2023-24 Northern Michigan Season Preview

Coming off of a GLIAC Tournament title, the Northern Michigan men’s basketball team has been picked to finish second in the 2023-24 GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll, announced by the league on Monday. Dylan Kuehl has been selected to the Preseason First Team while Max Weisbrod garnered Second Team Preseason recognition.

The Wildcats, the No. 3 seed in the GLIAC Tournament a season ago, defeated No. 6 Saginaw Valley State in the quarterfinals, No. 2 and host Ferris State in the semifinals, and No. 8 Michigan Tech in the championship to capture the program’s first tournament title since 2000. NMU then defeated Hillsdale in the NCAA Tournament before falling to McKendree, a team they beat to open last season, in the Round of 32. Northern recorded an overall record of 25-8, the most wins in program history.

In the poll, Northern received 75 votes to slot two votes back of favorite Ferris State. NMU picked up four first-place votes while the Bulldogs had five. Parkside, the reigning regular season, received the final first-place vote and will enter the season at No. 4 in the Preseason Poll.

After losing senior standout Max Bjorklund who led the GLIAC with 21.1 ppg, the Wildcats will turn to the young up-and-comers for success this season. NMU averaged 80.4 ppg last season and will carry over 60% of that scoring into this season. Athletic forward Dylan Kuehl, who made the All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team as a redshirt freshman, has been named to the Preseason First Team. Kuehl played in all 33 contests last season, averaging 12.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg. He shot 55.3% from the floor, the third-best clip in the GLIAC. He also recorded seven double-doubles on the season and reached double-figures in 22 of the 33 games.

 On the perimeter, reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year Max Weisbrod received Preseason Second Team honors after earning those same honors to end 2022-23. Weisbrod played in all 33 games with 25 starts, averaging 12.5 ppg while pacing the GLIAC with 5.0 apg. His five assists a contest was the second-best mark in the country among freshmen. Weisbrod reached double figures in 20 games, while reaching 10+ assists in three contests.

Joining Weisbrod at the guard position will be Brian Parzych. He battled through injury last season, playing in 19 games and averaging 10.7 ppg. Parzych reached double figures in 10 games last season and will look to step into an even bigger scoring role this season. Redshirt junior Carson Smith will also play a role on the wing after playing in all 33 contests and scoring seven points/game in 2022-23.

For a team with no true seniors, NMU will look beyond Kuehl, Weisbrod, and Parzych for significant contributions. Under the basket, Sam Schultz (7.2 ppg and 4.3 rpg), Sam Privet (5.6 ppg and 2.6 rpg), Jackson Dudek (4.7 ppg), and Najashi Tolefree (4.0 ppg) are all back after playing in big roles a season ago. The returning core will be accompanied by five freshmen. 6’6 wing Riley Brooks will look to play a big role in his first season for the Wildcats after receiving First Team All-State honors in high school.

On the sideline, Matt Majkrzak has added Keil Ganz as an assistant coach. Ganz is familiar with the program as he was Majkrzak’s first assistant back in 2019. Luke Mattson has also been added on as an assistant coach.

Still working with a young team, Majkrzak and company will look to build off a historic season last season that took the Wildcats into the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The season begins at the Lubbock Tip-Off Classic in Lubbock, Texas. NMU will play Southeastern Oklahoma State on November 4 and Lubbock Christian on November 5.