GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- The Colorado Mesa University men's basketball team officially ushers in a new era under head coach Ken DeWeese as they take on St. Edwards and Dallas Baptist in the D2 Conference Challenge.
All games will take place at Brownson Arena with the Mavs taking on the Hilltoppers at 7 p.m. on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. and then play the Patriots the next day at the same time.
Both games will be livestreamed on the RMAC Network and will have live stats available.
Year In Review
Last season, the Mavs finished with an overall record of 21-11 with a 15-5 conference record. They finished in second place during the regular season and made it all the way to the RMAC Championship game but came up short against Black Hills State.
Their record was still good enough to earn at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Dallas Baptist.
The Mavs earned four all-conference selections, all who left or graduated at the end of the year. While they won't have the same squad as last year, the Mavs will still look to make some noise during regional and RMAC play.
D2 Conference Challenge Format
The Mavs have played in the D2 Conference Challenge for over 11 years, back when it was called the RMAC vs. Heartland Conference Shootout. However, this is their first time hosting the event since 2022.
The D2 Conference Challenge is a four-team scheduling agreement between CMU and Colorado Christian from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Dallas Baptist and St. Edward's from the Lone Star Conference to begin each season.
Lats season, the Mavs went 1-1. They beat Dallas Baptist with a buzzer-beater but lost against St. Edward's 72-62.
Preseason Rankings
The RMAC announced its preseason coaches' poll and All-RMAC preseason team for men's basketball. The Mavericks are projected to finish sixth.
The Mavs earned 116 points of the possible 196 and got a single first-place vote. Black Hills State were voted to finish first with 192 points and 12 first place votes while CSU Pueblo are behind them with 178 points.
Colorado School of Mines (153), Fort Lewis (138) and MSU Denver (125) place ahead of CMU.
Coach Ken
After the departure of former head coach Mike Dunlap, DeWeese will look to continue the success of the Maverick basketball program with a new vision and an almost new roster.
The Mavericks hired DeWeese to be their new head basketball coach back in April after a successful tenure as an assistant coach at Colorado State. He guided the Rams to a 47-23 record and a Mountain West Conference Tournament Title in 2025, which led to a berth in the NCAA Tournament where they beat Memphis in the first round.
Prior to his time in the green and white he made stops at Wyoming, Northern Colorado, VCU, Idaho, Mary Hardin Baylor, Utah Valley and UTEP.
Fresh Faces
Coach DeWeese welcomes a whopping 14 new players including nine transfers and five freshmen.
The transfers include Drew Larson, Aidan Triplet, Cole Johnson, Walker Asp, Tait Spencer, CJ Willenborg, Alfonso Medina, JD Bradford and Ryan Weber.
These transfers come from schools across the country: two of them from D1 (Asp and Larson), one from D2 (Johnson) and six of them from JUCOS (Triplet, Spencer, Bradford, Medina and Weber).
Asp only played in three games for the Bears, but was a decorated high school prospect, earning All-Colorado Springs Metro League First Team honors and Colorado All-State 5A Honorable Mention recognition as a senior after averaging 14.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Larson spent his first two seasons at Northwest College (Wyo.) in the NJCAA, appearing in 63 games with 56 starts and averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He broke out during his sophomore campaign, putting up 15.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 57.0% from the field and 44.0% from three in 31 games played.
Spencer, who is the son of former Mavs standout Leif Spencer, comes to CMU from Panola College. He appeared in 18 games, starting 16 of those games, and put up 15.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 43.0% from the field.
Willenborg played two seasons at West Valley College where he averaged 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game across 29 games, shooting 41.6% from the field and 36.7% from three. He was named to the Coast-South All-Conference First Team and CCCMBCA First Team All-State during his tenure.
Medina hails from College of the Redwoods, where he put up 12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while starting all 28 games.
Triplet played a huge role in Yuba College offensive success, where he averaged 10.2 points a game and scored the second-most points on the team (286). He also averaged 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 28 games played.
Bradford comes from a top 10 JUCO program at Odessa College, where he impacted the game on both sides of the floor. He averaged 8.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game across 27 games while shooting 81.0% from the free-throw line. He also put up team-leading 1.8 steals per game.
Johnson comes from snowy Alaska Anchorage, where he put up 6.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 82.9% from the line.
Rounding out the transfers is Weber, who averaged 11.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during his time at Santiago Canyon College.
The new freshmen include Aidan Perez, Kai Valentine, Cash Boykin, Brady Kingsley and Luke Williams.
Every freshman went to high school in the greater Denver area, emphasizing DeWeese's vision of recruiting the best players from Colorado and having CMU become a hub for Colorado basketball.
The Returners
The Mavs only return two players for their junior years: guard Jaylen Pitman and center Ben Kaye.
Pitman was solid off the bench, averaging five points a game while having the second-highest shooting percentage on the team (.526). He played 22 games and started three of them. Pitman will continue to be a crucial piece as his stable play will be called upon by DeWeese.
Kaye, an RMAC Honor Roll selection, played 18 games and averaged 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. His size is valuable to a team that will need every bit of it this year.
About St. Edwards
The Hilltoppers are entering the season coming off back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. They finished last year with a record of 25-9, including big wins against Dallas Baptist, Eastern New Mexico and Central Washington.
Despite losing in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, they received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament and managed to get to the second round before losing to Dallas Baptist.
The Mavericks have a 3-8 overall record against the Hilltoppers, with their last win during the 2023-24 season. The Hilltoppers have won the past two matchups.
So far this season, the Hilltoppers have a record of 3-1. They opened the season in Hawaii where they got wins against Adelphi and Winona State. They then returned home to play St. Thomas and Trinity, where they outscored them 184-150.
Their leading returning scorer is Connor McManus, who put up 9.7 points per game and made a team-high of 85 three-pointers. He hasn't missed a beat he is now putting up 15.5 points per game, shooting 35.1% from three-point land.
The team also returns graduate student Sean Elkinton after a short stink at Louisiana Tech. He put up 17.5 points per game and earned All-LSC First Team honors his sophomore year and is now the second leading scorer, putting up 15 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
About Dallas Baptist
The Patriots enter this year as the number five ranked team in the country after another impressive season. They went 29-7, only losing two games in conference play. They also won the Lone Star Conference Regular Season and Tournament crowns for the second consecutive year.
They made it to third round of the NCAA Tournament beating both CMU and St. Edwards to get there where they lost to Black Hills State.
The Mavs have fared decently well against the Patriots, sporting a 5-7 all-time record against them. However, the Patriots have won three of the past four games.
They return eight players from last year's roster. This includes senior Bishop Jones, who averaged 11.0 points per game. Head Coach Dr. Blake Flickner added six freshmen and junior transfer Tanner Berggren to his roster as well.
Five for 5
On August 5, the NCAA approved a new age-based or clock eligibility model that allows student-athletes a streamlined five-year period to compete, starting upon full-time enrollment or after turning 19.
This new rule replaces complex redshirt tracking and waivers and takes full effect for incoming cohorts starting in the fall of 2027. This rule also eliminates most traditional extension waivers outside of the major exceptions of military service, religious missions or pregnancy.
RMAC Network Update
The RMAC Network will again use a pay-per-view model for the 2026-27 season. This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $12.50, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
A championship pass, available for $15, will also be available for the RMAC Championships and is included in the monthly or annual subscription.
To purchase a pass, visit https://rmacnetwork.com/purchase/.
Take a Look Ahead
The Mavs hit the road for their longest road trip of the season, starting with a trip to the Lone Star State to face the Texas A&M Kingsville Javelinas. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. inside Steinke Physical Education Center.
