FAYETTE, Iowa – Peacock men's basketball begins their season this weekend by competing in the Midwest Crossover in Kenosha, Wisconsin. UIU plays Wisconsin-Parkside on Friday at 7 p.m. and then Roosevelt (Ill.) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Head Coach Casey Kasperbauer is in his first year leading the Upper Iowa basketball program. Before becoming the 19th head coach in program history, Kasperbauer spent six seasons at South Dakota, where he served as the Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator) from 2021–2024. Prior to that, he began his tenure with the Coyotes as the Director of Operations in 2018.

MEET THE PEACOCKS: RETURNERS
Overall, the Peacocks return over half their roster (11). The key returners from last year are Kyle Hrncir, Austin Hilmer and Jack Miller.

Hrncir returns as the most experienced Peacock. He led the team last season in assists per game (2.8) and steals per game (1.6). Hrncir was also second in rebounds per game (4.7) and third in points per game (12.4).  

"We're going to lean on him heavily, not just his production on the court, but we need to see him lead on and off the court," Kasperbauer said. "So far, he's done a terrific job mentoring our young guys." 

Through Hilmer's three seasons with the program, he's appeared in 91 games with 22 starts. He came off the bench during UNI game and had 11 points, two assists and one rebound. Hilmer caught fire and made three straight 3-pointers.

Miller enters his second season with Upper Iowa after appearing in 30 games for the team last year. Last season, he averaged 5.5 points per game, 1.7 rebounds per game and accumulated 20 steals on the season. He started the exhibition
against the Panthers and scored 11 points, two steals, and added one block along with a rebound.

MEET THE PEACOCKS: FRESH FACES
Upper Iowa has a total of nine new faces. This includes five transfers and four freshmen. The transfers will be relied upon for their leadership and experience.

Trey Lewis transferred from Florida A&M, where he appeared in 17 games with three starts during the 2024-25 season. One of his best games was when he started against Florida, playing a season-high 31 minutes with a season-high eight points with an assist.

"Trey is used to winning … I really trust him with the ball in his hands, and so far, as we've been stating practices, he's been leading us in assists with his unbelievable passing. He's a classic three-level scorer with great basketball IQ."

Transfer Eric Kenesie played for Buffalo (N.Y.) last year during his freshman campaign. In the Northern Iowa exhibition game, he started and had six points with two assists. Kenesie also went 2-of-3 from behind the arc.

Junior College transfers Tate Petersen and Zach Erwin bring a championship pedigree from Kirkwood Community College, where they helped lead the Eagles to a 33–3 record and the NJCAA Division II National Championship. In the title game, Petersen posted four points and three rebounds, while Erwin added eight points and eight rebounds.

During the 2024–25 season, Petersen averaged 10.5 points, 2.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 36 starts, with Erwin eclipsing 6.9 points, 2.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds in 31 games with 20 starts.

The other JUCO transfer is Ashton Hermann, who transferred from Iowa Lakes Community College. In the 2024-25 campaign, he averaged 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists during his 31 starts.

"Ashton was the leading scorer at Iowa Lakes and has a knack for scoring," Kasperbauer said.

Local Freshman Cael Reichter led North Fayette to a 25-1 record last season. He started in the UNI game and had five points and three rebounds.

Another impactful freshman is Anton Fontin from Stockholm, Sweden. He recently played in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket Division B for Sweden and averaged seven ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 1.9 apg.

"Anton brings a high level of international experience and is incredibly skilled for his size," Kasperbauer said. "Great things happen when the ball is in his hands."

GLVC PRESEASON POLL
The Peacocks were voted 11^th place and received 78 points in the 2025 GLVC Preseason Poll. Missouri S&T took first place with 196 points, while reigning Conference Champion Lincoln (Mo.) placed second with 174 points, followed by Missouri-St. Louis who placed third with 161 points.

Last season, the Peacocks finished third in the GLVC with a record 21-9 (14-6).

2025-26 GLVC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL

Place	School	Points (1st-place votes)
1.	Missouri S&T	196 (14)
2.	Lincoln	174 (1)
3.	Missouri-St. Louis	161
4.	Rockhurst	141
5.	Drury	121
6.	Indianapolis	115
7.	Lewis	114
8.	McKendree	109
9.	Illinois Springfield	97
10.	William Jewell	96
11. 12.	Upper Iowa Truman State	78 69
13.	Quincy	51
14.	Maryville	33
15.	Southwest Baptist	20

 
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Upper Iowa plays four away games before hosting its first home game on Friday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. against Minnesota Crookston. After facing Wisconsin-Parkside and Roosevelt, the Peacocks travel next week on Thursday to face Central Missouri at 5:30 p.m. The team ends the early road game stretch against Purdue Northwest next Saturday at 3 p.m.

UIU plays its first GLVC game in Quincy, Illinois, on Monday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. against Quincy. The following matchup for the program will be on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. against Lincoln for Upper Iowa's first conference game at home.

"Our first two home games are against the GLVC preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams," Kasperbauer said. "Missouri S&T probably returns the most, but most of the teams in the conference will have new faces. I am excited to play in a conference that is challenging and will test us night in and night out."

ABOUT THE RANGERS
Wisconsin-Parkside finished seventh in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference (GLIAC) last season with an overall record of 14-15 and conference record of 11-9. The Peacocks have played the Rangers every year since 2009, and UIU won the most recent matchup in 2024, 82-63.

The Rangers return several impactful players from last year: Josiah Palmer, Jack Rose, Ethan Ivan, Fawaz Surakat and Matas Castillo. Both Palmer and Rose were named All GLIAC First-Team last season. Palmer averaged a team-high 16.1 ppg and 4.7 assists, while Rose averaged a team second-best 15.8 points and 2.1 assists.

Wisconsin-Parkside is coached by Luke Reigel, who enters his 23^rd season with an overall record of 324-296.

ABOUT THE LAKERS
Roosevelt recorded an overall record of 9-20 and a GLIAC record of 6-14 in 2024-25 while finishing ninth out of 11 in the conference. This will be the third matchup between both programs, with UIU winning the most recent game in 2024, 102-82.

The key returner for the Lakers is Griffin Yaklich, who started in 29 games while averaging 30 minutes per contest. Last year, he led the team in rebounds with 7.2 per game, had a team second-best 2.6 assists per game and averaged six points per contest.

Roosevelt is coached by fourth year head coach Dee Brown, who has an overall record of 53-35.