October 19, 2026
MADISON, S.D. — Dakota State University's men's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the 2026-27 Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll, announced Monday by the conference office. The Trojans collected 76 points in the voting by the league's 12 head coaches.
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) was selected as the preseason favorite after receiving 10 first-place votes and 119 points. Bellevue (Neb.) and Montana Tech tied for second with 100 points each, with both teams collecting one first-place vote.
Carroll (Mont.) was fourth with 93 points, followed by MSU-Northern in fifth with 85 points. Dakota State rounded out the top six in the preseason rankings. Montana Western placed seventh, followed by Dickinson State (N.D.) eighth, Mayville State (N.D.) ninth, Valley City State (N.D.) tenth, Providence (Mont.) 11
th, and Bismarck State (N.D.) 12
th.
The Trojans finished the 2025-26 campaign with an 18-10 overall record and a 13-9 mark in their inaugural season as members of the Frontier Conference.
Dakota State's 18 victories were the most victories by the program since the 2015-16 season. The win total also tied the 2011-12 squad for the sixth-most victories in a single season in program history.
The Trojans established a school record for conference victories with 13, surpassing the previous mark of 12 set during the 2004-05 season.
Dakota State also enjoyed a successful season on its home court, posting a 10-4 record at the DSU Fieldhouse. It marked the program's first season with double-digit home victories since 2017-18.
The Trojans concluded their season in the Frontier Conference postseason tournament, falling to Carroll (Mont.) 87-81 in the quarterfinal round.
Kevin Williamson returns for his second season leading the Trojans. Among the returning players are
Brayden Pankonen,
Aiden Jensen and
Lukas Morgan, who joined Williamson during the Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Media Day on Oct. 16.
Dakota State will compete in a challenging 22-game Frontier Conference schedule, featuring 11 home contests and 11 road games.
The Trojans open their 2026-27 campaign Tuesday, Oct. 27, hosting Trinity Bible (N.D.) in the Education Kickoff Classic at Madison High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Dakota State opens their 22-game Frontier Conference play Saturday, Nov. 21, welcoming Bellevue to the DSU Fieldhouse for a 5 p.m. tip-off. Each conference member plays a total of 11 home conference games and 11 road contests.
The Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 26-March 1, 2027, at the Butte Civic Center in Butte, Mont. The quarterfinals begin on Friday, Feb. 26, followed by an off day on Saturday, Feb. 27, and return to action with the semifinals on Sunday, Feb. 28. The championship is set for Monday, March 1 at 6 p.m. (Central Time)/5 p.m. (Mountain Time).
The league awards two automatic bids to the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament, which begins with First and Second Rounds on March 12-13 at campus sites and continues their action at the final site at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., on March 18-23.
The league awards two automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament, with the firstautomatic bid to the regular-season title winner. The second automatic berth will be awarded to Frontier Conference Tournament champion. In the event the regular-season champion is the tournament champion, then the second berth will be awarded to the tournament's runner-up.
2026-27 Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll
First-place votes are listed in parentheses
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
119 (10) |
| T2 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
100 (1) |
| T2 |
Montana Tech |
100 (1) |
| 4 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
93 |
| 5 |
MSU-Northern |
85 |
| 6 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
76 |
| 7 |
Montana Western |
58 |
| 8 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
51 |
| 9 |
Mayville State (N.D.) |
43 |
| 10 |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
32 |
| 11 |
Providence (Mont.) |
20 |
| 12 |
Bismarck State (N.D.) |
15 |
