STORM LAKE, Iowa (Nov. 12, 2025) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team gets set to tip-off its regular season this weekend during the first annual Central Bank Classic, and the Beavers are eager to take the court and begin its first season under new head coach Jeff Horner.

Horner, the former Iowa Hawkeye point guard, takes over the program this season after having spent the previous seven years as head coach at DII Truman State University where he went 121-78 overall. He inherits a team that went 12-13 last season (5-11 A-R-C) and missed out on the conference tournament by just one game. Eight of those 13 losses last season came by eight points or less.

BVU heads into this season needing to replace a pair of key starters over the last few years in Zane Neubaum and Gunner Reed, both of which graduated following the 2024-25 campaign. Neubaum leaves as the program's second all-time leading scorer and was a three-time all-conference selection. Reed was among the top scorers in the league a year ago and was a Second Team all-conference honoree.

Despite the loss of those top two scorers from 2024-25, Horner will still have a bundle of experience to turn to with the return of junior forward Kyle Sternberg and junior guard Carter Sievers. Sievers, who started 24 games as a sophomore last season, was third on the team and 13th in the A-R-C in scoring at 13.0ppg, while also averaging 4.2rpg, and 2.6apg. Sternberg was the only other player for BVU other than Reed and Neubuam to average over 30.0 minutes per game, and was a force on the court by averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per night. Despite sitting out part of last season due to injury, sophomore Adam Bryte is also back and is coming off a freshman campaign in which he gave the team 6.5 points per game over his 17 games played. Sternberg, Sievers and Bryte all averaged more than 20.0 minutes for the Beavers.

As a team, BVU is looking to be more efficient on the offensive end after ranking seventh during conference play in scoring last season at 69.4 points. The team did have nine games in which it topped the 80-point mark and three more in which it went past 90. Defensively, it held its own and was in the middle of the pack by allowing 72.0ppg but did have four A-R-C games in which opponents scored fewer than 60.

Horner will also have additional depth to turn to with the likes of seniors Jackson Jones, who has made 23 starts in his career and is closing in on 70 career made three-point baskets, and Ned Hayes, who played in 20 games off the bench a year ago. Those two both averaged right around 13.0 minutes per game as juniors. Sophomore Jayden Brink and junior Keaton Flaherty are also expected to see the court in expanded roles this season, along with sophomore Jaden Jones, who is returning this season after missing all of last year due to injury.

In addition to a strong returning group, Horner welcomes a talented incoming class to campus that will add even more depth, and he is excited to see the development of that mix of players as the season moves along.

Buena Vista, which was picked to finish seventh this season by the A-R-C Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll, will host the College of St. Scholastica at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, to wrap up the first day of the Central Bank Classic. The team will then close out the weekend against the University of Minnesota-Morris on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. Prior to tip-off of that game, Buena Vista will officially announce the naming of its court as the Saggau Family Court, in honor of 1949 BVU graduate and longtime supporter, the late Bernie Saggau. Saggau spent nearly 40 years as the executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA).

After notching a strong 88-84 victory over Midland University (Neb.) in an exhibition game for the Beavers at the end of October, the team will travel to Drake University on Friday, Nov. 21, for an exhibition game against the Bulldogs before turning around the following night to resume its regular season schedule by hosting Bethel University inside of Siebens Fieldhouse at 6 p.m.

From there, the Beavers will take part in the Snyder Classic, hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan over Thanksgiving break on Nov. 28-29 before returning back home to campus to begin the 16-game American Rivers Conference schedule against Coe College on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Central College on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m. BVU will also play a third conference game in the month of December when it travels to Simpson College on Dec. 13, before heading into the Christmas holiday break.

During the break, Buena Vista will play four non-conference games, including a pair at home to round out the calendar year. On Monday, Dec. 29, the team will host Howard Payne University at 4 p.m. and then host Carleton College on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 4 p.m.

The first three games to begin the New Year will all be on the road, starting with a showdown at defending A-R-C regular season champion, Dubuque, on Saturday, Jan. 3. The final regular season game will be played inside of Siebens Fieldhouse against Loras College on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 4 p.m.