VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota men's basketball kicks off the 2024-25 campaign Monday night in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, when the Coyotes square off with the Southern Jaguars at 8:00 p.m.
 
Where To Watch
Monday's game can be found on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network.
 
Quick Hitters

• South Dakota kicks off the 2024-25 season with three straight homes games next week starting on Monday when they welcome Southern University to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
• The Coy  otes returning cast is highlighted by Preseason All-Summit League First Team member Kaleb Stewart.
• Stewart returns as the conference's second leading scorer after pouring in 15.6 points per game in his junior season.
• Stewart was named an all-conference honorable mention and to the all-newcomer team last season.
• South Dakota was picked to finish seventh in the Summit League Preseason Poll and received one first-place vote.
• The Coyotes have been been among the best in the NCAA in three-point shooting over the past five seasons, ranking in the top 25 as a team each year.
• USD finished the 2023-24 campaign with the 16th best three-point percentage (.376).
• The Coyotes ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in three-point shooting on the road, knocking down .386 percent of their attempts from deep in road venues.
• South Dakota has won three straight home openers against Southern in 2021-22, Lipscomb in 2022-23 and Mount Marty last season.
• The Coyotes added four transfers to the roster in Chase Forte, Dre Bullock, Ashton Smith and Cameron Fens.
• Dre Bullock and Kaleb Stewart spent the 2022-23 season together at LA Tech, while Bullock and Chase Forte both prepped at Word of God Christian Academny in Raleigh, N.C.
• USD also added three freshmen in Oliver Kokal, Porter Ihnen and Evan Anderson.
   

Series History vs. Southern

• The Coyotes and Jaguars have met twice before on the hardwood, most recently in 2021 in Vermillion, S.D.
• USD won that matchup 71-68 in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
• The other meeting between the two teams was in 2012 on a neutral floor in Laramie, Wyo.
   

Dialing It In From Deep

• The Coyotes have been among the NCAA's best in three-point shooting over the previous five seasons.
• The Yotes have connected on .373 percent or higher on three-point attempts in each of the last five seasons.
• The Coyotes converted .376 percent of their attempts from deep a season ago, good for 16th across the NCAA.
• USD ranked No. 4 in three-pointer percentage 2019-20 with a .388 clip.
• Kaleb Stewart led the team in 3-pointers a season ago with 66 on a .426 percentage.
• Paul Bruns followed Stewart with 59 triples of his own a season ago and begins the season with 170 in his career.
• Isaac Bruns and Max Burchill knocked down 32 and 31 treys, respectively.
• The high-flying transfer, Dre Bullock, can also knock it down from deep as he connected on 38 treys last season at Niagara with a .500 percentage.

 
Lights Out on the Road

• Road venues didn't intimidate the Coyote sharpshooters a season ago, as USD knocked down 103 treys in 14 road contests with a .386 3-point percentage on the road.
• The Yotes ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in road 3-point shooting (.386%).
• Kaleb Stewart was especially lethal from range on the road with 34 triples on a .472 conversion rate.

 
Senior Season Loading for Stewart

• Kaleb Stewart returns for his senior season and was named to the All-Summit League Preseason First Team in October. h
• Stewart is the conference second leading returning scorer after pacing USD at 15.6 points per game.
• At Denver last season, Stewart scored the most points in a single game by a Coyote, 44, since 1967 and the fourth most in school history.
• Stewart was red-hot from deep against the Pioneers, knocking down 8-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc.
• He finished the regular season with 22 double-digit performances and scored in double-figures in all but two conference games.
• Stewart held shooting splits of .454 from the floor, .426 from deep and .829 from the charity stripe.
• He was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team and an All-Summit Honorable Mention in his first year at USD.
• Stewart was named South Dakota's Male Rookie of the Year at USD's annual athletic awards banquet, The Charlie's.

 
Mad Max

• Max Burchill was one of two Coyotes to start and play in all 32 games a season ago.
• The senior from Sioux Falls, S.D. averaged 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game a season ago and totaled 54 assists and 18 steals.
• Burchill had nine games with 5+ rebounds and nine with double-digit points, including a career-high 18-point performance against Purdue Fort Wayne (11/18/23).
   

Bruns Bros

• After standout careers at Dakota Valley HS, the Bruns brothers, Paul and Isaac took the floor once again together last season as Coyotes.
• Paul Bruns enters his senior season, and third with the Yotes, and reached 1,000 career points last season. Paul started 28 of 32 games for USD last season and averaged 10.2 points per game.
• Isaac Bruns appeared in all 32 games in his freshman season, averaging 6.3 points per game. He knocked down 32 triples at a .337 clip and grabbed 55 rebounds.

 
Coyotes in Europe

• South Dakota traveled to Europe for an 11-day tour of Italy at the end of July/early August.
• In addition to some sightseeing, the Coyotes held a 3-0 record against the Italian Select, Pro Camp (Italy) and Bassano del Grappa.
• The NCAA allows teams to participate in foreign tours once every four years.
• An added benefit of the foreign tours, is that it allows for an additional 10 extra days of practice.

 
The New Guys on the Block

• The Coyotes welcomed four transfers to the roster in Chase Forte, Dre Bullock, Ashton Smith and Cameron Fens.
• Dre Bullock and Kaleb Stewart spent the 2022-23 season together at LA Tech, while Bullock and Chase Forte both prepped at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C.
• USD added three freshmen in Oliver Kokal, Porter Ihnen and Evan Anderson.
• Forte made 29 starts in 32 appearances for Northwestern State where he averaged 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the Demons.
• Forte recorded a double-double and set career highs in points (25) and rebounds (10) against Texas A&M Commerce (3/6/24).
•  South Dakota hosts Texas A&M Commerce in the second game of the year at the SCSC.
• Dre Bullock transfers in from Niagara where he played in 32 contests with nine starts. Bullock averaged 8.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He knocked down 38 triples at a .500 shooting percentage.
• Bullock poured in a career-high 26 points against Quinnipiacc (2/18/24) last season.
• Ashton Smith joins the Yotes from Oral Roberts where he played in 18 games for the Golden Eagles. The junior forward averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in his only season at ORU.
• Cameron Fens spent his first two seasons at Illinois-Chicago where he appeared in 52 contests and made 15 starts. Fens averaged 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

 
Hey I Know You

• Former teammates' paths have crossed once again at South Dakota this season in Dre Bullock, Chase Forte and Kaleb Stewart.
• Bullock and Forte prepped at Word of God Christian Academy together.
• Stewart and Bullock spent a season playing together during the 2022-23 year at LA Tech.

 
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