Kansas Wesleyan returns several athletes who played key roles in the Coyotes’ success during the 2023-24 season.
They finished 23-9 and tied Southwestern for second in the Kansas Conference standings with an 18-4 record. They received the conference’s second automatic bid to the NAIA Championships and played an Opening Round game inside Mabee Arena.
That was then, though, and while KWU has a strong cast of veterans back there were some significant losses.
“We’ve had this group of guys for the past three years and they’ve been on a great run,” Monson said Thursday during the KCAC’s men’s basketball media day. “We graduated a couple of them last year, a couple of really good ones especially Jun Murdock and Thurbil Bile.”
Murdock was a two-time All-American point guard and ran the offense for three wildly successful seasons. Bile was the starting center that last two years.
Monson, though, is not distraught. Three starters and five others from last year’s team are back and are joined by a stellar recruiting class. The list of returnees starts with senior forward Alex Littlejohn who earned All-America honors last season when he averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“Even on bad nights it seems like he’s always getting that,” Monson said. “He’s very versatile and it makes my life as a coach a lot easier.”
Starting guards Easton Hunter and Izaiah Hale return for their senior seasons as well. Forwards Gabe Phillips and Grant Dye and guards Jameer Clemons, D.J. Hudspeth and Caden Hale also return – Hale the heir apparent at point guard.
“I think he always gets lost in the shuffle because he was Jun’s backup,” Monson said. “He’s taken a big step forward; he averaged almost eight points a game off the bench and has done a really good job of taking control that point guard position and just leading the team.”
Monson spent the offseason addressing the team’s biggest needs – size and depth.
“We had some injuries, and some things happened so we brought in a slew of transfers to help us build some depth back up and get bigger,” he said. “When you’re starting big man (Bile) was 6-5 it’s not really a good thing especially if you get LSU-Shreveport in the first round the national tournament, so we addressed that.”
Monson’s KCAC colleagues and others are impressed. Wesleyan was picked second behind defending champion Oklahoma Wesleyan in the coaches’ and media polls taken Thursday. Southwestern was third and Evangel fourth in both polls.
The Coyotes are indeed bigger, in a big way. The list of newcomers starts with Evens Appolon, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound center who was at Central Methodist a year ago.
“He was pretty much a redshirt last year and he’s been great,” Monson said.
Other sizable additions are 6-6 Miles Fant, Iowa Central; Stefan Spray, 6-6 Barton Community College; 6-5 Dreylin Kemp, Butler CC; 6-5 Eric Green, Coffeyville CC, and 6-8 Dan Morgan from Lone Star CC who was a redshirt last season.
“We feel really good about our size, and I think we got a lot of versatility with it,” Monson said. “You add Alex to that mix and obviously it becomes pretty good.”
Monson also added backcourt help in Tucker Bowman, Central Arkansas; Landon Wagler, Hutchinson CC, and Sage Koelsch, Pratt CC. Carson Jones, a freshman, could see varsity time as well, according to Monson.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that we’re trying to sift through right now,” he said. “I think the most pleasant thing for me is to see guys step up in the absence of some guys who have been really impact players for us these past couple years. It’s been a lot of fun to watch that growth and see them take the next step.”
The Coyotes open the season against Northern New Mexico on November 1 in Mabee Arena. They play Wayland Baptist the following night.
