Embrace the Journey
If you ask coach Eric Peterson how to describe his team this year, he’ll tell you his
squad is deep, cohesive, and determined. For a team that is coming off a 16-16 season
with a disappointing exit in the first round of the Summit League Tournament, and who
has 12 new players this year, those three words are encouraging to hear for Yote fans.
The Yotes will continue to play fast this season, with a more situational press defense,
according to Petey. Look for them to get to the free throw line a lot again this year.
The team’s mantra is “Embrace the Journey”. This program and its players are hungry
for a conference championship and coach Petey believes he has the pieces in-place to
once again compete for the right to cut down the nets in Sioux Falls. They’ve gotten
bitten by the injury bug significantly the past two seasons. One could argue that with a
fully healthy roster last year, they would’ve competed for a regular season conference
championship. Nevertheless, this team is determined to prove a lot of people wrong.
There’s absolutely a chip on their shoulders. Let’s dive into the Coyote’s roster.
Returners
The Yotes return just 14% of their scoring from a year ago. One player we all looked
forward to seeing play last year, but who sat out due to injury, was junior guard Josiah
Dotzler. Keep an eye on him. The 6’ 3” Saint Louis transfer is hungry and extremely
motivated to make his mark as a Coyote.
Another returner, who finished the season on a strong note, is Vince Buzelis. The
sophomore guard is a preseason all-Summit League second-team member.
Other Coyote players that are returning include forwards Ethan Kizer (aka Hairy Bird,
Hair Jordan) and Jake Brack.
Newcomers
Athleticism, scoring ability, and size. Those words come to mind when looking at the
group of 12 newcomers. The transfer class includes Cade Kelderman (Iowa St), Melo
Sanchez (Central Connecticut St), Josh Townley-Thomas (Creighton), Kajus Kublickas
(Pacific), Stef van Bussel (Duquesne), Tyler Netolicky (Kirkwood CC), Iliam Fevry
(Arizona Western), Brandon Domsch (North Platte CC), and Jahni Summers
(Sacramento St). Summers and Sanchez both shot over 40% from deep last season.
Townley-Thomas and van Bussel are both 6’ 10” (I think they’re taller). Fun fact,
Kublickas was a member of the Florida Gators team that won the title in 2024. These
transfers are experienced players, most of them upperclassmen who have a lot of
minutes logged on the court – which is a positive.
USD brings in two extremely talented freshmen. Michael Nee is a 6’ 2” guard from
Lombard, Ill. He set his high school’s single-season 3-point record his junior year and
was the Upstate-Eight-East Conference Player of the Year. The other freshman is one
of the greatest scorers in South Dakota state history. Marvin Richard III is a 6-foot guard
from Pine Ridge, SD. We will see if Marvin is going to play right away, but if he does,
you can expect an explosive scorer who can beat you off the dribble or pull up from
anywhere. Marvin set the SD high school single game scoring record as a senior last
year by scoring 73 points against Lakota Tech. He finished his career with 2,689 points,
which is 6 th all-time in the state of SD.
Finally, some unfortunate news to share as Elisha Warren, the 6’3” transfer from
D’Youville will be out for the year with an injury. Wishing him all the best in his recovery.
Non-Con schedule
USD has 11 home games in the non-con slate. They start the season in the SCSC for
four straight home games. The SCSC has been kind to the Yotes the past two seasons,
boasting a 29-7 record there (42-19 under Petey). They will travel to Nebraska and Iowa
and will play Utah Tech in the Sanford Pentagon. They also play Northern Kentucky and
Cal State Fullerton, both of whom were top 150 teams last season.
The non-con is set up to really test this squad in particular. There’s a lot of new faces,
but you can tell that this team has already built a chemistry and enjoy playing with each
other. Look for the Yotes to be a fast, high-flying, emotional, and physical team this year.