While some student-athletes are off graduating or getting drafted, many younger Bison are sticking around Fargo for at least another year. Here are the top students to watch next season:
Soccer
The North Dakota State’s soccer team not only finished the season undefeated in the Summit League for the first time in school history, but it also incorporated plenty of young players in doing so.
One of the team’s most consistent players throughout the season was freshman Britney Monteon. Monteon finished her first season with four goals as well as a Summit League Freshman of the Year award.
While Monteon was an impressive addition to the Bison squad, she wasn’t alone. At the end of the season, freshman Monteon along with Hanna Norman, Roxy Roemer, Holly Enderle and Mallory Fenske each had at least one goal, with Norman, Roemer and Monteon all going on to make the Summit League’s all-freshman team.
Recently at the Bison Green and Gold Gala, Monteon was awarded with the Female Freshman Rookie of the Year award. Looking forward, it seems that NDSU’s women’s soccer team has a bright future with all of the young talent they possess.
Wrestling
Though the team will be losing one of its most successful members in Hayden Zillmer, Bison fans can relax knowing sophomore Clayton Ream and junior Josh Rodriguez will be back this upcoming season.
Finishing their seasons at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, both wrestlers are ready to bring their talents back to the mat. The Bison didn’t do as well as they would have hoped; the individual success of these two returning student athletes is enough to inspire some of the younger guys.
With all of their experience and talent, it should be easy for the two of them to carry the team once again.
Men’s Track and Field
One student-athlete we’ve heard quite a bit about this season is junior thrower Alex Renner, who was recently awarded the Male Athlete of the Year award at the Green and Gold Gala.
After capturing both the indoor and outdoor records for the shot put event this season, Renner’s consistency has inspired his teammates, helping to lead them into the No. 2-ranked position as a throwing team.
As a junior, Renner still has the remainder of this season, as well as his final indoor and outdoor seasons next year.
Volleyball
With a busy April full of scrimmages, it helps that the Bison volleyball team will be returning a solid amount of players to its roster, as well as four redshirts from the previous year.
Some of the talent that fans will remember from last year include sophomore Brianna Rasmusson and junior honorable mention all-league middle hitters Emily Minnick and Emily Miron. Though the team had a decent season finishing 19-12, they began to put things together at the end of the season, hopefully previewing a 2016 season full of wins.
Football
Of course, we can’t touch on next year’s talent without considering the football team.
While the team will be returning plenty of talent, we recently saw lots of impressive new guys in the Green and Gold Spring Game.
Bringing back veterans for their final season such as Nick DeLuca and King Frazier as well as developing up and coming talent like sophomore Dallas Freeman and Dimitri Williams, the Bison seem to be on track for a sixth consecutive championship.