Dec. 9—KERKHOVEN — Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg went through a youth movement in 2024-25. It made for an uneven season for the Fighting Saints as they went 13-14 overall and 7-9 in the Camden Conference.
After taking their lumps and with everyone coming back, KMS hopes for an improved season.
"We went from being one of the least experienced teams last year to one of the most experienced this year," said Fighting Saints head coach Matt Fragodt, who's entering his 13th season on the bench. He's joined by assistants Weston Gjerde and Luke Armstrong.
"I am looking forward to see how this team grows throughout the year," Fragodt said. "It is a fun, athletic basketball group. We will have to have a balanced attack. Every night, we could have a different leading scorer."
KMS returns an All-Camden Conference player in Gavin Mulder. The 6-foot senior forward averaged 17.0 points on 51.1% shooting. He also averaged 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.2 assists.
"Gavin is very athletic and can sky for balls," Fragodt said. "He is an all-around basketball player that can do it all. He will be looked at to be that double-double guy every night."
Teagen Diederich, a 5-10 senior guard, is also back after garnering an All-Camden honorable mention nod. Diederich had averages of 10.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals.
"Teagen is a very good shooter," Fragodt said. "He has really worked hard at getting to the basket and that should help him against teams that pressure him outside."
Other seniors back in the field are 5-10 point guard Kody Tollefsrud, 6-0 forward Hunter Engelke and 5-10 forward Talen Riley. Tollefsrud dished out 3.3 assists per game and Engelke scored 10.1 points.
Alex Zurn, a 6-2 junior forward, and Jackson Armstrong, a 5-9 sophomore guard, also return to the rotation.
"We are very talented on offense and need to get better throughout the year on defense," Fragodt said. "Lacking a lot of size, we will have to change our defensive looks and really try to apply pressure."