Johnnie basketball begins their 2025-2026 season with revamped roster

The SJU Basketball team has officially tipped off its 2025-26 season with an array of new talent. SJU narrowly lost their season opener to UW-Oshkosh 90-86 last Saturday in Oshkosh. Similar to SJU, Oshkosh received votes in the first D3 Hoops top 25 ranking.

“There was a lot of good and a lot of bad,” 11th year head coach Pat McKenzie said. “Liam [Farniok] had a great night. To go through that game, have five assists and no turnovers, I thought was phenomenal. Vinny [Hillesheim] has done a great job. I think of everybody in our program, he had the best offseason, as far as in the weight room. He’s starting to see some of the results from the effort he put in over the summer.”

Junior post Vincent Hillesheim echoed his coach’s sentiment.

“I thought there were certain aspects that we did better than I expected. The guys played with the ball pretty well. We [have] got to clean up some of the little things: the turnovers and the offensive boards,” Hillesheim said.

“They kind of played a style we probably won’t see a ton, with all the pressure they brought,” senior guard Kyle Johnson said. “The issues we had we’ll be able to fix.”

In the loss, Hillesheim was second on the team with 14 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Liam Farniok led the Johnnies with 17 points and five assists. Johnson, who missed the opener due to injury, is expected to be a large part of the lineup when he returns. He appeared in all 29 games for the Johnnies last winter and recorded 8.3 points per game while shooting 39% from beyond the arch. The
sharpshooter also shot a team-best 97% from the free-throw line.
The Johnnies enter this season looking to reload after graduating eight of their top nine scorers from last year’s 25-4 squad. SJU went 15-1
in MIAC play to share the regular season title, the program’s 12th all time, and went on to win its ninth MIAC Playoff Championship. The Johnnies earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated the University of Chicago 72-71 before falling 75-73 to Illinois Wesleyan in the round of 32. It marked SJU’s 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth in the past seven seasons.
Despite the roster turnover, the team still holds an expectation of success for themselves.

“We’re not going to use inexperience as an excuse. Our goal is always to win the conference and make a run,” McKenzie said. “The exciting thing with this group is there’s a lot of room for growth. I think you’re going to see a lot of improvement from this team.”

Although the team is young, Hillesheim expressed confidence in their ability to compete.

“The expectation is still the same,” Hillesheim said. “I think we have a lot of potential, a lot of talent, but potential doesn’t win you any games.”

Johnson also noted how sometimes having to replace players can actually be turned into a positive.

“It’s almost like a breath of fresh air. We have a new group, a different personality, and it keeps it light and fun,” Johnson said. “A lot of guys have talent and just haven’t had the opportunity to show it on the court yet.”

Hillesheim emphasized leadership as his primary focus this season.

“The biggest goal is figuring out how to be a better leader on and off the court,” said Hillesheim.

Johnson added that he is looking to be a leader for the team.

“Everyone looks to you now to lead,” Johnson added. “If I can help the team grow up faster, it’ll be a successful year.”

After a decade as head coach, McKenzie now stands just one win shy of his 200th career victory.

“It’d be great to get just because it means we’ll have won the game,” said McKenzie. “We’ve been fortunate with a lot of good players and great staffs. We have great support from alumni and parents. So that is more of a program milestone.”

The Johnnies’ schedule remains competitive, featuring a tough nonconference slate with matchups against NCAA tournament teams from a year ago in Central, UW-La Crosse and Hardin-Simmons, alongside the usual MIAC matchups.

“It is a tough non-conference and that’s by design. You want to go out and get tested,” McKenzie said.

SJU also will face familiar foe St. Thomas in an exhibition contest on Thursday, Dec. 11 in St. Paul.

“The St. Thomas game, regardless of what people say about the divisions, it’s still St. Thomas and St. John’s, and the rivalry is still there,” Johnson said.

The Johnnies return to the court for their home opener against Central College on Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. They also host Simpson the following day on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m.

“We’re definitely excited to take the court and have home court advantage in front of our fans,” Hillesheim said