After watching the 2026 University of Minnesota-Duluth Sweet Sixteen, I've come to the following five conclusions/thoughts:
1) Colton Nesbitt will be a fascinating player to watch in the Big Rivers Conference throughout the next two seasons. Going into Monday I was unaware of who River Falls' Colton Nesbitt (2028) was, but it doesn't take long for 6'7" guys to stand out on basketball courts. In his first game of the day, Nesbitt was challenged by having to match up with Hibbing's big fella in 6'8" Ray Brau. Nesbitt was able to show some versatility during the two games that I watched (they played Mountain Iron-Buhl in the second game). I'm not sure that I saw him make a three-pointer, but there wasn't much else that he didn't do. He's a guy who will rim run one possession and then lead the break the next. He's more than capable of attacking from the perimeter, but also does a great job of moving without the ball and finding gaps in the defense. At 6'7" he has soft hands and was a good passer. The main thing that stood out was how he was making things challenging for the previously mentioned Brau (who holds multiple D2 offers). It's easy to understand why he is a bit under the radar currently, he averaged 5.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game as a sophomore on a senior heavy team. Those numbers will continue to go up as he gets more consistent and develops his game even more.
2) Multiple underclassmen guards should impact their teams during the upcoming season. When I looked at underclassmen guards, Joseph Dupree (2029) is the first name that comes to mind since he saw the most playing time of the group. Dupree started for Duluth Denfeld as a freshman, and was their fourth leading scorer at 4.8 points per game. Expect him to play a bigger role this season and should be relied upon to have more of an impact with the graduation of Lee Brooks. Cam Jolma (2029) of Ashland has really stood out so far this summer when I've watched him, and at UMD was no different. He excels as a decision maker and tends to lift up the other players on the court. Ball screens, transition, and spot up three-pointers are the main areas I've seen him standout. The combination of those skills brings something to the Ashland team that should make them tougher to defend. Jolma was on varsity last season, but only played in 9 game seeing most of his action came at the JV level. Jacob Sykes (2030) of Duluth East is quite possibly the name I'm the most excited about of this group of guards. He played up a grade with the Playmakers North 15U team this offseason, which should help him transition to varsity. Sykes is another guard who is at his best when pushing the ball in transition and able to be a decision maker. All three of these guards should be fun to watch over the next 3-4 years.
3) Braxdyn Male is making a name for himself in the 2028 class. Esko had tough schedule for the 2025-2026 season and they were a youthful roster at the beginning. That made way for Male to step in as a sophomore and have an immediate impact. Not only that, but he finished the season being named Pine Journal Played of the Year and Duluth News Tribune First Team All-Area. Now we're halfway through the summer and the 6'1" guard has started to catch the eyes of colleges and recruiting sites. While at the Sweet Sixteen tournament, Male was able to show some athleticism and tough shot making that I previously haven't seen. He's physical enough to know how to get defenders to the spot he wants them and then make a move for a quality shot. Many examples of the same move happened where he would bump the defender into the mid-range and then hit them with a step-back for an easy jumper. One of my favorite things about watching him play is how unselfish he is with the basketball. On top of everything, it looked like his three-point shot was the most fluent I've seen and he looked extremely comfortable shooting.
4) Hibbing seems to have picked up right where they left off. There were moments where I have tried to prepare myself to not be quite as high on Hibbing heading into this season. It appears none of that self-talk has worked. It will be a senior dominated roster and hard to bet against the duo of Jack Bottoms and Ray Brau. Bottoms is a 1000 point scorer, while Brau reached the 2000 point/1000 rebound milestone. Brau will be one of the premier players in the area this season and is sure to generate a ton of attention from opponents, considering he saw tons of double teams in the post as a junior. Bottoms is a lefty guard who has a knack for making big and tough shots. Grant Toewe and Rocco Rossini were two other seniors who played very well for Hibbing at the tournament. Toewe provides some good size (listed at 6'4") from the wing position and should play a key role doing a little bit of everything if Hibbing is going to make a playoff run. Rossini hit some really big shots for Hibbing in their game against River Falls. It seemed like any chance River Falls had at making a run, there was Rossini knocking down a spot up three pointer. If all of those players can be the best at what they do, plus a couple of others stepping in to new roles, Hibbing should be a really tough out.
5) There was good size from the 2027 class who could all play college ball. Some of the 2027 Top Players were on display and they all looked the part of players who could help college programs. Ray Brau is probably the most well-known name in this group, and probably rightfully so considering he's a 6'8" forward. He's garnered scholarship interest, and at this point it seems to be a no-brainer that he is a scholarship level forward. Carter Brown gained attention after a junior season where he made a huge jump, potentially putting himself in a position to get scholarship offers. Of the names listed, he probably has the biggest potential. Kam Kroll brings some really good size being a 6'3" guard/wing while also being a lefty. He's a three-sport athlete, which makes me think that his best basketball is still ahead of him once he begins to play one sport. Gavin Greene is a 6'5" and could play the role of a point forward. Combining his skill set with his size make him intriguing, considering he typically spends most of his time on the perimeter. Simon Winkel is probably the least known player, but provides the ability to be a stretch forward at the college level. Almost every time I watch him play I walk away thinking about how much the guy he was guarding struggled to get anything going. All of these guys look the part of guys who should be on recruiting radars.
Games Watched:
Northwestern v Fridley
Duluth East v Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
River Falls v Hibbing
Mountain Iron-Buhl v Minneapolis Washburn
Ashland v Duluth East
Mountain Iron-Buhl v River Falls
Duluth Denfeld v Esko
