SEWARD, Neb. – The 23rd annual Cattle Classic is set to tip off on Friday afternoon inside Friedrich Arena. The basketball classic features a total of four men’s games and four women’s games over the course of the two-day extravaganza. The event, co-sponsored by Concordia and Cattle Bank & Trust, raises money and food for the Blue Valley Community Action's Food Pantry. Pac N Save of Seward will match all canned food donations.
Fans are encouraged to bring canned goods in exchange for admission. Ten canned items will get an adult a weekend pass. Complete admission information for the Cattle Classic can be found HERE. Tickets will not be sold online for this particular event.
Live webcasts/stats: Concordia Sports Network
2022 CATTLE CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 4
- Women: Briar Cliff University vs. Dakota State University (S.D.), 1 p.m.
- Men: Hastings College vs. Ottawa University (Kan.), 3 p.m.
- Women: Concordia vs. Bellevue University, 6 p.m.
- Men: Concordia vs. Tabor College (Kan.), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5
- Women: Bellevue University vs. Briar Cliff University, 10 a.m.
- Men: Hastings College vs. Tabor College (Kan.), 12 p.m.
- Women: Concordia vs. Dakota State University (S.D.), 2 p.m.
- Men: Concordia vs. Ottawa University (Kan.), 4 p.m.
The Men’s Field
NOTE: Overall records for 2022-23 are current as of the beginning of the week (Oct. 31).
Concordia University Bulldogs
Head Coach: Ben Limback, 10th season
2022-23 Record: 0-0
2021-22 Record: 28-7
Conference: Great Plains Athletic Conference
Location: Seward, Nebraska
Top Player: The most heralded returners in terms of accolades are frontcourt stars Gage Smith (First Team All-GPAC in 2021-22) and Noah Schutte (2022 NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team). Smith is back for a fifth year in the program while Schutte moves into an even larger role after a breakout second-year campaign. The frontcourt is loaded with talent and athleticism.
Overview: The Bulldogs are ready to follow up one of the greatest seasons in program history. The defending GPAC champions are unranked in the preseason (listed as receiving votes) in large part due to the graduation of guards Carter Kent and Justin Wiersema. The strength of the team is its uber athletic frontcourt. Coach Ben Limback’s squad is fueled by energetic point guard AJ Watson. Concordia was picked fourth in the GPAC preseason poll. A revamped rotation will include the high-flying sophomore Tristan Smith and sharpshooting guard Brad Bennett, who missed the stretch run of 2021-22 due to injury.
Hastings College Broncos
Head Coach: Todd Raridon, 1st season
2022-23 Record: 0-0
2021-22 Record: 7-23
Conference: Great Plains Athletic Conference
Location: Hastings, Nebraska
Top Player: Senior guard Karsen Gansebom averaged 17.0 points per game and shot 37.7 percent from 3-point range last season while earning Second Team All-GPAC accolades. The Bennington, Neb., native also garnered honorable mention all-conference honors the previous season.
Overview: Hastings is transitioning under a new head coach in Todd Raridon, a veteran coach who owns a 581-285 record in 33 collegiate seasons. Fifteen of those years came at Nebraska Wesleyan. Raridon is now tasked with rebuilding a program that struggled to a 7-23 mark in 2021-22. The most recent national tournament appearance for the Broncos came in 2010.
Ottawa University Braves
Head Coach: Aaron Siebenthall, 8th season
2022-23 Record: 2-0
2021-22 Record: 21-11
Conference: Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Location: Ottawa, Kansas
Top Player: 6-foot-7 senior forward Tristen Hull averaged 9.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game last season while picking up honorable mention all-conference accolades. Fellow All-KCAC honorees Joe Johnson III and Andre Jackson have departed.
Overview: Ottawa landed at No. 5 in the KCAC preseason coaches’ poll after winning 21 games last season. Head Coach Aaron Siebenthall led the program to 28 victories during the 2019-20 campaign. The Braves return seven varsity players from last season’s roster, including Hull. The program has made eight all-time national tournament appearances.
Tabor College Bluejays
Head Coach: Matt Warren, 1st season
2022-23 Record: 1-0
2021-22 Record: 8-20
Conference: Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Location: Hillsboro, Kansas
Top Player: Point guard Austin Hilton could be primed for a breakout sophomore season after he averaged 5.4 points while coming off the bench to appear in 22 games in 2021-22. In Tabor’s 94-68 season opening win over College of the Ozarks, Hilton poured in 20 points while going 5-for-10 from 3-point range.
Overview: Matt Warren steps into the head coaching role after he spent the previous five seasons as associate head coach at Warner University. He inherits a program hoping to rebound from its 8-20 record in 2021-22. The Bluejays aren’t far removed from their string of national tournament appearances in 2014 through 2017. Tabor was picked 12th out of 13 teams in the KCAC preseason poll.