2025–26 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball team

2025–26 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball
2025–26 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball
Conference	Summit League
Record	15–14 (9–4 The Summit)
Head coach	Paul Sather (7th season);
Assistant coaches	Jamie Stevens; Ty Danielson; Estevan Sandoval;
Home arena	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center

2025–26 Summit League men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North Dakota State	11	–	1	.917	21	–	6	.778
St. Thomas	10	–	3	.769	21	–	7	.750
North Dakota	9	–	4	.692	15	–	14	.517
Omaha	7	–	6	.538	14	–	14	.500
South Dakota	6	–	6	.500	14	–	13	.519
Denver	6	–	7	.462	13	–	15	.464
South Dakota State	5	–	7	.417	12	–	15	.444
Oral Roberts	1	–	11	.083	6	–	21	.222
Kansas City	1	–	11	.083	4	–	22	.154

† 2026 Summit League tournament winner As of February 15, 2026

The 2025–26 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball team represents the University of North Dakota during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as members of the Summit League.^[1] The Fighting Hawks are led by seventh-year head coach Paul Sather and play their home games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota.^[2]^[3]

Previous season

The Fighting Hawks finished the 2024–25 season 12–21, 5–11 in Summit League play, to finish in a tie for sixth place.^[4]^[5] They made it to the semifinal round of the Summit League tournament, where they lost to St. Thomas by a score of 69–85.^[6]

Offseason

Departures

North Dakota departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departures
Mier Panoam	3	G	6'2"	200	Sophomore	Anchorage, AK	Transferred to Xavier^[7]
Dariyus Woodson	4	F	6'7"	220	Junior	Baytown, TX	Transferred to Louisiana^[8]
Deng Mayar	5	F	6'8"	180	Senior	Salt Lake City, UT	Transferred to Omaha^[9]
Amar Kuljuhovic	9	F/C	6'8"	225	Senior	Waterloo, IA	Transferred to Missouri State^[10]
Mambourou Mara	21	F	6'6"	190	Sophomore	Conakry, Guinea	Transferred to Houston Christian^[11]
Brian Matthews	34	F	6'10"	240	Senior	Chicago, IL	Out of eligibility
Treysen Eaglestaff	52	G	6'6"	190	Junior	Bismarck, ND	Transferred to West Virginia^[12]

Incoming transfers

North Dakota incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Garrett Anderson	16	G	6'6"	195	Senior	Phoenix, AZ	Central Washington
Josh Jones	22	C	6'9"	245	Junior	Austin, TX	Oral Roberts
Wylee Delorme	23	G	6'5"	200	Sophomore	Devils Lake, ND	UMary

Recruiting class

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight
Marley Curtis #0 Forward	St. Louis Park, MN	St. Louis Park HS	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (100 kg)
Marley Curtis #0 Forward	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Karson Ouse #4 Forward	Kindred, ND	Kindred HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)
Karson Ouse #4 Forward	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Anthony Smith III #9 Guard	Hopkins, MN	Hopkins HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)
Anthony Smith III #9 Guard	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Micah Curtis #10 Forward	St. Louis Park, MN	St. Louis Park HS	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (100 kg)
Micah Curtis #10 Forward	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Roster

2025–26 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
F	0	Marley Curtis	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	St. Louis Park, MN
G	1	Zach Kraft	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Grand Forks, ND
G	2	Eli King	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Caledonia, MN
G	3	Greyson Uelmen	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Excelsior, MN
G	4	Karson Ouse	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Kindred, ND
F	5	Matthew Bothun	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	St. Francis, MN
G	9	Anthony Smith III	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Hopkins, MN
F	10	Micah Curtis	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	St. Louis Park, MN
G	11	Reggie Thomas	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Omaha, NE
F	13	George Natsvishvili	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	239 lb (108 kg)	Jr	Georgia
F/C	15	Ryan Erikson	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	So	Bismarck, ND
G	16	Garrett Anderson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Phoenix, AZ
C	22	Josh Jones	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jr	Austin, TX
G	23	Wylee Delorme	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Devils Lake, ND
G	33	Anthony Doppler	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Bismarck, ND

Head coach

Paul Sather (Northern State)

Assistant coach(es)

Jamie Stevens (MSU Billings)
Ty Danielson (Nebraska-Kearney)
Estevan Sandoval (New Mexico)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 19, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 18, 2025* 1:00 p.m.	Jamestown	W 82–61	–	12 – Tied (3)	6 – Smith III	3 – Smith III	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center Grand Forks, ND
October 25, 2025* 12:00 p.m., BIG+	at Minnesota	L 62–82	–	14 – Anderson	4 – Ma. Curtis	3 – Smith III	Williams Arena (7,512) Minneapolis, MN
Non-league regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN+	at No. 15 Alabama	L 62–91	0–1	13 – Anderson	6 – King	4 – Smith III	Coleman Coliseum (13,474) Tuscaloosa, AL
November 6, 2025* 7:00 p.m., Summit League Network	UC Riverside	L 70–74	0–2	17 – Smith III	6 – Nastvlishvili	6 – Uelmen	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,533) Grand Forks, ND
November 9, 2025* 1:00 p.m., SLN	Cal State Northridge	L 85–93	0–3	24 – Uelmen	5 – Jones	6 – Smith III	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,479) Grand Forks, ND
November 11, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SLN	Mayville State	W 128–58	1–3	22 – Mi. Curtis	8 – Ma. Curtis	7 – Smith III	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,721) Grand Forks, ND
November 15, 2025* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at UC Riverside	W 76–74	2–3	18 – Uelmen	6 – Tied (2)	4 – Smith III	UC Riverside Student Recreation Center (375) Riverside, CA
November 19, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Creighton	L 60–75	2–4	14 – Ma. Curtis	7 – Natsvlishvili	3 – Anderson	CHI Health Center Omaha (16,059) Omaha, NE
November 22, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	vs. Coastal Carolina Western Illinois Multiple Team Event	L 58–75	2–5	13 – Uelmen	10 – Ma. Curtis	2 – Natsvlishvili	Western Hall (165) Macomb, IL
November 23, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Western Illinois Western Illinois Multiple Team Event	W 78–69	3–5	21 – Anderson	6 – Ma. Curtis	4 – Uelmen	Western Hall (722) Macomb, IL
November 28, 2025* 11:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Hawaii	L 55–92	3–6	19 – Uelmen	6 – Uelmen	2 – Tied (2)	Stan Sheriff Center (4,088) Honolulu, HI
December 3, 2025* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Idaho Big Sky–Summit League Challenge	L 58–90	3–7	15 – Ma. Curtis	6 – King	3 – King	Idaho Central Credit Union Arena (1,636) Moscow, ID
December 6, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SLN	Montana Big Sky–Summit League Challenge	L 75–79	3–8	19 – Natsvlishvili	10 – Natsvlishvili	3 – Uelmen	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,649) Grand Forks, ND
December 10, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SLN	Crown (MN)	W 89–43	4–8	17 – Natsvlishvili	7 – King	4 – Uelmen	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,470) Grand Forks, ND
December 13, 2025* 1:00 p.m., SLN	Western Illinois	L 66–69 ^OT	4–9	13 – Tied (2)	6 – Anderson	2 – Tied (4)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,528) Grand Forks, ND
December 18, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SLN	Winthrop	W 90–88	5–9	25 – King	9 – Anderson	3 – Anderson	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (312) Grand Forks, ND
December 21, 2025* 7:00 p.m., BTN	at No. 15 Nebraska	L 55–78	5–10	13 – King	6 – Tied (2)	4 – Smith III	Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,519) Lincoln, NE
December 28, 2025* 1:00 p.m., SLN	Dakota State	W 88–56	6–10	15 – Bothun	7 – Ma. Curtis	3 – Tied (2)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,574) Grand Forks, ND
Summit League regular season
January 1, 2026 1:00 p.m., SLN	Oral Roberts	W 72–61	7–10 (1–0)	19 – Natsvlishvili	10 – King	2 – Tied (2)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,565) Grand Forks, ND
January 3, 2026 1:00 p.m., SLN	South Dakota State	W 90–87 ^OT	8–10 (2–0)	17 – Uelmen	6 – Delorme	5 – Smith III	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,966) Grand Forks, ND
January 8, 2026 7:00 p.m., SLN	at Omaha	L 79–90	8–11 (2–1)	21 – King	6 – Natsvlishvili	2 – Tied (2)	Baxter Arena (2,072) Omaha, NE
January 10, 2026 7:00 p.m., SLN	at Kansas City	W 81–79	9–11 (3–1)	22 – Anderson	11 – Jones	4 – Uelmen	Swinney Recreation Center (672) Kansas City, MO
January 15, 2026 7:00 p.m., SLN	St. Thomas	L 80–91	9–12 (3–2)	19 – Tied (2)	6 – King	3 – Kraft	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,390) Grand Forks, ND
January 17, 2026 1:00 p.m., SLN	South Dakota	W 96–80	10–12 (4–2)	26 – Uelmen	7 – Anderson	6 – King	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,012) Grand Forks, ND
January 22, 2026 7:00 p.m., SLN	at Oral Roberts	W 79–62	11–12 (5–2)	22 – Kraft	7 – King	5 – King	Mabee Center (2,513) Tulsa, OK
January 24, 2026 3:00 p.m., SLN	at Denver	W 93–86	12–12 (6–2)	30 – Uelmen	8 – King	2 – Tied (2)	Hamilton Gymnasium (1,137) Denver, CO
January 29, 2026 7:00 p.m., SLN	at St. Thomas	W 81–80	13–12 (7–2)	20 – Anderson	6 – Tied (2)	3 – Tied (3)	Lee & Penny Anderson Arena St. Paul, MN
February 5, 2026 7:00 p.m., SLN	Omaha	W 76–73	14–12 (8–2)	21 – Uelmen	10 – King	3 – Uelmen	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,836) Grand Forks, ND
February 7, 2026 1:00 p.m., SLN	Denver	L 79–98	14–13 (8–3)	24 – Uelmen	6 – King	3 – King	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,238) Grand Forks, ND
February 11, 2026 7:00 p.m., SLN	at South Dakota	W 72–71	15–13 (9–3)	24 – Uelmen	11 – Natsvlishvili	3 – Uelmen	Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,706) Vermillion, SD
February 14, 2026 1:00 p.m., CBSSN	North Dakota State	L 66–83	15–14 (9–4)	16 – Uelmen	6 – King	4 – Uelmen	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,918) Grand Forks, ND
February 19, 2026 7:00 p.m., SLN	Kansas City						Betty Engelstad Sioux Center Grand Forks, ND
February 21, 2026 2:00 p.m., SLN	at South Dakota State						First Bank & Trust Arena Brookings, SD
February 28, 2026 4:00 p.m., SLN	at North Dakota State						Scheels Center Fargo, ND
Summit League tournament
March 4–8, 2026* TBD, SLN/CBSSN	vs. TBD						Denny Sanford Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source:^[13]^[14]

References

^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Standings". thesummitleague.org. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "Paul Sather". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "Betty Engelstad Sioux Center". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". thesummitleague.org. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ Pumphrey, Jacob (March 9, 2025). "Hawks see campaign end against UST in Summit League semis". fightinghawks.com. Sioux Falls, SD. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ Eiser, Tom (May 23, 2025). "Men's Basketball Signs Guard Mier Panoam To The 2025-26 Roster". goxavier.com. Cincinnati, OH. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
^ "Dariyus Woodson". ragincajuns.com. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
^ Kern, Mason (April 19, 2025). "Omaha men's basketball adds North Dakota transfer". WOWT. Omaha, NE. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
^ MSU Athletics Communications (May 5, 2025). "Bears Add Post Transfer Amar Kuljuhovic". missouristatebears.com. Springfield, MO. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
^ "Mambourou Mara". hcuhuskies.com. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
^ Messerly, Bryan (April 22, 2025). "Hodge Announces Signing of Treysen Eaglestaff". wvusports.com. Morgantown, WV. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
^ "North Dakota Fighting Hawks Schedule 2025-26". ESPN. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[1] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Standings". thesummitleague.org. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[2] "Paul Sather". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[3] "Betty Engelstad Sioux Center". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[4] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[5] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". thesummitleague.org. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[6] Pumphrey, Jacob (March 9, 2025). "Hawks see campaign end against UST in Summit League semis". fightinghawks.com. Sioux Falls, SD. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[7] Eiser, Tom (May 23, 2025). "Men's Basketball Signs Guard Mier Panoam To The 2025-26 Roster". goxavier.com. Cincinnati, OH. Retrieved December 12, 2025.

[8] "Dariyus Woodson". ragincajuns.com. Retrieved December 13, 2025.

[9] Kern, Mason (April 19, 2025). "Omaha men's basketball adds North Dakota transfer". WOWT. Omaha, NE. Retrieved December 13, 2025.

[10] MSU Athletics Communications (May 5, 2025). "Bears Add Post Transfer Amar Kuljuhovic". missouristatebears.com. Springfield, MO. Retrieved December 12, 2025.

[11] "Mambourou Mara". hcuhuskies.com. Retrieved December 12, 2025.

[12] Messerly, Bryan (April 22, 2025). "Hodge Announces Signing of Treysen Eaglestaff". wvusports.com. Morgantown, WV. Retrieved December 12, 2025.

[13] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

[14] "North Dakota Fighting Hawks Schedule 2025-26". ESPN. Retrieved October 19, 2025.

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North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball
Venues	Budge Hall (1904–1905) Grand Forks YMCA (1906) Armory–Gym (1907–1918) New Armory (1919–1950) Hyslop Sports Center (1951–2004) Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2004–present)
Culture & lore	"Fight On Sioux" "It's for You, North Dakota U" Native American mascot controversy
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26