For fans of the Oregon Tech men's basketball team, the 2026-27 season looks to be much different than a season ago. The Hustlin' Owls have rebuilt the squad after losing three of their top four scorers, bringing in one of the biggest recruiting classes in program history. However, what doesn't change for the team is the product on the floor, a high-energy squad that has the components to compete for a Cascade Conference title and a fourth-straight trip to the NAIA Championships.
 
Eight players return from last season's 19-11 club that dropped an overtime thriller to Keiser in the first-round of the NAIA Championships. Gone are 50 points per game from that squad – as seniors Dakota Reber and Grant Tull graduated, while CCC Player of the Year, Jackson Cooper, transferred to Division I Indiana State.
 
Head coach Justin Parnell, beginning his 11th season at the helm, had the task of reloading the roster – and took a unique approach during the recruiting process.
 
"It certainly will be a different looking basketball team," said Parnell. "Unfortunately, we graduated some really good players and Jackson Cooper took advantage of a great opportunity for him. When we started recruiting, we knew we wanted to get more athletic and more shooters. As we signed players, we were struggling to find a big man – but there were so many good players out there. So, we made the decision to get the best players available, regardless of what position they play and we did that. We put together a roster that can do so many things – they can shoot it, they can score it, they can run and they can really defend and rebound. They will be a unique team that will be fun to watch."
 
Anchoring the team is wing Jared Sucher in his fourth season on the roster, the most veteran player on the squad. The junior had a breakout season a year ago, averaging 12 points and three rebounds per game, converting 43 3-point attempts at a team-best 39% clip – making 3-or-more 3's in five games and scoring 20-or-more points five times.
 
Parnell is excited as to what his captain will bring to the table this season. "Jared will have more on his shoulders this season, but the way we are playing now is more conducive to fit his style. He will be able to showcase his skills – he is really good off the bounce and really good 1-on-1."
 
Starters Owen Nathan and Gylan Payne are both back after tremendous freshmen seasons. Nathan started half the games at point-guard and averaged five points and four rebounds a night – including a career-high 17 points in the NAIA Tournament vs. Keiser. Payne was a workhorse, starting all 30 games, averaging eight points and six rebounds per game, converting 52% of his field goal attempts and leading the team with 28 blocked shots.
 
Parnell knows both players are ready to take their game to the next level. "What a great recruiting class we had last year. Owen split time at the point-guard position and they say if you have two point-guards, you have no point guards. You need that No. 1 and this year, that is his spot and he has stepped in taking the position by the horns. He is a unique point-guard, he is 6-foot-2 and super-athletic, a tremendous defensive player and has really improved his shooting. Gylan had such a phenomenal freshman season and is a tremendous talent. He can guard 1-through-5 and play 1-through-5, he can shoot it, is a great defensive player and can block a lot of shots. He is the type of player that makes a team really good in the Cascade."
 
Three returners are back at the guard-wing positions – senior Colby Whicker and the sophomore duo of Quincy Townsend and James Kefgen. Whicker was a steady force for the Owls last year, averaging 10 minutes per game as a back-up point-guard. Kefgen was a spot-shooter for the club – converting 13 3-point baskets on the year. Townsend played in nine games, but is the type of player who can truly score the basketball.
 
"James was a kid last year that played spot minutes and it's something that is tough to do when you are a shooter," Parnell stated. "Now that he is in the rotation and knows when his minutes are going to come, I think he is going to showcase his ability to shoot the ball
We have quite a few point-guards and Colby is a unique player who can play the 1, 2 and 3. He is a kid you can always trust – the kinda guy you want in your program. Quincy is one of the best pure scorers on our team. I think early in his career he struggled on the defensive end but now he is so solid. I am proud of him as he hung in there for two years and now will get his shot."
 
Tech returns a pair of forwards who will see time in the paint, as sophomore Mason Bierbrauer and redshirt freshman Kyle Bittle will be in the rotation. Both players can stretch the floor to the 3-point line and beyond, with Bierbrauer converting 7-of-16 3-point attempts as a freshmen, with Bittle looking to make a true return to the floor after an injury during his senior year in high school and a redshirt year a season ago.
 
"I would expect Mason and Kyle to take huge steps this season," Parnell said. "Both have been pretty impressive in the fall, both can shoot the ball and are physical."
 
Eight newcomers joined the program – eight high-caliber players who fit the Hustlin' Owls system and culture – including four freshmen and four junior transfers.
 
Transfer Caleb Bowden will provide muscle at both ends of the floor. The All-NWAC pick from South Puget Sound CC, averaged 13 points and four rebounds a game last season, while providing key on-ball defense.
 
The freshmen tandem of Dekker Van De Graaf and Brody Rygh each have the opportunity to make an impact on the program from Day 1. Both players come from a long pipeline of athletes from their high schools that played collegiately at Tech – Van De Graaf from Zillah High (Joel Yellow Owl, Scotty Burge) and Rygh from Sherwood High (Jamison Guerra, Blake Jensen, Jared Sucher). Van De Graaf was the Washington 1A Player of the Year, averaging 24 points a game and led his club to a state runner-up finish, while Rygh was a 6A All-State player, averaging 21 points a night in leading his team to a fourth-place finish at state.
 
"When we started recruiting, we were able to hit on Dekker Van De Graaf and hit on Brody Rygh, able to hit on Caleb Bowden and knew we have some really good length at the wing position," Parnell said. "Caleb has played two years of college basketball and is a physical specimen and loves the physical play and is a Tech guy to the bone. Brody and Dekker are as good as any freshmen we have ever had, Brody in our intrasquad scrimmages has had some impressive games and Dekker is a special, special athlete and talent."
 
The three other transfers will be key to the Hustlin' Owls success this season. Trayce Atkins joins the squad after an outstanding career at Walla Walla CC, where he earned All-NWAC East Region honors in 2025, averaging 11 points and five assists a game, converting 52% of field goal attempts. Noah Salmon was a 3-point specialist at Lane CC, averaging 10 points a game last season, converting 43% of his long-range attempts. Chance White teamed with Nathan in high school at Roosevelt High in Portland, before earning All-Region honors at Lamar CC, averaging 19 points a game and spent last season at Lower Columbia CC.
 
"The other piece in recruiting was along with the length, we wanted quickness and shooting - and we get that with Trayce, Chance and Noah," Parnell said. "Noah is a pure shooter and scorer, Trayce is that pass-first point guard that makes everyone around him better and Chance is going to go win you games and get buckets and has a special knack to go score the basketball and a natural ability to just put the ball in the basket."
 
Two freshmen round out the roster and will battle for minutes – forward Mason Pearcy and guard Sheldon Jacobson. Pearcy led Casa Roble High to a CIF Sacramento-Joaquin Section title, averaging 17 points and nine rebounds a game, while Jacobson was an All-Northern Nevada pick at Fernley High, averaging 18 points and six rebounds a night.
 
"Mason is a guy who is in the battle to get minutes in the paint and plays with confidence, while Sheldon is going to be a great program guy and can really shoot the basketball," Parnell said of his freshmen.
 
The Owls were picked fourth in the Cascade Conference preseason poll – behind NAIA fellow NAIA Tournament teams in Eastern Oregon, College of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State. With a preseason schedule that features a home-and-home series with nationally-ranked Hope International and The Master's, along with a trip to Arizona to play OUAZ and Embry-Riddle, Tech will be challenged right away. But for Parnell, the success of this team is more that what happens on the court.
 
"How do you define success? By wins and losses and championships, yes. They are really important," Parnell stated. "But just as important is building our culture, continuing to graduate kids, making this the best four years of their lives. And if we win some games along the way, we are going to be stoked. We will compete like heck and prepare to win every game, but our job here as coaches, just as professors do here at Oregon Tech, to teach our players life skills and to get them graduated and allow them to have a bunch of fun. I know this group will win a bunch of games too."