St. Paul, MN - The MLC men's basketball team was voted to finish
fifth in the UMAC Preseason Poll on Wednesday. The poll is voted on by all the head coaches in the conference. Coaches cannot vote for their own team.
North Central was the leading vote-getter with 33 points (5 first-place votes) after being one of the co-champions of the UMAC 2024-25 regular season. MLC earned 17 points and will look to turn some of its close losses from a season ago into wins in 2025-26. MLC went 8-17 overall, 3-11 UMAC last year, and had five losses decided by single digits, as the Knights were competitive in most of their contests.
Head Coach
Greg Holzhueter enters his 10th season at the helm of the Knights and returns a big chunk of his production from last year's team, as the top seven players in scoring and minutes are back.
Adam Loberger is back for his sophomore season after a freshman campaign in which he won UMAC Rookie of the Year and was selected as a UMAC Honorable Mention. The forward finished second in the UMAC in PPG (20.3), led MLC in 3-point FGs (62), and made FTs (108). Loberger was also second on the squad in rebounds per game (5.9) and total assists (48).
Joining Loberger is a fellow sophomore in
Ben Pearson, who was named to the Defensive All-UMAC Team and finished third in the UMAC in total rebounds (188). The point guard led MLC in total assists (67) and was second on the Knights in PPG (12.4) and made 3-pointers (49).
Tom Balge returns for his senior season and will look to provide some experience in the MLC backcourt. Balge was a UMAC Honorable Mention in 2023-24 and finished sixth in the UMAC in PPG (15.8) and total assists (53) as a sophomore. Balge was second on MLC's team in FG percentage (44.4) last season.
The MLC men's basketball season will tip off officially with an away game at Waldorf University on Tuesday, November 4, at 7 p.m.
Complete poll
| Place |
School |
Points |
| 1 |
North Central (5) |
33 |
| 2 |
Northwestern (1) |
30 |
| 3 |
Bethany Lutheran (1) |
27 |
| 4 |
UW-Superior |
18 |
| 5 |
Martin Luther |
17 |
| 6 |
Minnesota Morris |
16 |
| 7 |
Crown |
7 |
Full UMAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll Press Release
