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Here's a nice article written by Keaton Smith, Sports Reporter with the Northwest Missourian campus newspaper. Good job, Keaton! This will be an interesting season to follow this 2025-26 season after new HC Matt Keeley put together only a 6-22 overall record and a 4-15 MIAA record with his Bearcats last season following Ben McCollum's departure when he took over the Drake Bulldog's team. Of course, most of us know now that Ben McCollum was hired this past year to take over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference after his incredible first season with Drake last year.
Good luck to these Bearcats this season! GO BEARCATS!!!
Northwest Men’s Basketball Pushes Past Losing Season, Restarts With Roster Changes
KEATON SMITH | Sports Reporter | @keatonsmedia
Oct 21, 2025
Northwest men's basketball junior forward Jack Ratigan and freshman forward Booker Scheierman reach for a jump ball during a practice Oct. 17. Ratigan is one of the two returning starters from last season.
NATHAN NODA | Photo Editor
Northwest is searching for a bounce-back basketball season under second-year head coach Matt Keeley after finishing 6-22 overall and 4-15 in MIAA play in the 2024-25 season.
In his first season at the helm, Keeley had big shoes to fill after former Bearcat head coach Ben McCollum left to coach Drake University after winning four Division II National Championships in the span of six years at Northwest. McCollum spent a year at Drake and was hired as the head coach for the University of Iowa in March of 2025.
Despite the rich history of Bearcat basketball, Keeley said comparing this squad to previous teams will not help the team in the long run.
“We’re taking the baton from some very successful coaches before us,” Keeley said. “Obviously, no one more successful than Coach McCollum, but if we get caught up in trying to play against past teams, there is no value in that. There’s some great things that have been handed to us from them…we take great pride in what Northwest has been and is, so we’re taking the baton from those programs and trying to run with it.”
The 2025 roster contains only two returning players from the previous season, junior forwards Trey Moala and Jack Ratigan. The juniors are the only players on the roster with MIAA playing experience.
Moala and Ratigan averaged a combined 13.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest during the 2024-25 season.
New recruit freshman forward Booker Scheierman said despite the many new faces, players are fitting into their roles.
“We got Jack (Ratigan) and Trey (Moala), our two returning guys from last year’s team; those guys that set the tone down low,” Scheierman said. “They’re the bigs, and they do a great job of rebounding and leading the team. Then we have a lot of new recruits, and we’ve been gelling well. We’ve been gelling well off the court, and that has led to a lot of success on the court.”
Among the new recruits are Southern New Hampshire University transfer senior guard Royce Williams and Millersville University of Pennsylvania transfer senior guard Aiden Gair.
Williams averaged 9.3 points per game for the Southern New Hampshire Penmen in the 2024-25 season, while Gair tallied 3.1 three-pointers and 14.4 points per game for the Millersville Marauders.
Scheierman said the transfer talent he’s now playing with has impressed him through the preseason.
“We have a lot of good shot creators,” Scheierman said. “I mean, Aiden Gair and Royce Williams, they can get shots off in a lot of ways and a lot of creative ways, and Royce is also a great playmaker.”
Although the Bearcats added talent, Northwest was last place for the MIAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll and No. 11 out of 14 teams in the MIAA Men’s Basketball Media Poll. Regardless of the ranking, Keeley said in comparison to last season, the team is in a much more favorable spot on and off the court.
“I feel like just even looking at our time in comparison to last year, just how far ahead we are from on the floor and off the floor both; from recognizing who we are, as well as understanding who the league is, the rhythms and routines of Northwest and the things that go along with that, we certainly feel more comfortable than we did 12 months ago,” Keeley said.
Regular season play will begin for the ’Cats at the Division II Conference Commissioners Association Tip-Off Classic tournament 5 p.m. Oct. 31 in St. Joseph at Civic Arena, where they’ll face the Minnesota State Mavericks.
The Bearcats’ first four games will be in St. Joseph. Northwest will play its first home game of the season 6 p.m. Nov. 17 against the Missouri Valley Vikings.
Good luck to these Bearcats this season! GO BEARCATS!!!
Northwest Men’s Basketball Pushes Past Losing Season, Restarts With Roster Changes
KEATON SMITH | Sports Reporter | @keatonsmedia
Oct 21, 2025
Northwest men's basketball junior forward Jack Ratigan and freshman forward Booker Scheierman reach for a jump ball during a practice Oct. 17. Ratigan is one of the two returning starters from last season.
NATHAN NODA | Photo Editor
Northwest is searching for a bounce-back basketball season under second-year head coach Matt Keeley after finishing 6-22 overall and 4-15 in MIAA play in the 2024-25 season.
In his first season at the helm, Keeley had big shoes to fill after former Bearcat head coach Ben McCollum left to coach Drake University after winning four Division II National Championships in the span of six years at Northwest. McCollum spent a year at Drake and was hired as the head coach for the University of Iowa in March of 2025.
Despite the rich history of Bearcat basketball, Keeley said comparing this squad to previous teams will not help the team in the long run.
“We’re taking the baton from some very successful coaches before us,” Keeley said. “Obviously, no one more successful than Coach McCollum, but if we get caught up in trying to play against past teams, there is no value in that. There’s some great things that have been handed to us from them…we take great pride in what Northwest has been and is, so we’re taking the baton from those programs and trying to run with it.”
The 2025 roster contains only two returning players from the previous season, junior forwards Trey Moala and Jack Ratigan. The juniors are the only players on the roster with MIAA playing experience.
Moala and Ratigan averaged a combined 13.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest during the 2024-25 season.
New recruit freshman forward Booker Scheierman said despite the many new faces, players are fitting into their roles.
“We got Jack (Ratigan) and Trey (Moala), our two returning guys from last year’s team; those guys that set the tone down low,” Scheierman said. “They’re the bigs, and they do a great job of rebounding and leading the team. Then we have a lot of new recruits, and we’ve been gelling well. We’ve been gelling well off the court, and that has led to a lot of success on the court.”
Among the new recruits are Southern New Hampshire University transfer senior guard Royce Williams and Millersville University of Pennsylvania transfer senior guard Aiden Gair.
Williams averaged 9.3 points per game for the Southern New Hampshire Penmen in the 2024-25 season, while Gair tallied 3.1 three-pointers and 14.4 points per game for the Millersville Marauders.
Scheierman said the transfer talent he’s now playing with has impressed him through the preseason.
“We have a lot of good shot creators,” Scheierman said. “I mean, Aiden Gair and Royce Williams, they can get shots off in a lot of ways and a lot of creative ways, and Royce is also a great playmaker.”
Although the Bearcats added talent, Northwest was last place for the MIAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll and No. 11 out of 14 teams in the MIAA Men’s Basketball Media Poll. Regardless of the ranking, Keeley said in comparison to last season, the team is in a much more favorable spot on and off the court.
“I feel like just even looking at our time in comparison to last year, just how far ahead we are from on the floor and off the floor both; from recognizing who we are, as well as understanding who the league is, the rhythms and routines of Northwest and the things that go along with that, we certainly feel more comfortable than we did 12 months ago,” Keeley said.
Regular season play will begin for the ’Cats at the Division II Conference Commissioners Association Tip-Off Classic tournament 5 p.m. Oct. 31 in St. Joseph at Civic Arena, where they’ll face the Minnesota State Mavericks.
The Bearcats’ first four games will be in St. Joseph. Northwest will play its first home game of the season 6 p.m. Nov. 17 against the Missouri Valley Vikings.
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