Colin Hayes

Drew Larson

Preston Condie

Carter Clark

Tessi Thong

Kaden Christensen

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Following a season where the Northwest College men’s basketball team finished with a losing record but pulled an upset in the Region IX play-in game, the Trapper men return six players from last year’s roster, hoping to mix with a strong freshman class to take the next step.

Leading the way back for the Trappers is guard Colin Hayes from Fort Collins, Colorado, who finished as a Region IX All-Tournament team selection and a second team All-Region selection.

Hayes finished the year as the leading scorer in Region IX play, averaging nearly 22 points per game, as well as 15.6 points per game for the entire season.

“Colin had an outstanding freshman year,” coach Andy Ward said. “At the beginning of the year he broke his hand and we didn’t have him for the first few games. When he came back for the second semester after Christmas it was like something clicked for him and he really started performing well, scoring the ball really well for us.”

Another guard returning from Fort Collins is Drew Larson, who finished his freshman year averaging 9.9 points per game, playing in every game for the Trappers while adjusting his game to a different style due to the undersized team.

“I thought Drew had a really solid freshman year,” Ward said. “Drew wasn’t accustomed to playing inside, and as a necessity we needed him there. It was a little bit of a learning curve there.”

Another Trapper returner is Preston Condie out of Price, Utah, who played as a guard and forward, playing in 27 games while averaging 5.2 points per game.

“I’m excited about having him back,” Ward said. “I think Preston made a lot of strides. When he got back he had been off the court for two years when he was serving a church mission … I thought Preston had played his best game the last game of the year in the tournament against Western Nebraska … He’s got a great attitude, he’s all about the team.”

Another Trapper guard returning who played in most of the games last year is Worland’s Carter Clark, who primarily came off the bench as a spark for the Trappers and averaged 1.4 points per game.

“We primarily played him at the point guard, and I think we’ll do some of that again this year, but he might see a little bit of some opportunity off the ball at the wing,” Ward said. “Carter is a really tough, tenacious defender, he stays in front of people. He’s gritty, he gets on loose balls. I think defensively he can provide a pretty big spark for our team.”

Another spark off the bench for the Trappers returning is guard Tessi Thong from Melbourne, Australia, who played in 18 games and provided 6.2 points per game.

“He’s really good with the basketball, he can create for his teammates,” Ward said. “The areas where I’ve talked to him about improving is being more engaged on the defensive end, because he can be a really good defender. Putting a lot of pressure with his long arms, good lateral footwork, good quickness. I think he’s going to help us out there.”

The final returner from last year’s team is Kaden Christensen, a forward out of West Jordan, Utah, who played in 13 games and averaged 6.2 points per game.

“He played quite a bit for us early on, he struggled a little bit with his field goal percentage, but he’s a very active guy,” Ward said. “He gets on the glass, he’s a pretty active defender. I think that he’ll get more efficient offensively as he matures, taking a little bit better shots … I think his activity, his attitude and effort are really good along with other returners, [and] he’s got some ability to score the ball in the open floor.”

The Trappers are looking to continue improving and take the next step after a 14-18 record last year. The season officially tips off in November.