Season Preview: Men’s Basketball enters 2023-24 with new-look roster

By Wes Mayberry

| 2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule | 2023-24 Men's Basketball Roster |

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's basketball team is bringing a new-look roster to the court in the 2023-24 season under second-year head coach Neal Young.

Seven lettermen return, but the Polar Bears graduated five players from last season's team that finished 10-15 overall and have welcomed 12 freshmen to this year's roster.

Three-year letterman Carson Conley (Newark/Licking Valley) is the lone senior on the roster this season and has played in 59 games in his ONU career. He played in 25 games with four starts last year and averaged 2.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 16 minutes per game.

The remaining returning lettermen include juniors Markus Malleschitz (Hythe, U.K./Oak Hill Academy) and Blake Michael (Fremont/St. Joseph Central Catholic) and sophomores Hayden Hanson (Cedarville), Will Miller (Ottoville), Bryce Stuart (Lucasville/Valley) and Mason Studer (Galion/Colonel Crawford).

Miller and Studer highlight that group after getting significant playing time as freshmen last season.

Miller played in 25 games with 20 starts in 2022-23 and averaged 7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 steals in 29.2 minutes per game. His 43 steals on the season were a team best and ranked tied for fifth in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

Miller will look to build on his freshman campaign, which featured 10 games in which he scored in double figures, including a career-high of 20 points against Capital.

Studer played in 24 games with one start a season ago and averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.

Among the 12 incoming freshmen are guards Jadi Cunningham Jr. (Columbus/Westerville South), Gavin Etzler (Convoy/Crestview), Jerome Kloepfer (Vanlue), Noah Langford (Perrysburg/Toledo Central Catholic), Jackson Price (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian), Carter Reese (Westerville/North) and Brady Woodall (Centerville/Dayton Christian), guard/forward Jackson Courter (Wapakoneta), forwards Cayden Jacoby (Pettisville), J.D. Kendall (Cynthiana, Ky./Harrison County) and Theo Maag (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) and center Justin Chapman (Sidney/Lehman).

ONU played a preseason exhibition game at NCAA Division I Butler in Indianapolis, Ind., on Oct. 28, and will officially open its 2023-24 season on Nov. 11 at Kalamazoo (Mich.) followed by three straight home games against Adrian (Mich.) on Nov. 15, Kenyon on Nov. 18 and Oberlin on Nov. 21.

Other non-conference games include a road match at Alma (Mich.) on Nov. 15 and a two-game set against Ursinus (Pa.) and Olivet (Mich.) in the Cruzin' Classic on Dec. 20-21 in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Polar Bears open OAC play on Dec. 2 at No. 3 John Carroll and have their conference home opener on Dec. 9 against No. 5 Mount Union for what will be their only home game of the month.

The regular-season schedule concludes with a home game against Muskingum on Feb. 17.

The 2024 OAC Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 20-24.