The Big Nine Preview

We continue previewing the 2025-26 basketball season in every way possible! And that includes previewing most, if not all of the 47 conferences in Minnesota!   Last Year   On the Money: The league champ (East) was an easy pick, knowing Fairbault, Nothfield and JM were going to be top five teams was fairly easy as was knowing Red Wing, Winona and Albert Lea would be the bottom, and overall most of the order was correct.   Yikes RJ! It was a second straight year where I totally missed a junior group of Rochester players developing and becoming a very good team. Two years ago it was JM, this past year it was Mayo. The [program_tooltip program_id='2075852' first='Spartans' last=''] finished third of twelve and a year ago at this time I had them picked ninth.     Conference Commentary   Top Ten in State: Mankato East, Rochester Mayo, Faribault   What team has the best chance to make a state title run? That would be East and Mayo. I think both teams are going to be short depth wise to try and beat DeLaSalle or TG, or to beat Wayzata, Hopkins, Maple Grove, or CDH at state, respectively. But I think both Mayo and East are right in that next group that could make state and win a game to give themselves a shot. East has the talent to pull an upset of TG or De at state but they would likely have to pull two of those upsets.   Is Mayo or East a strong lock for state? Mayo has to get through Farmington and the Lakesville schools so they are far from a strong lean but they are the favorite. Mayo last qualified for state six years ago and they last played at state in 2008. East has a far easier path through their section although St. Peter could be a sleeper to get through.   As for the Falcons, this is a team with one of the best starting frontcourts in the state, and a huge backcourt unknown. If the guards that are stepping into roles for the first time can be simply okay, the team can get to state behind Kreager and Wolff.   Top Ten Potential: Northfield, Austin   If Austin wasn't 10-17 last year I would be picking them with stronger certainty. I think their seniors are going to take a big step and have a big winter as they looked really good this summer. They have shooters, athletes, and they are now comfortable playing in a way that will disrupt teams in a big way. Northfield has a bit more talent than I think people realize and a strong leader in [player_tooltip player_id='1521424' first='Kayden' last='Oakland'] who simply wins. Austin and Northfield surely have a chance to win Section 1AAA as the favorite (Faribault) has such uncertain guard play.   Compete with Most: Owatonna, Rochester Century, Mankato West   [player_tooltip player_id='2385637' first='Nathan' last='Long'] of Rochester Century is a player I have pegged for a huge junior year. At 6'5 and athletic, Long has a chance to score in a lot of ways and lift Century to a higher level than many expect. Long is a player that college coaches are going to start researching and jumping into after they see what he is doing. [player_tooltip player_id='2385637' first='Nathan' last='Long'] is NEXT.   Owatonna and West are both in very interesting spots. They lose good senior classes but both teams have some really good young players including sophomore studs and freshmen potential stars. They will compete with most teams and likely pull some upsets on the top five teams.   Rebuilding: Rochester JM, Albert Lea, Winona, Red Wing   JM lost everything from last year save [player_tooltip player_id='2435137' first='Jackson' last='Daly'] who came off the bench as an underclassmen. Albert Lea and Winona are going to be a step better and could take that last step of rebuilding that goes from nightly hammernigs, to more wins but some blowouts, to competitive on most nights. Or it could be rough again. Red Wing has a new coach and a lot of new faces, tough to know what to predict there.     25-26 Conference Predictions   Big Nine   (1) Mankato East   (2) Rochester Mayo   (3) Faribault   (4) Northfield   (5) Austin   (6) Owatonna   (7) Rochester Century   (8) Mankato West   (9) Rochester JM   (10) Albert Lea   (11) Winona   (12) Red Wing     Preseason All Big Nine   First Team   [player_tooltip player_id='2115655' first='Ryan' last='Kreager'] of Faribault (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='1560798' first='Lucas' last='Gustafson'] of Mankato East (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='1521424' first='Kayden' last='Oakland'] of Northfeld (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='1886972' first='Amari' last='Nobles'] of Mankato East (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2381759' first='Reggie' last='Parker'] of Rochester Mayo (Sr)     Second Team   [player_tooltip player_id='2417626' first='Will' last='Gyarmaty'] of Rochester Mayo (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2118832' first='Breuer' last='Wolff'] of Faribault (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2124278' first='Isaac' last='Peterson'] of Rochester Mayo (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2385637' first='Nathan' last='Long'] of Rochester Century (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2381757' first='Cole' last='Hebrink'] of Austin (Sr)     Third Team   [player_tooltip player_id='1597670' first='Braden' last='Petzel'] of Mankato East (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2863682' first='Logan' last='Shimek'] of Rochester Mayo (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2381766' first='Xzayveun' last='Severin'] of Austin (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='1560869' first='Banyaan' last='Omot'] of Austin (Sr)   Daniel Myszkowski of Rochester Mayo (Sr)     Fourth Team   [player_tooltip player_id='2435137' first='Jackson' last='Daly'] of Rochester JM (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2133222' first='Elliot' last='Myszkowski'] of Rochester Mayo (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2140710' first='Willie' last='Moore'] of Owatonna (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2121387' first='Ryan' last='Hendrickson'] of Mankato West (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2916881' first='Mal' last='Jok'] of Mankato West (Fr)     Fifth Team   [player_tooltip player_id='2423655' first='Griffin' last='Schott'] of Mankato East (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2830830' first='Gus' last='Schweim'] of Mankato West (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2121383' first='Carter' last='Conn'] of Albert Lea (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2979781' first='Tyler' last='Holz'] of Northfield (Sr)   Tate Hartman of Red Wing (Jr)     Sixth Team   [player_tooltip player_id='2417228' first='Liam' last='Oakland'] of Northfield (Soph)   Tyler Hupton of Northfield (Sr)   J'Dan Stevens of Austin (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2384018' first='Cooper' last='Routh'] of Owatonna (Soph)   [player_tooltip player_id='2825776' first='Sullivan' last='Klair'] of Red Wnig (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2381756' first='Ohlaani' last='Omot'] of Austin (Sr)

We continue previewing the 2025-26 basketball season in every way possible! And that includes previewing most, if not all of the 47 conferences in Minnesota!