Men’s Basketball Picked 7th in KJCCC Preseason Poll
COLBY, Kan. – Butler men’s basketball was picked to finish seventh in the 2024-25 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division 1 Men’s Basketball predicted order of finish.
COLBY, Kan. – Butler men's basketball was picked to finish seventh in the 2024-25 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division 1 Men's Basketball predicted order of finish.
The 13 head coaches across the league voted on the preseason poll that saw defending national champion Barton predicted to go back-to-back winning the conference. Hutchinson, Garden City, Cowley and Coffeyville round out the top five.
KJCCC Men's Division 1 Predicted Order of Finish
- Barton
- Hutchinson
- Garden City
- Cowley
- Coffeyville
- Dodge City
- Butler
- Cloud County
- Independence
- Seward
- Pratt
- Colby
- Fory Hays Tech NW
Click here for the release from the KJCCC
Butler is set to open a new era of Grizzly basketball for the 2024-25 season as Eric Nitsche enters his first season at the helm of the program. Nitsche was hired in May and assembled a completely new 16-man roster as the Grizzlies do not return one player from a season ago. Nitsche added Ivan Leal and Mikel Henderson to his staff as assistant coaches.
Nitsche is a veteran Jayhawk Conference coach having spent the last 14 seasons as an assistant with stops at KCKCC, Cowley and Hutchinson. Most recently, Nitsche served three seasons at Hutchinson where he was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2023-24 season. The Blue Dragons amassed a record of 75-28 with Nitsche on staff, leading the KJCCC in points per game all three seasons. Hutchinson advanced to the second round (2022) and quarterfinals (2024) in the two seasons they qualified for the national tournament. Nitsche mentored an All-American in all three seasons with the Blue Dragons.
Last year Butler finished 23-9, 17-7 in KJCCC play and saw its season end in the Region 6 semifinals losing 79-76 to eventual national champion Barton.
This year's Grizzly team is composed of five sophomores and 11 freshmen, with five of the student-athletes being transfers from other colleges. You can view the full roster here.
A detailed season preview will be released closer to the season.
Butler opens its season on Friday, Nov. 1st, taking on Sauk Valley at Indian Hills CC. The first home game for Butler is Wednesday, Nov. 20th at 7:30 p.m. when NOC-Tonkawa visits the Power Plant.