The 2024-25 season will go down as one that clinched legendary status for Bulldog megastars Noah Schutte and Tristan Smith. Within the team concept, the two All-America level standouts led Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball on a memorable journey. Only three teams in program history have won more games than the one guided by Ben Limback in his 13th season as head coach. After an up-and-down first third of the campaign, the Bulldogs tightened the screws defensively and played – when at their peak – as well as anyone in the GPAC.
The journey included a pre-Christmas trip to Arizona, a stop in Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Concordia Invitational Tournament, a home GPAC tournament title game and a national tournament stay in Baldwin City, Kan., home to Baker University. When it ended in the second round of the tournament, the emotions began to hit.
“Those who have followed Bulldog Basketball the last four years have seen some amazing accomplishments and amazing highlights,” Limback said. “You start with Tristan’s buzzer beater his freshman year – the SportsCenter game. This year he sets the school record for points in a game. The career Noah’s had and his sustained level of excellence is incredible. I think people recognize that. It’s not an easy thing to do that. They play the game in an exciting way. It’s one of those things where you also say goodbye to their families and the people and teammates that they are. All the seniors are special. It’s a great group that we had to say goodbye to in the locker room after the game. You can replace the rebounding and the points, but you can’t replace the camaraderie that you build.”
Of course, Schutte and Smith wanted to extend their careers and play at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City one more time. It didn’t work out that way, but the two standouts went out playing with the same relentlessness and productivity that characterized their on-court careers. Ultimately, the Bulldogs concluded the 2024-25 season at 26-7 overall and with a program record 16 GPAC regular season wins. At the height of its game, Concordia throttled eventual conference regular season champion Dordt, 99-72, inside Friedrich Arena in early January. From Dec. 21 through March 1, the Bulldogs won 18 of 19 games while proving themselves to be one of the best teams in the NAIA.
In hallmark achievements, Schutte became the program’s all-time leading scorer at Doane on Jan. 8 and later rose to the top of the school’s all-time rebound list in the national tournament win over Bethel College (Kan.). Schutte’s totals rest at 2,340 points and 948 rebounds for his career. Meanwhile, Smith put together arguably the finest single season ever by a Concordia player and was named the GPAC Player of the Year and GPAC Defensive Player of the Year. Smith broke program records for points in a single game (48 versus Midland) for a single season (677).
When Schutte was subbed out near the end of the second round national tournament game, he and Smith embraced each other in acknowledgment of a special run. As Schutte said afterward, “It's meant everything. What I'll remember the most is the guys that were part of the journey. The relationships and brotherhood we have created in this program will last a lifetime and all I can do is thank every teammate and coach that have pushed me every day to be a better player and person.”
Added Smith, “These past four years have been some of the greatest of my life. I've made lifelong friends I never thought I'd meet through basketball and Concordia. The community behind Concordia basketball has shown us support through the ups and downs and has made college basketball an amazing memory I'll never forget.” Extended comments from Schutte and Smith can be found HERE.
While the productivity of Schutte and Smith were a constant, the Bulldogs’ commitment to the defensive end became the key to the season. When Concordia sat at a modest 7-4 through 11 games, it was allowing opponents to average 79.1 points per game and to shoot 48.7 percent from the floor. The rest of the way, Concordia’s foes averaged 70.9 points and shot 43.3 percent. Defensively, Smith helped control the paint and sophomore Jaxon Stueve frequently drew the opponent’s top backcourt scorer.
The senior class featured Smith along with fellow varsity players in Brad Bennett, Brayson Mueller, Tony Tubrick and Matthew Weismann. On the perimeter, Bennett shot 38.0 percent from 3-point range in his final college season. He torched the nets with eight treys in the aforementioned rout of Dordt. Only 11 players in the history of the program have made more 3-point field goals than Bennett (198).
In headlining the junior class, Zac Kulus took a step forward and averaged 6.2 points per game while shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the sophomore class made a major impact and featured the likes of Hayden Frank, Lukas Helms, Brooks Kissinger and Stueve. All four had the opportunity to start multiple games. Both Frank and Helms dealt with injuries throughout the season. In noteworthy efforts, Stueve went for 23 points in a win at Dakota Wesleyan, Kissinger twice poured in 21 points and Frank notched 17 points in the GPAC semifinal victory over Northwestern.
In one of the moments that will be most vividly remembered from the 2024-25 season, freshman Elijah Gaeth stepped into the spotlight. His trey in the closing seconds in the first round of the national tournament propelled the Bulldogs into the second round. Gaeth, Jake Hilkemann and Dane Jacobsen each earned valuable experience in their rookie seasons.
The dream of returning to Kansas City for action at the final site did not quite come to fruition, but Limback and coaches Ryan Tegtmeier and Joel Baker will not soon forget this season. They found this team to be an enjoyable one to be around on a daily basis.
Said Limback following the national tournament defeat, “It was a blast. We thought we could go a long ways if we kept playing as well as we could. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way. God gives us lessons in life. Sometimes they’re fun lessons and sometimes they’re tough lessons. Certainly, a lot to be proud of. We gave it our all. I’m going to walk away – and I think they will too – proud of what we accomplished.”
Limback and his staff are now tasked with moving on without two of the program’s all-time greats. With four-straight national tournament appearances and five national berths in the past six seasons, Concordia’s appearance on the national stage has become an annual expectation. The Bulldogs believe they will be up to the task when the 2025-26 season rolls around.
Said Limback, “The challenge is you come off a solid season. With that, there are some guys we’re going to graduate with some serious accolades and production. At the same time, I think we have a group, especially our sophomore class, that has had a lot of time on the court. You look at a guy like Zac Kulus, who was really coming on and will now be a senior. We feel like it’s not a situation where we’re rebuilding but more so reloading. It will be a different team, certainly, but one that we’re already excited about. There is a lot of work to do, but the excitement is already starting to build for next year’s team.”
Records Broken in 2024-25:
Noah Schutte
· Points scored for a career (2,340)
· Rebounds for a career (948)
Tristan Smith
· Points scored in a single game (48)
· Points scored in a single season (677)
The program’s updated record book can be found HERE.