 wins in 2024-25 while only three teams have reached 24 wins during their first full season. Of Summit League teams to transition to DI, only North Dakota State won at least 19 games in its first full season, securing 26 victories during the 2008-09 season.
Among teams to transition to Division I since 2000, St. Thomas is the only program to record four straight 19-win seasons through the final three seasons of its transition and into year one of full eligibility. St. Thomas joined Grand Canyon as the only teams to record three straight 20-win seasons through years 3 and 4 of its transition and into the first full season of eligibility into DI.
TRACKING THE MILESTONES
Carter Bjerke is the next Tommie approaching 1,000 career points in the Purple, entering his graduate season with 841 points. He's 22 points shy of tying Drake Dobbs for fourth in the program's DI scoring list, and will become the fourth Tommie with at least 1,000 points, joining Kendall Blue (1,026), Nolan Minessale (1,055) and Parker Bjorklund (1,131). Bjerke already owns the program's 3-point makes record with 200 and is 18 3-point attempts shy of current assistant coach Riley Miller for the most in the DI era. Bjerke also ranks third in 3-point field goal percentage and is fourth with 277 career rebounds. He has played in 101 career games for the Tommies, 31 shy of the program's career record.
BIG MAN, BIG 3-POINT RECORD
Redshirt junior Carter Bjerke set the program's Division I era single-game record with 10 3-pointers Feb. 1, 2026 against Kansas City, helping to a 99-64 win. He dropped seven in the first half, setting a career high in 3-point field goals and tying a career high 21 points over the first 20 minutes. Bjerke added three 3-pointers over the first nine minutes of the second half, recording his first career 30-point game, before sitting for the final 11:00 minutes of the game. The 10 3-pointers are tied for the fourth most ever by a Summit League player and it's the fourth instance last season of a DI player reaching 30 points on 3-pointers alone (Nov. 7: Harrison Reed, IUW, 12 3FGM; Nov. 21: Ruben Dominguez, Texas A&M, 10 3FGM; Dec. 2: Braden Appelhans, Drake, 10 3FGM).
Bjerke surpassed the previous DI era record of nine set by Riley Miller against Merrimack during the 2022-23 season and tied the St. Thomas all-time 3-point record set by Curt Kietzer during the 1986-87 season. Bjerke accounted for 10 of the team's 18 3-pointers against UMKC, which is the program's most against a DI opponent (22 twice versus DIII opponents).
AN OFFENSE NEVER SEEN IN THE SUMMIT
The 2025-26 Tommies did something the Summit League hadn't seen in over two decades: score at least 90 points in four straight games. The Tommies' scoring onslaught began Dec. 20, 2025 with a 92-78 win over UC Riverside before adding 105 points against North Central, 92 against Denver and 99 against South Dakota. The streak is the first instance in program history and is the third streak of at least three 90+ point games under Johnny Tauer, previously doing so during the 2017-18 season and twice during the 2012-13 seasons. Prior to Coach Tauer taking over in 2011, St. Thomas had just two three-game streaks, coming during the 1993-94 and 1971-72 seasons.
During all Summit League games last season, St. Thomas led the league scoring 85.7 per game. The average is the highest for a Summit League team since South Dakota State (87.1) in 2021-22 and the second highest since 2012-13. The Tommies' 83.2 points per game through the entire season ranked 49th among all of DI.
MR. 300
Johnny Tauer became the third St. Thomas head men's basketball coach to record 300 career victories, joining Steve Fritz (1980-2011) and Tom Feely (1954-1980), following the win at UNC Asheville. Tauer is the fastest of the three to reach the milestone, doing so in 411 games compared to 464 games for Fritz and 480 for Feely. Tauer is now just one of eight active coaches among all of NCAA with 300 victories and a .725 winning percentage at one school, and joins Gonzaga's Mark Few as the only two to do so currently at the Division I level. The only two head coaches in the Summit League with 300 career wins are Tauer and Paul Sather of North Dakota.
NOTHING BUT NET/KEN POM RANKING
St. Thomas finished the 2025-26 season 113 in the NET Rankings and 115 in the KenPom Rankings, both bests among Summit League teams. The Tommies' NET Ranking was ahead of programs from the Big Ten (3), ACC (2) and the Big 12 (1), while its KenPom Ranking was ahead of programs from the Big Ten (3), ACC (2) and the Big 12 (1).
Entering 2026-27, St. Thomas is currently 172 to lead all Summit League teams in the KenPom Rankings. North Dakota State trails just behind at 173 while South Dakota State is 232.
POLL TOMS
The Purple began the 2025-26 season receiving 78 votes in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and finished as the No. 20 ranked team with 135 votes. North Dakota State finished as the top ranked Summit League team last season at No. 8, while South Dakota State enters 2026-27 receiving the most votes among league members with 173 to rank No. 19. NDSU received 25 votes in the current preseason poll followed by five for St. Thomas.
St. Thomas is set to face three Mid-Major Top 25 ranked opponents and five that received votes during its non-conference schedule. All three of the Tommies' opponents for its Thanksgiving tournament enter the season ranked: No. 4 UNC Wilmington, No. 20 Princeton and No. 21 Liberty.
St. Thomas landed on the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for the first time in program history in January 2025, debuting at No. 25 and reaching as high as No. 16 last season heading into the Summit League Championships.
WELCOME BACK, RILEY MILLER!
Tommie Basketball alum Riley Miller has rejoined the program as an assistant coach starting in 2026-27, replacing the vacancy left by Kenneth Lowe who moved on to his alma mater Purdue. Miller most recently served as a Video and Player Development Associate with the NBA's Houston Rockets, where he assisted with scouting, player development, and game preparation. Prior to his time with the Rockets, he served as an assistant coach at Macalester College, overseeing player development, and competed professionally in Australia's NBL1 Central league with the Southern Tigers, where he was named team captain during his rookie season.
In addition to his professional and collegiate coaching experience, Miller served as Associate Head Coach for the Tonga National Team program, working with both the men's and women's teams in player development, scouting, and practice planning.
As a student-athlete at St. Thomas from 2018-23, Miller was a three-time team captain and finished his career with the second-most three-pointers in program history. He earned D3hoops.com All-America honors and West Region Player of the Year recognition in 2020-21, was an All-MIAC selection in 2019-20, and received multiple academic honors, including Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence recognition and NABC Honors Court accolades. Miller earned his bachelor's degree in Business Marketing from the Opus College of Business in 2022 and later completed a Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing at St. Thomas.
The remainder of the staff, including Tauer, associate head coach Mike Maker, and assistant coach Cameron Rundles, continue to provide consistency as each have been on the Tommie bench since the start of the Division I era.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops. Tommie Athletics is now on TikTok at @tommiesports.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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