Men's Basketball 10/29/2026 10:00:00 AM by Jordan King

Men’s basketball picked fifth in UMAC

ST. PAUL, Minn. - MLC men's basketball has been picked to finish fifth in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference by the conference's coaches.

The Knights return a pair of all-conference performers from a season ago in second-teamer Adam Loberger and honorable mention pick, Benjamin Pearson. Loberger averaged 23 points, 2.2 assists and 7.9 rebounds per game. He also shot 162 free throws at an 81.5 percent clip. Pearson averaged 17 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game.

MLC will have to replace two of its best 3-point shooters this season, losing Thomas Balge and Ethan Kjenstad, who shot 34.6 and 36.3 percent, respectively, from deep. That pair also combined for 18.9 points per game.

Trey Lauber is the Knights' top returning shooter, shooting 34.7 percent from 3-point range last year. Benjamin Vasold returns the most assists (59) and steals (40) from last year's team while also averaging 7.6 points per game.

MLC welcomes four freshmen into the program in Jaymen Ott, Gabriel Nottling, Isaac Garcia and Brecken Jimenez.

Nottling averaged 21.1 points per game in his senior year at Luther Prep and was a First Team All-Conference player in the Midwest Classic Conference. Jimenez averaged 10.4 points per game for Lakeside Lutheran his senior year, earning honorable mention selection in the Capitol North Conference. Garcia averaged 9.5 points per game for Saint Croix Lutheran and Ott averaged 8.2 points per game for Manitowoc Lutheran.

The Knights will be under the guidance of first-year coach Hans Steinbrenner.

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Players Mentioned

#21 Thomas Balge: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#23 Ethan Kjenstad: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#3 Trey Lauber: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#5 Adam Loberger: F; 6' 4"; Junior

#12 Benjamin Pearson: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#15 Benjamin Vasold: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#1 Gabriel Nottling: F; 6' 4"; Freshman

#0 Jaymen Ott: F; 6' 2"; Freshman

#14 Brecken Jimenez: F; 6' 4"; Freshman

#2 Isaac Garcia: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#21 Thomas Balge
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#23 Ethan Kjenstad
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#3 Trey Lauber
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#5 Adam Loberger
: 6' 4"; Junior
: F

#12 Benjamin Pearson
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#15 Benjamin Vasold
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#1 Gabriel Nottling
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: F

#0 Jaymen Ott
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: F

#14 Brecken Jimenez
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: F

#2 Isaac Garcia
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G