WICHITA FALLS, Texas – A new era of Midwestern State basketball begins Friday night as the Mustangs host the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs in the season opener. Head coach Jon Trilli makes his debut when the game tips off at 7 p.m. Midwestern State is back on the floor Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. to face Colorado State-Pueblo.

Trilli played 40 games at Midwestern State during his collegiate career and helped the Mustangs advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 campaigns under current Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland.

Trilli then served on Nelson Haggerty's staff for the next four campaigns as the Mustangs won three Lone Star Conference titles, while extending their national tournament run to seven consecutive years.

Over the past 10 years, Trilli has been on staffs at Arkansas-Little Rock, North Texas, and Abilene Christian.

Trilli replaces Justin Leslie, who departed after leading MSU to the South Central Region semifinals last season. Five players return from that squad to play for the Mustangs this season.

Senior swingman Jonathan Jackson started 19 of 28 games in which he appeared last season and scored nearly eight points a game. Jackson hit 58-of-146 shots (.397) from 3-point range and averaged 2.8 rebounds per game.

Senior guard Jordan Reed returns after a memorable postseason performance last spring. Reed scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range, in a 102-72 victory over St. Edward's at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.

Junior Antwan Taylor appeared in 22 games last season and shot 56.1 percent from the field, and he was 7 of 15 (.467) from 3-point range.

Senior Vojin Mastilovic from Belgrade, Serbia, appeared in 20 games last season and shot 48.5 percent from the field (16 of 33) and had some memorable performances. He scored nine points in nine minutes on 3-of-5 shooting in a 90-58 win over Oklahoma Christian. The 6-7 forward grabbed six rebounds in 18 minutes in an 80-60 loss at CSU-Pueblo.

Redshirt freshman Levi Rutledge from Austin, Texas, is also returning for the Mustangs this season.

Midwestern State, which finished 23-8 last season with a 17-5 conference record, was picked to finish eighth in the 2025-26 Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll.

UCCS

The Mustangs are meeting UCCS for the fifth consecutive season and defeated the Mountain Lions last season in Colorado Springs, 72-63. The Mustangs outscored UCCS down the stretch 24-8 to earn a victory in the season opener.

UCCS leads the all-time series with Midwestern State 3-2 but has lost the last two meetings, including a 93-75 loss at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in the 2023-24 season opener. The Mountain Lions are 1-1 all-time when visiting MSU.

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll is voted on by the leagues 15 head coaches, and they have picked UCCS to finish fourth in the league this season. The Mountain Lions finished last season with a 17-12 record overall, and they were 11-9 in the RMAC, finishing seventh in the league standings.

Junior point guard Xavier Martinez was selected for the preseason All-RMAC team after scoring 13.5 points per game and dishing out 114 assists while playing more than 33 minutes a game last season. Martinez has established himself as one of the best point guards in the RMAC.
 

CSU-Pueblo

Colorado State-Pueblo is also beginning a new era with first-year head coach Zach Ruebesam, who was an assistant coach at the University of Colorado, making his collegiate head coaching debut this week.

The Thunderwolves are playing at Cameron on Friday before playing the Mustangs on Saturday afternoon.

Ruebesam was the head coach for Team Colorado, the Buffaloes alumni squad in The Basketball Tournament in 2023 and 2024. The Team Colorado TBT team advanced to the Elite Eight of TBT 2024 after winning the Wichita Regional.

Ruebesam is taking the reins from Matt Hammer, who led the program for the last six seasons but despite an 8-2 start last season, the Thunderwolves finished the season with a 12-16 record and went 7-13 in conference play.

Saturday will mark the 13th all-time meeting between the two schools, and the series is tied, 6-6. CSU-Pueblo scored an 80-60 victory against the Mustangs in Pueblo last season. The Mustangs won a double-overtime thriller against the Thunderwolves at D.L. Coliseum two years ago, 80-74. CSU-Pueblo has lost three of its four visits to MSU.

CSU-Pueblo has been picked to finish 12th in the Preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coaches' Poll.

Jaden Kennis is the only returning star from last season. Kennis averaged 6.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game and shot 37 percent from the field and was third on the team in made 3-pointers with 24.

Landen Dvorsky, Sam Howery and Jordan Blair are also returning lettermen from last year's team. Four redshirts are back for the 2025-26 season, and Ruebesam has added five transfers as well as three players just out of high school for the 2025-26 season.

UP NEXT

Midwestern faces two more RMAC schools on the road next week, visiting Adams State on Nov. 20 and Western Colorado on Nov. 22.