A 64-87 defeat against Hamline University ended a grueling 2024-25 season for St. Olaf Men’s Basketball. The Oles finished with a 4-21 record — the second-lowest win percentage in Head Coach Daniel Kosmoski’s 32-year tenure — and went 3-13 against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) teams.
Regardless, it was not a season to forget. With a roster including 10 first-years and only two seniors, the 2024-25 season was one of rebuilding and an opportunity to provide vital experience for a young roster. The struggles of last season have paid dividends for the 2025-26 season. St. Olaf currently holds a record of 15-8, with an 11-3 record in the MIAC, and sits second in the MIAC standings.
This season, Kosmoski focused on giving his batch of first-years valuable minutes, often running lineups including four first-years and Kobe Kirk ’26, who averaged 18.9 points per game during the 2023-24 season and served as team captain last season.
“I knew I was going to have 10 new guys looking at me [through] the highs and the lows. It just happened to be a lot of lows,” Kirk said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I tried as best as I could to stay positive and uplift these young dudes.”
The team understood that the turbulence of the 2024-25 season served a purpose: it was an opportunity for growth, both as individuals and as a team. The Oles won two of the final three games of their last season, a good sign of things to come.
Following the conclusion of the 2024-25 academic year, the team traveled to Italy where they played and won two exhibition games versus similarly-aged Italian club basketball teams.
“[Italy] was a good springboard for this season,” Kosmoski said. “We had to learn to win again.”
After losing three of their first four games this season, the team won 14 of their last 19 games.
Kosmoski continually stressed the work ethic and level of investment from his players. Along with giving the Oles a 15-8 record, the players’ dedication to their craft has had other effects: Kosmoski highlighted that he’s in the process of purchasing a new “Dr. Dish,” an automated rebounding machine, as the team’s abundance of activity wore out the current model.
Kosmoski set three goals before the start of the season: have a record of above .500, make the MIAC playoffs, and bring the Goat — the trophy that goes to the winner of the St. Olaf-Carleton matchup(s) — back to the Hill. So far, St. Olaf Men’s Basketball has achieved the first two goals, and they have their sights on welcoming Carleton College to Bob Gelle Court at Skoglund Center on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3:00 p.m.
