Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's hoops team opens its season with five straight home games, beginning today by welcoming in-state rival Evergreen State to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Geoducks have met 20 times since the series began during the 1997-1998 season, with Evergreen holding a 12-9 edge in the all-time series. Pacific Lutheran has won three straight, including a 75-53 victory last season inside Olson Gymnasium.
The Lutes led by just three at the half against TESC last winter before blowing the door off the Geoducks in the final 20 minutes, outscoring the visitors 37-18.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran returns a veteran squad that looks to take the next step this winter, reclaiming a spot in the top four of the Northwest Conference standings.
The Lutes finished last fall with a 14-11 overall record and a 7-9 mark in league play, finishing tied for sixth place in the conference standings and falling two wins shy of the postseason. It was the program’s fifth straight winning season under Chad Murray, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since Bruce Haroldson’s teams from 1994 to 1999.
A big reason to be bullish on the squad is the presence of several veterans led by fifth-year big man Brandin Riedel.
A senior from Olympia, Washington, Riedel was a Second Team All-Conference selection last winter, averaging 14.4 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game with a team-high 20 blocks. Riedel was a sure shot from the field, leading the NWC and ranking eighth nationally in field goal percentage, draining 64.1 percent (143-for-223) of his chances.
Also returning is fellow Second Team All-NWC honoree and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District pick Miles Nash. The Peoria, Arizona native led the Lutes in scoring (15.8 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg) and assists (3.5) last winter, and had double digit scoring production in 18 games.
Joining Miles in the backcourt will be Jason Montes who played in all 25 games last winter and averaged 10.9 ppg and 4.3 rpg. The senior from Delta Junction, Alaska was second on the team in assists, dishing out 60 during the 2024-2025 campaign.
Stanwood, Washington native Mack Hepper was a spark off the bench last season, playing in all 25 games and averaging over 20 minutes a game, and will be contending for a starting spot this winter. Hepper averaged 4.8 ppg and 3.7 rpg last winter, including dropping a season-high 11 points in the Lutes’ 75-72 upset over eventual NWC Champion Whitworth University.
A sophomore from Hillsboro, Oregon, Henry Smith plans to make a bigger impact this season. As a first-year, Smith saw significant minutes over the final four games of the NWC season and plans on translating that into a bigger role in 2024-2025.
Seniors Liam Johnston and Drew Kraft add depth and leadership for the program as it welcomes several newcomers into the fold.
Boosting PLU’s depth is the addition of four upperclassmen transfers in Julian Brown, Dom Perasso, Emmett Holt and Ben Tellez.
Brown and Perasso were teammates in California at San Joaquin Delta College while Holt hails from Jessup University and Tellez from Diablo Valley College.
A Modesto, California native, Brown started 29 games last season for the Mustangs, averaging 12.2 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Perasso was equally impressive, playing in 57 games over his two year stint at Delta, averaging 10.1 ppg and 5.7 rpg.
Holt comes to Luteville as a senior eligibility wise after stops at two different schools. The Pocatello, Idaho native started his career at Spokane Community College where he averaged 16.9 points per game before playing in 31 games for Division II Jessup University in California.
Tellez comes to PLU as a shooter. At Diablo Valley, he was First Team All-Conference both seasons and ranked third amongst California junior college players in three pointers made.
Coach Murray brought in five first-years this winter including three from Oregon and two from Washington.
Micah Gentry is a guard from nearby Lacey where he played for North Thurston High School while Texas native Caleb Berry joins PLU after playing a Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way. Zach Zuckerman suits up for the Lutes after a career at Tualatin High School while forward Charlie Kapranos hails from Portland’s Grant High School and Kellen Kinder joins the Lutes as a center from Beaverton where he played at Valley Catholic High School.
About the Geoducks: Evergreen State (0-2) opened the season last weekend, playing a pair of games in Big Sky Country at the Western Classic in Dillon, Montana.
The Geoducks opened the season last Friday with a 99-51 setback to Montana Western before coming up short 93-71 to Montana Tech the next day. Nick Gutierrez had 10 of TESC's 51 points last Friday night, shooting four-for-six from the floor.
Against Western, Jourdan Joseph popped off for 24 points, draining four treys and hitting eight of his nine free throws from the charity stripe.
Evergreen State heads to Olson Gym averaging 61.0 points per game and shoots 38.1 percent from the floor as a team.
Jourdan Joseph is TESC's leading scorer, netting 16.5 points per game while grabbing 2.5 rebounds per game. Tyler No adds 8.0 ppg with Garret Long chipping in 7.5 ppg. Solomon Campbell is the team's leading rebounder, hauling in 5.5 rpg with a team-best four blocks.
Home Sweet Home: Olson Gymnasium is a tough venue for opposing teams with the Lutes boasting a 30-12 record inside the facility since the 2020-2021 season.
Weekend Highlights from Around Luteville
Highlights from a great weekend in Luteville that saw men's and women's soccer clinch NWC titles along with wins from volleyball and football.
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Last spring PLU became just the second Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every Lute student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Next Home Game:
Nov. 15: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 7 p.m.
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu