While we wish the athletes who have finished their careers at North Dakota State the best, we have a lot to look forward to.

As journalists, our job oftentimes is to get interviews from players and coaches and ask questions. Are these the best student-athletes at NDSU? Did they just have a great game or are they really team leaders behind the scenes?

This list only includes athletes that have not finished their senior seasons because I want to make a list of what we have to look forward to.

1. Hayden Zillmer. It’s a point-blank choice here for me, especially because I love to watch wrestling. Wrestling as a sport is basically as athletic as it gets: one-on-one, muscle versus muscle. Zillmer is currently ranked No. 5 in the NCAA at 184 pounds, and he is 10th in NDSU history with 99 career wins. He’s only a junior.
2. Erin Teschuk. She’s a senior from Canada, but we love her anyways. As reigning Bison Female Athlete of the Year, Teschuk has already broken the NCAA indoor season record for the mile with a time of 4:34.00. This fall, Teschuk won all but the NCAA Championships in Cross Country, where she placed 26th.
3. Amy Yang. Yang is a junior this year, and will be a senior next time she takes the field for Bison soccer. You probably haven’t seen her on campus because she stands at five feet flat, but she packs a punch. Arguably the hardest worker in Bison athletics, she is just the person you want downfield. Paired with teammate Lauren Miller, Yang tallied nine assists last season and was named to Summit League Second Team All-Conference. I predict 2016 will be her best season yet.
4. Easton Stick. Talk about performing under pressure. As a starter, Stick was 8-0 for the Bison, including three playoff wins to set up Carson Wentz for the National Championship game — talk about a teammate. This past year was his redshirt freshman season and I have high expectations for him. With a 61.2 percent pass completion percentage (and only 4 interceptions), 2016 is Stick’s year.
5. Cheyenna Garcia. If any team in BisoNation doesn’t get enough media attention, it’s softball. Garcia, an inch shorter than Yang and a senior this season, was part of the 2015 team that made it to the NCAA tournament and won its first round game. Her batting average was .423 last season, lead the team with 29 out of 56 game with more than two hits, and only made two errors in 141 fielding attempts as a second baseman.