KENOSHA, Wis. – The Parkside men's basketball program, under the direction of first-year head coach Kyle Blackbourn, was picked fifth in the GLIAC preseason coaches' poll that was released on Wednesday. Parkside was picked fifth in a tightly bunched poll behind Grand Valley State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech and Ferris State. All four of the teams above Parkside in the poll received at least one first-place vote.
It is a new-look roster for the Rangers for the upcoming 2026-27 season with 10 new faces joining the roster. Despite all the new faces, Parkside has a lot of collegiate experience in the group, with 10 players who have played at least two years of college basketball.
One of the key returners for the 2026-27 season for Parkside is Luka Mateski. Mateski averaged 16.7 points per game last season, shooting over 45% from the floor. He also set the Parkside single-season record with 189 free throws made; that number also led the GLIAC and was ninth most in NCAA Division II last season. The Rangers also return sophomores Logan Zahour and Zach Behn, each of whom appeared in over 20 games last season, with Behn making 15 starts.
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Brian Hawthorne leads a group of transfers for the Rangers. Hawthorne was a two-time All-GLVC honoree while at Rockhurst for his first two seasons, averaging over 15 points per game his sophomore campaign. He then spent the 2025-26 season at South Alabama before coming to Parkside.
Dillon Mong and Micah Deaver make the transfer to Parkside after being part of a GLVC Championship-winning and NCAA Tournament team at Rockhurst with Blackbourn last season. Deaver played in all 30 games, making 17 starts while totaling 213 points. Mong played in 27 games last season, scoring 166 points while pulling down 99 rebounds.
Stevie Clark, Devin Kerr and Quint Booker all played double-digit minutes in the exhibition against Wisconsin and are expected to be key contributors this season. Booker scored 12 points against the Badgers on 6-for-11 shooting.
River Randall is one of the lone true freshmen on the roster. Randall played 15 minutes in the matchup with Wisconsin, scoring eight points and pulling down four boards. He was a three-time All-State performer in his home state of Iowa and helped lead his team to the state tournament three times.
The Rangers will open the 2026-27 season on Nov. 13 at Upper Iowa. Parkside's home opener will come on Nov. 25 against Lewis University. For more information and tickets visit ParksideRangers.com.
