The Thunder men's basketball team capped off their season about two weeks ago with a trip to the NCCAA National Tournament, their 20th appearance as a program, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Thunder would win their 23rd Midwest Christian College Conference Regular Season Title, 16th MCCC Tournament Championship, reach their eighth Final Four in program history and finish the season ranked #4 in the NCCAA Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll. To go along with the team accolades, many individual awards were earned.

Sophomore, forward, Davis Rokey would be named a First Team All-American, Central Region MVP and a First Team nod, and First Team All-MCCC honors. Rokey would also break the single season record for total rebounds by grabbing 336 rebounds, breaking a 15-year-old record held by Charles Page. The sophomore would also lead the team in scoring (16.7 points), field goal percentage (58.7%), and blocks (1.1 blocks). Senior, forward, Cody Mericle would earn NCCAA Scholar-Athlete honors making Mericle a two-time scholar-athlete during his tenure at MCC. Mericle averaged 6.5 points on 48.9% shooting from the field, 37.0% shooting from three, to go along with 4.8 rebounds and would also be named to the NCCAA National Tournament All-Tournament Team. Senior, guard, Micah Lovett would take home First Team All-Region and Second Team All-MCCC honors to close out his college career. Lovett averaged 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and led the team with 1.8 steals, while shooting 74.8% from the free throw line. Junior, guard, Jaxon Hurla would earn Second Team All-Region and All-MCCC Honorable Mention. Hurla averaged 10.7 points on 36.4% shooting from three, 2.8 rebounds, led the team with 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals in a team leading 27.2 minutes per game. The final student-athlete to earn a postseason honor is junior, guard, Xavier Lucas who was a Second Team All-MCCC member. Lucas scored 10.9 points per game on 46.9% shooting from the field and 32.3% shooting from three, to go along with 7.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals on the season.

Junior, Landon Gray would average 8.0 points on a team leading 37.4% shooting from three and 80.0% from the free throw line. Junior, Fred Criqui would average 5.4 points on 57.1% shooting from the field, to go along with 4.0 rebounds per game. Redshirt sophomore, Jordan Carter would average 5.2 points, while freshman, Tatum Pierce would chip in with 4.8 points on 52.3% shooting from the field.

The Thunder would conclude their season at 23-13 making it the third 20-win season in four years. Over the past six seasons, the Thunder have compiled a 126-67 record with a 65.3% winning percentage. The Thunder are also 62-4 in MCCC regular season games over that span. Head coach Jordan Strom would also earn some honors being named the NCCAA Central Region Coach of the Year, as well as the NCCAA National Coach of the Year. This would be the third time in program history that a Thunder coach has won this award as Shawn Condra won the award twice during his tenure.

Strom had this to say about the 2024-25 season, “I’m proud of what our team accomplished this season. They came together and played for one another and it was evident every time they stepped on the floor. I’m grateful for our seniors and the legacy that they have left and couldn’t be more excited to get back to work!”

We want to thank all of the fans, students, faculty and staff for supporting our men's soccer team this season! We look forward to next season. Roll Thunder!

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