University of St. Thomas Athletics
Men’s Basketball picked to finish second in Summit Preseason Coaches’ Poll
10/6/2026 9:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Carter Bjerke, Kendall Blue, Austin Herro named Preseason All-Summit League First Team
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of St. Thomas men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the 2026-27 Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, while three Tommies earned Preseason All-Summit League First Team recognition, the league announced Sunday
St. Thomas collected 410 points and 11 first-place votes to finish just eight points behind preseason favorite North Dakota State, which received 418 points and 13 first-place votes. South Dakota State placed third with 396 points and seven first-place votes.
The Tommies' three Preseason First Team selections are the most of any team in the league and the most by a Summit League program since at least 2021-22. Graduate student Carter Bjerke, graduate student Kendall Blue and junior Austin Herro were all selected to the six-player first team. South Dakota State's Joe Sayler was selected as the league's Preseason Player of the Year.
Bjerke enters his graduate season following one of the most prolific 3-point shooting seasons in St. Thomas' Division I history, making 79 3-pointers while shooting 44.9 percent from beyond the arc, both the third-best single-season marks of the DI era. He led the Summit League in 3-point field-goal percentage during conference play (.530) and ranked third in the league with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game. Bjerke tied the St. Thomas single-game record with 10 3-pointers and scored a career-high 30 points against Kansas City before becoming the program's Division I career leader in made 3-pointers during a win over North Dakota State. He enters 2026-27 fifth on St. Thomas' Division I career scoring list with 841 points, 159 shy of 1,000.
Blue returns to St. Thomas after spending the 2025-26 season at Nebraska, where he appeared in 19 games as the Huskers set a school record with 28 wins and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Blue made his NCAA Tournament debut against Troy and appeared in 10 Big Ten games after previously spending three seasons as the Tommies' Division I leader in career starts. In 2024-25, he averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while totaling 83 assists, 34 steals and 15 blocks, ranking among the Summit League's top 17 in scoring, rebounding and assists. He reached double figures 23 times, including four 20-point games, and posted a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at Oklahoma State.
Herro earned his first Preseason All-Summit League First Team selection after leading the league and ranking 56th nationally with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2025-26, totaling 94 assists against 36 turnovers. He also led the Tommies and ranked 101st nationally with 1.8 steals per game, including a Division I single-game record seven steals at North Dakota to go with 10 assists and two turnovers. Herro averaged 3.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from 3-point range. His 94 assists ranked fifth and his 46 steals ranked third in St. Thomas' Division I single-season history.
Last season, the Tommies tied their Division I single-season record with 24 victories, their third consecutive season with at least 20 wins and fourth straight with at least 19. The Tommies advanced to the Summit League Championship semifinal round for the fourth consecutive season, including their second straight appearance as the No. 2 seed. St. Thomas also made its NCAA postseason debut during its first season of full postseason eligibility, earning a berth in the National Invitation Tournament.
The 24 victories ranked as the third-most by a program during its first full season of NCAA postseason eligibility. St. Thomas closed the season ranked No. 113 in the NET Rankings and No. 115 in the KenPom rankings, both program-best end-of-season marks since joining Division I and the highest among Summit League programs in 2025-26. The Tommies also finished No. 20 in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Coaches' Poll after reaching as high as No. 16.
Head coach Johnny Tauer enters his 16th season at the helm after earning his 300th career victory with an 80-59 win at UNC Asheville on Dec. 13, 2025. Tauer reached the milestone in his 411th career game at St. Thomas.
The Tommies finished 14-1 at home last season and carried a nation-leading 28-game home winning streak before it was snapped. St. Thomas has recorded at least 12 home victories in each of the last four seasons, the only Summit League program to accomplish the feat, and ranks fifth nationally in home winning percentage since 2022-23 at .912.
St. Thomas also led the nation in two-point field-goal percentage last season at .630, the second-highest single-season mark by a Division I program since the 1996-97 season. The Tommies ranked among the nation's top 50 in effective field-goal percentage (seventh, .589), field-goal percentage (seventh, .506), assist-to-turnover ratio (14th, 1.72), assists per game (32nd, 16.8), scoring margin (32nd, 10.2), turnovers per game (33rd, 9.8), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (37th, .309), 3-pointers per game (48th, 9.6) and scoring offense (49th, 81.8).
The 2026-27 season tips off Monday, Nov. 2 with a trip to Clinton, S.C., to face Presbyterian for the first time ever. The Tommies follow with the highly anticipated matchup against Minnesota on Friday, Nov. 6 in Minneapolis before making their home opener Sunday, Nov. 8 against Green Bay at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. Tickets for every Tommie Basketball home game can be purchased HERE.
2026-27 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll
St. Thomas collected 410 points and 11 first-place votes to finish just eight points behind preseason favorite North Dakota State, which received 418 points and 13 first-place votes. South Dakota State placed third with 396 points and seven first-place votes.
The Tommies' three Preseason First Team selections are the most of any team in the league and the most by a Summit League program since at least 2021-22. Graduate student Carter Bjerke, graduate student Kendall Blue and junior Austin Herro were all selected to the six-player first team. South Dakota State's Joe Sayler was selected as the league's Preseason Player of the Year.
Bjerke enters his graduate season following one of the most prolific 3-point shooting seasons in St. Thomas' Division I history, making 79 3-pointers while shooting 44.9 percent from beyond the arc, both the third-best single-season marks of the DI era. He led the Summit League in 3-point field-goal percentage during conference play (.530) and ranked third in the league with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game. Bjerke tied the St. Thomas single-game record with 10 3-pointers and scored a career-high 30 points against Kansas City before becoming the program's Division I career leader in made 3-pointers during a win over North Dakota State. He enters 2026-27 fifth on St. Thomas' Division I career scoring list with 841 points, 159 shy of 1,000.
Blue returns to St. Thomas after spending the 2025-26 season at Nebraska, where he appeared in 19 games as the Huskers set a school record with 28 wins and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Blue made his NCAA Tournament debut against Troy and appeared in 10 Big Ten games after previously spending three seasons as the Tommies' Division I leader in career starts. In 2024-25, he averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while totaling 83 assists, 34 steals and 15 blocks, ranking among the Summit League's top 17 in scoring, rebounding and assists. He reached double figures 23 times, including four 20-point games, and posted a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at Oklahoma State.
Herro earned his first Preseason All-Summit League First Team selection after leading the league and ranking 56th nationally with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2025-26, totaling 94 assists against 36 turnovers. He also led the Tommies and ranked 101st nationally with 1.8 steals per game, including a Division I single-game record seven steals at North Dakota to go with 10 assists and two turnovers. Herro averaged 3.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from 3-point range. His 94 assists ranked fifth and his 46 steals ranked third in St. Thomas' Division I single-season history.
Last season, the Tommies tied their Division I single-season record with 24 victories, their third consecutive season with at least 20 wins and fourth straight with at least 19. The Tommies advanced to the Summit League Championship semifinal round for the fourth consecutive season, including their second straight appearance as the No. 2 seed. St. Thomas also made its NCAA postseason debut during its first season of full postseason eligibility, earning a berth in the National Invitation Tournament.
The 24 victories ranked as the third-most by a program during its first full season of NCAA postseason eligibility. St. Thomas closed the season ranked No. 113 in the NET Rankings and No. 115 in the KenPom rankings, both program-best end-of-season marks since joining Division I and the highest among Summit League programs in 2025-26. The Tommies also finished No. 20 in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Coaches' Poll after reaching as high as No. 16.
Head coach Johnny Tauer enters his 16th season at the helm after earning his 300th career victory with an 80-59 win at UNC Asheville on Dec. 13, 2025. Tauer reached the milestone in his 411th career game at St. Thomas.
The Tommies finished 14-1 at home last season and carried a nation-leading 28-game home winning streak before it was snapped. St. Thomas has recorded at least 12 home victories in each of the last four seasons, the only Summit League program to accomplish the feat, and ranks fifth nationally in home winning percentage since 2022-23 at .912.
St. Thomas also led the nation in two-point field-goal percentage last season at .630, the second-highest single-season mark by a Division I program since the 1996-97 season. The Tommies ranked among the nation's top 50 in effective field-goal percentage (seventh, .589), field-goal percentage (seventh, .506), assist-to-turnover ratio (14th, 1.72), assists per game (32nd, 16.8), scoring margin (32nd, 10.2), turnovers per game (33rd, 9.8), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (37th, .309), 3-pointers per game (48th, 9.6) and scoring offense (49th, 81.8).
The 2026-27 season tips off Monday, Nov. 2 with a trip to Clinton, S.C., to face Presbyterian for the first time ever. The Tommies follow with the highly anticipated matchup against Minnesota on Friday, Nov. 6 in Minneapolis before making their home opener Sunday, Nov. 8 against Green Bay at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. Tickets for every Tommie Basketball home game can be purchased HERE.
2026-27 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Rank | School (1st Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | North Dakota State (13) | 418 |
| 2. | St. Thomas (11) | 410 |
| 3. | South Dakota State (7) | 396 |
| 4. | Omaha (1) | 296 |
| 5. | South Dakota | 240 |
| 6. | North Dakota | 194 |
| 7. | Oral Roberts | 183 |
| 8. | Kansas City | 127 |
2026-27 Preseason All-Summit League First Team
| Name | School |
| Carter Bjerke | St. Thomas |
| Kendall Blue | St. Thomas |
| Austin Herro | St. Thomas |
| Connor Dow | Oral Roberts |
| Joe Sayler | South Dakota State |
| Andy Stefonowicz | North Dakota State |
* Preseason Player of the Year
2026-27 Preseason All-Summit League Second Team
2026-27 Preseason All-Summit League Second Team
| Name | School |
| Jesse van Kalsbeek | South Dakota State |
| Kalen Garry | South Dakota State |
| Grant Stubblefield | Omaha |
| Vince Buzelis | South Dakota |
| Jaylen Smith | Kansas City |
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