Kansas Wesleyan University Women's and Men's Basketball will open their respective seasons on Friday and Saturday hosting the Coyote Classic inside Mabee Arena.
KWU will welcome Bethel's men's and women's teams, Central Methodist men, William Penn women, Dakota State women and Nebraska Wesleyan men to Salina for the Classic.
GAME SCHEDULE
TICKETS
Two-day tournament passes are available for $15, for sale at the door and in advance online at
www.kwucoyotes.com/tickets *. Visiting student tournament passes are available for $7.50. Single day tickets are available for $10, $5 for visiting students. Fans wearing KWU gear to the KWU games each day will receive free admission.
* Online ticket prices reflect a $1 processing fee.
ABOUT THE TEAMS
Bethel College Women
Bethel will be playing its first two games of the season in the Coyote Classic. The Threshers are led by first-year coach Jara Shoemaker, who was an assistant for the Threshers last season. Bethel was 16-13 a year ago, and 15-7 in the KCAC. Leading scorer and rebounder Kendall Locke returns for the Threshers after averaging 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game a year ago. Bethel returns 10 players from last year's team and has a mix of transfers and freshmen filling out the roster.
Bethel College Men
Bethel's men enter the Coyote Classic 1-0 after defeating Oklahoma Panhandle State 94-68 last Thursday in Goodwell, Oklahoma. Newcomer Rustan Griffen had 22 points for the Threshers, and veteran player Carmelo Yakubu had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. Yakubu led the Threshers in scoring and rebounding a season ago. Head Coach Jayson Artaz is in his eighth season leading Bethel.
Central Methodist Men
The Central Methodist Eagles are 2-0 on the young season after a pair of lopsided wins over Hastings (95-78) and Haskell (96-68) in the Chick-Fil-A Classic hosted by Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska last weekend. Raphael Gay leads CMU averaging 17.5 points per game this season, while Isaiah Reams averages 17. Austin Prater leads CMU averaging 10.5 rebounds per game so far this season. Matt Sherman is in his fourth season coaching the Eagles.
Dakota State Women
Dakota State is ranked No. 4 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll and opened its season with a 76-40 win over NCAA-III Minnesota-Morris on Monday. Caitlyn Dyer had 19 points, Tabor Teel had 17 and 12 rebounds to lead the Trojans. DSU was picked to win the now 12-team Frontier Conference this season after going 25-5 a year ago, winning the now-defunct North Star Athletic Association title for the fifth time last year. Teel was a Second Team All-American last year for the Trojans. David Moe is in his ninth season leading the Trojans.
Kansas Wesleyan Women
This weekend marks the start of the
Harper Taylor era for the KWU Coyotes. Taylor previously served as an assistant coach for the Coyotes in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before spending two seasons at Metro State in Denver. The Coyotes have some big shoes to fill, losing a majority of the team's scoring and rebounding from a year ago, but a core nucleus of players led by
Odessa Ozuna,
Paige Chauncey,
Jocelyn Hall,
Adriana DiPrima and
Madison Lambert will lead the Coyotes. Ozuna averaged 8.2 points and 1.9 assists a year ago. Chauncey, the lone returning starter from last season, averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Kansas Wesleyan Men
The Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes will be under new leadership in 2025-26, but from a familiar face in
Jordan Murdock. Murdock returns to lead the Coyotes after spending last season as an assistant at Pittsburg State. Murdock was an assistant for four years at KWU prior. The Coyotes return one starter from a year ago in center
Evens Appolon who averaged 8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Other key returners for the Coyotes include
Gabe Phillips,
Stefan Spray and
Aiden Leckband.
Nebraska Wesleyan Men
Both games this weekend will be exhibitions for the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves. NWU will officially open its season on November 9 at Wisconsin-Platteville. NWU was 20-7 a year ago and were the runners-up in the American Rivers Conference. Seth Newton (6.0 points, 5.1 rebounds) and Christian Winn (8.2 points) are returning starters for the Prairie Wolves. Dale Wellman is in his 12
th season leading NWU and has a NCAA-III National Championship under his belt in 2018.
William Penn Women
William Penn is 1-0 after opening the season with a win over NCAA-III Central 73-60 last Thursday. Newcomer Reagan Pavesi led the Statesmen with 19 points. WPU returns three key players from a year ago in Kayla Peoples, Taylor Lawhorne and Amaria Turner. Sheawn Bedford, Jr., is in his first season as head coach. Bedford served as interim coach for the second half of the season last year before being named the head coach in February.
