ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's and Women's Basketball usher in a new era this weekend at St. Joseph Civic Arena in the 2025 D2CCA Tip-off Classic hosted by the St. Joseph Sports Commission.
 
The Griffon women face defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Grand Valley State on Friday at 3 p.m. before seeing No. 13 Lubbock Christian on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
The men, meanwhile, face West Texas A&M on Friday at 7 p.m. and Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday at 6 p.m. All of the games will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Voice of the Griffons Tommy Rezac on the call.
 
Rezac will be accompanied on women's basketball broadcasts this season by former Griffon head coach Rob Edmisson, while former Griffon men's coach Tom Smith makes his return to the airwaves this season for men's broadcasts.
 
The games will also be available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
 
Ladies First
Griffon Women's Basketball has its third different head coach in as many seasons with Luke Scheidecker becoming the 11th head coach in program history this past March.
 
Scheidecker brings with him eight years of head coaching experience, including seven seasons at NJCAA Division I Wabash Valley College from 2016-18 and again from 2020-25. He's amassed a remarkable career record of 231-22 (.913), including six Great River Athletic Conference Championships.
 
Scheidecker looks to bring his winning pedigree at the two-year college level to a MoWest program that's enjoyed 20 wins or more in five of the last six seasons, and NCAA tournament bids in three of the last four.
 
Scheidecker takes the baton with nearly an entirely new roster. Senior Meredith Rieker is the lone returner, while 11 new players have joined the team, including three junior college transfers and six players from NCAA institutions - two from NCAA Division I.
 
The Griffons added seven guards and four forwards, signing four juniors, five seniors and two freshmen.
 
A Quick Refresh
MoWest Women's Basketball finished the 2024-25 season with a 20-10 record overall and a 14-5 mark in the MIAA. The Griffons were selected as the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament played at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kansas.
 
The Griffons drew a matchup with No. 5 seed and then defending national champion, Minnesota State, falling in that first round battle, 87-73. Still, it was a strong year for MoWest, as the Griffons knocked off three ranked opponents, including a season series sweep of Fort Hays State in what was the third consecutive 20-plus win season.
 
MoWest shattered the program record for most three-pointers in a single season in 2024-25, knocking down 300-of-949 attempts. The 300 makes shattered the previous record of 245 set in 2006-07.
 
The 949 attempts are also a new school record, overwhelming the previous record of 695 attempts in 2023-24.
 
After last season ended, former head coach Ashton Feldhaus left to take the head coaching job at NCAA Division I Morehead State in her home state of Kentucky. Luke Scheidecker was named the 11th head coach in program history on March 31, 2025.
 
The Griffons graduated two seniors from last year's team of 10 players. Five players from that team transferred to other schools, while two medically retired.
 
Recent Success
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, MoWest has won 120 games, including 13 wins over ranked opponents in that span. Seven of those 13 wins came over teams ranked inside the top 10. MoWest won an NCAA Central Region Championship in 2022 and an MIAA regular season title in 2024.
 
Historically, Griffon Women's Basketball has reached the NCAA tournament 15 times - all since 1994. MoWest is 13-14 all-time in the Big Dance with three Regional Championships and a Final Four appearance in 1995.
 
Scouting the Schedule
After this weekend, MoWest will see Central Region foes Minnesota State-Moorhead and No. 11 Concordia-St. Paul on Nov. 14-15 in the DII WBB Central Region Showcase also being played at Civic Arena in downtown St. Joseph.
 
The non-con schedule also features regional tests on the road at No. 25 Harding and at Ouachita Baptist. In all, MoWest will face six teams that made the NCAA tournament last season and five teams that finished the 2024-25 season ranked inside the top 13 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll.
 
And Now the Men
Brooks McKowen gears up for his first season as the head coach of Griffon Men's Basketball in 2025-26. Named as the seventh head in program history on March 25, McKowen joins MWSU after 12 successful seasons as the head coach at Upper Iowa.
 
McKowen amassed a 209-148 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances with the Peacocks. His teams won at least 21 games in three of the last four seasons, including a program-best 26-6 season in 2021-22.
 
The Peacocks posted winning seasons in 10 of McKowen's 12 years in Fayette. Known for their trademark fast-paced brand, the Peacocks averaged at least 80 points per game each of the last dozen years.

McKowen takes over a MoWest program that's had winning seasons in four of the last six years, including an 18-13 mark in 2024-25 - the most regular season wins since 2002-03.
 
MoWest has put together back-to-back seasons with 17 or more wins in men's basketball for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
 
McKowen now hopes to guide the Griffs back to the NCAA tournament - something MoWest hasn't made it to since 2021. The Griffs have only been to the Big Dance twice since 2010. MoWest also seeks its first 20-win season since 2002-03.
 
McKowen will start this quest with an overhauled roster. MoWest graduated nine seniors from last year's team, and lost 14 of the 15 players on last year's squad overall. With that, MoWest signed 13 new players in the offseason.
 
The lone returner is Devin Butler - a now senior guard from Ridgeland, South Carolina and second-year Griff who transferred in from Division I Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Butler played in 31 games last season and made one start, averaging 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
 
In the signing class, MoWest signed five freshmen and eight transfers - three from junior college, one from the NAIA and four from NCAA institutions - three of whom followed McKowen from Upper Iowa.
 
Other Nuggets
MoWest set a pair of single-season program records in 2024-25. The team's free throw percentage (75.1%) and the 29.5 opponent rebounds allowed per game are both new, single-season team records at MWSU.

MoWest looks to break a 15-game losing streak in the NCAA tournament. MoWest has been to the tournament 12 times in history with its lone win coming against West Texas A&M in the first round in 1990, which was MWSU's first season in NCAA Division II.

MoWest will face four teams this season (UMSL, Fort Hays State, Washburn, West Texas A&M) that made the NCAA tournament in 2025.
 
Up Next
Men's basketball will play at the MWSU Fieldhouse on Nov. 14-15 in the annual Hillyard Tip-off Classic. The Griffons will see Augustana and Wayne State that weekend.

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