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Rams
try to get over the hump and win a conference championship
Is 2025 the year?
By Justin Michael
Rocky Beers, Tight
End
IT’S A MAKE-OR-BREAK YEAR for the Colorado State football program. Going into year four of the Jay Norvell era, expectations are relatively high for the Rams and the hope is that the team can finally break through and make the Mountain West Championship Game for the first time.
CSU took a significant step in the right direction in 2024 by winning eight games and reaching a bowl game for the first time in seven years. The Rams finally beat a couple of local rivals along the way, including the first road win over Air Force since 2002 and the first home win over Wyoming with a record-breaking number of fans in the stands at Canvas Stadium. After blowing an
opportunity to play for a conference title, and then getting beat down in the Arizona Bowl in front of a significant contingent of Ram fans, there’s definitely a hunger and a desire for more.
It’s been over a decade since CSU has posted a double-digit win season. It’s been 23 years since the last conference championship. With the way the university commits to athletics, and with how much the diehards have poured into the football program, simply put there needs to be more of a return on everyone’s investment.
Norvell inherited a lot of baggage with this job when he came over from Nevada in 2022. The fanbase has been disappointed over the years and it’s a real challenge to get
them to believe in someone at this point. This is a group that is perennially waiting for the other shoe to fall. The sad thing is that you can’t really blame them considering how consistently they’ve felt like Charlie Brown running up to kick the ball, only to find that Lucy had once again pulled it away. When will it finally be CSU’s time?
In defense of the fourthyear CSU coach, the Rams have steadily improved in his tenure, going from three wins in year one to five wins in year two and then ultimately eight this past season. But in the arm’s race that has become college football, the pressure to break through to that next level as a team is high. CSU is betting on itself with the bold move of jumping to the Pac-
12 in 2026.
That’s not a gamble made with the aspirations of just being a middle-of-the-packtype football program. That’s a move made in pursuit of competing at the highest level. So, while there might be a lot of circumstantial factors that are out of Norvell’s control, the reality is the pressure to succeed is legitimate. The fact that the men’s basketball team has completely outshined CSU football hasn’t done him any favors in this conversation either, particularly when it comes to the difference in postseason success. Keeping all of this in mind and despite the burden of carrying some of this extra weight into the season, there is reason for optimism
by Quirk Photography
Photo
in 2025. CSU lost some key defensive contributors from the 2024 team to the transfer portal. The wide receiver room looks a little different than originally planned as well, thanks to Louis Brown IV getting dismissed from the program before spring ball even began. But the staff actually did a really nice job of filling holes and addressing positions of need through the portal themselves. On paper, this is an intriguing roster, particularly in a year where other than Boise State, there doesn’t appear to be a ton of heavy hitters in the conference.
With a third-year starting quarterback and a wellrounded assortment of weapons around him at the skill positions, CSU’s offense has a chance to make some real noise. Brayden FowlerNicolosi has had some wonky factors work against him over the years, such as a lack of consistency in the receiver room, scheme changes, etc. So, it’s not all that surprising that we saw his passing numbers dip from 2023 to 2024. Not having Tory Horton for most of the year and leaning into a more run-heavy scheme will do that.
What should excite Ram Nation about this fall is the potential for offensive versatility. Not only does CSU have a big-armed quarterback who can stretch the field vertically, the Rams also have a deep backfield. Justin Marshall and Jalen Dupree should be one of the better running back duos in the Mountain West. Tulsa transfer Lloyd Avant looks the part as well.
And instead of being so dependent on one star to make all the big plays in the passing game, the Rams have an assortment of guys at receiver and tight end that have a chance to really break out. Armani Winfield was last season’s leading pass catcher and sophomore wide receiver Jordan Ross appears poised to be the star he was projected to be coming out of California. Former walkon Tommy Maher looks like he can be a real factor in the slot. Plus, the tight end room is deeper than it’s been in a couple of years, with both Jaxxon Warren and Rocky Beers in line for significant playing time.
There are some questions right now about who exactly is going to be running the show for CSU on the offensive side. Former quarterback coach and associate head coach Matt Mumme was promoted to passing game coordinator last winter and is expected to have a bigger role in play calling. Norvell, however, has been coy about the whole thing, so we’ll have to wait and see what it looks like come Week 1.
Defensively, the Rams are going to look far different from what we have seen in recent years under Freddie Banks, who was fired after the 2024 regular season and then replaced by Tyson Summers. If the name sounds familiar it’s because this is not Summers’ first stint as a DC in Fort Collins. He spent one year at CSU under Mike Bobo in 2015 before being hired as the head coach at Georgia Southern.
Fast forward a decade later, after stops at Georgia, Florida, CU and most recently Western Kentucky, Summers is back with the Green & Gold. He’s looking to amp up the intensity too, after the Rams were pretty mild defensively these past couple of seasons.
While there are not many returners on the defensive side of the ball, there are some really exciting playmakers. Jaques Evans has an extremely high ceiling at outside linebacker and could legitimately be the MW Defensive Player of the Year if things click for him like they did under Summers at WKU. Next to an athletic upand-comer like Owen Long, Iowa State transfer Jacob Ellis, along with Saint Francis transfer Paul Tangelo who
came over after the spring, you have a position group you can feel good about.
The secondary is unproven and has a ton of new pieces, but the athleticism of the unit definitely stands out compared to years past. CSU went out and signed three former 4-star recruits at cornerback and you can see the difference in speed and explosiveness out there in practice. The Rams also really beefed up the interior defensive line after looking a little light in the spring.
Signing multiple 300-pound defensive tackles is not the easiest task as a school in the group of five, but CSU was impressively able to make it happen in the spring transfer window.
Ultimately, there are going
to be a lot of moving parts and there could be some challenges as a result. It takes time and experience to truly develop chemistry, and there’s just no substitute for live game reps. If these guys can gel early and the Rams can be the disruptive unit that they aim to be, it could be a huge asset for a team that didn’t trust the defense enough to be aggressive with the ball on offense last season. Norvell essentially abandoned his entire offensive philosophy in hopes of not having to rely on a defensive unit that he did not trust to hold up over the year. He brought Summers over from WKU with the hope of not having to do the same thing in 2025.
The schedule as a whole looks tougher than last season’s, especially the conference portion. After getting to miss Boise State and UNLV last year, the Rams have to play them both this season. The silver lining is that the power four games in August / September feel more manageable. And for the second straight year the Rams will play seven home games, which is obviously always going to be an advantage.
The Rams finally were able to add some hardware to the Hall of Champions by securing the Bronze Boot and the Ram-Falcon Trophy in 2024. Not only would they like to keep those on display, but CSU would love to finally add a conference championship trophy to the mix as well. We’ll see if 2025 is the year they get it done.
2025 CSU RAMS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Aug. 30 (Sat) Washington Seattle, WA
Sept. 6 (Sat) Northern Colorado Fort Collins, CO
Sept. 20 (Sat) UTSA Fort Collins, CO
Sept. 27 (Sat) Washington State Fort Collins, CO
Oct. 3 (Fri) San Diego State San Diego, CA
Oct. 10 (Fri) Fresno State Fort Collins, CO
Oct. 18 (Sat) Hawaii Fort Collins, CO
Oct. 25 (Sat) Wyoming Laramie, WY
Nov. 8 (Sat) UNLV
Nov. 15 (Sat) New
Nov. 22 (Sat) Boise State
Nov. 28 (Fri.) Air Force Fort Collins, CO
Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Quarterback
2025 COLORADO STATE FOOTBALL ROSTER
Chris Jackson Defensive Back 6’ 0’’ 155 R-Jr. San Diego, Calif. / Madison San Diego Mesa
Jordan Ross Wide Receiver 5’ 10’’ 180 So. Anaheim, Calif. / Warren
95 Gabe Jones Defensive Line 6’ 4’’ 290 R-So. Dallas, Texas / W.T. White
97 Ed’Mari Binion Defensive Line 6’ 6’’ 245 R-Fr. Lakewood, CA/ St. Pius X - St. Matthias Acad.
98 Kennedy McDowell Outside Linebacker 6’ 4’’ 200 Jr. Frisco, Texas / Memorial
99 Javion Smith-Combs Defensive Line 6’ 5’’ 250 R-So. Greenwood Village, Colo. / Cherry Creek
2025 COACHING STAFF
Jay Norvell Head coach
Matt Mumme Associate Head Coach / Pass-Game Coordinator
Bill Best Offensive Line / Run-Game Coordinator
Tyson Summers Defensive Coordinator
Tommy Perry Special Teams Coordinator
Matt Ah You Nickelbacks
Grant Chesnut Tight Ends
James Finley Wide Receivers
Brayden Herdic Safeties
Chase Holbrook Quarterbacks
John Jancek Outside Linebackers
Nigel Madison Cornerbacks
Jeremy Moses Running Backs
Chuka Ndulue Defensive Line
Clint Sintim Linebackers
Maintain expectations
Volleyball program under pressure to continue winning ways
By Justin Michael
Aine Doty
THE COLORADO STATE VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM is known for its dominance in the Mountain West.
Going back to 1999, CSU has won 24 total conference championships, including a 2024 season sweep of both the regular season and conference tournament titles. Although CSU was bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by a red-hot Texas A&M squad, the fact that the Rams even made the big dance was a testament to the resilience of the group.
CSU started the season 0-4 and struggled in the non-conference slate far more than we are used to seeing. In fact, the 4-6 start to the regular season was the Rams’ worst non-conference showing since 1982. So, getting to 20 wins and adding another couple of league titles was a fairly solid re-
sponse all things considered.
The question now is how the Rams follow things up in year three of the Emily Kohan era. CSU will once again be playing a gauntlet of a nonconference slate and there is added pressure of going out on top. The Rams have run the Mountain West since its inception, so in the final year of the conference as we know it, the only fitting finish for the program would be adding some more hardware to the collection. It’s a tough standard to meet year in and year out, but that’s the pressure that comes with the gig, and it’s why Kohan took the job in the first place: to maintain the reputation that was established under her mentor Tom Hilbert.
The Rams will open their schedule once again with an exhibition against Creighton. After hosting the esteemed
Blue Jays in Fort Collins in 2024, the two will kick off their respective campaigns in Omaha, Neb. on Saturday, Aug 16. The Rams will then begin their regular season in Moby Arena against Colgate on Friday, Aug. 29, before a big-time showdown against Washington on Saturday the 30th. The Huskies will be coming to town for the first time since 2009, when the Rams won the match against former Pac-12 school in four sets. Although the Rams are just 3-6 in the matchup all-time, they are 3-1 against Washington in Fort Collins, so there’s some reason for optimism going into the opening weekend of the 2025 campaign.
Some of the other key non-conference matchups for CSU this season include road trips to Northern Colorado (Sept. 2) and Oregon (Sept. 6). CSU will also host
Notre Dame as part of the Ram Volleyball Classic (Sept. 11-12). After losing to the UNC Bears in each of the last four seasons, the Rams will look to regain the edge over their in-state foes, who have managed to turn this into a legitimate rivalry after at one point losing 17 straight to the Rams over about a three-decade span. Oregon, on the other hand, is a less familiar opponent for CSU. A win would mark two straight years over the Big 10 opponent though. It would also give the Rams a 2-1 lead in the all-time series history against the Ducks. Finally, the Rams will try to move to 4-1 all-time against the Irish, though CSU did fall to the ACC squad in South Bend in 2024.
Obviously, the home-andhome against the University of Colorado is always a big deal, so we’ll see if the Rams
Photos Courtesy of CSU
CSU VOLLEYball ROSTER 2025
1 Karsyn Fetzer 5-9
FR. Kersey, CO (Platte Valley) 2 Sydney Black 5-7 L/DS FR. Fulshear, TX (Fulshear)
Aspen, CO (Littleton) 4 Halle Jameson 6-1
5 Sofia Zabjek 6-2
Aine Doty 5-7
Jessica Lawton 6-2
Silvie Graetzer 6-2
Rockwall, TX (Rockwall)
Ontario, Canada (St. Benedict’s Catholic)
Colorado Springs, CO (Doherty) / Idaho
Hales Corner, WI (Whitnall)
Mahtomedi, MN (Mahtomedi)
Zosia Szczotkiewicz 6-2
Delaney McIntosh 5-10
Erin Debiec 6-1
Walcz, Poland (SMS PZPS Szczrk) / Wichita State
Madison, WI (Verona Area)
R-FR. Potomac. MD (Bishop O’Connell)
Spain / CV Sant Cugat Club
Pa’ia, Maui, HA (Seabury Hall)
Colorado Spring, CO (Rampart) / Pepperdine / Baylor
Rams Volleyball Coaching Staff
can maintain the Golden Spike trophy after having to watch the Buffs celebrate with it in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The last sweep over CU came in 2019, so despite owning a 28-19 edge in the in-state matchup all-time, it’s been more of a back-and-forth affair of late than the onesided rivalry we witnessed for close to 20 years. That said, Ram fans would surely love to see the Green & Gold go back to being bullies in this one, and a couple of wins over the school from Boulder would be a great way to generate momentum going into the last run in the Mountain West.
While we won’t touch much on the conference portion of the schedule, opening against Wyoming in Laramie is definitely tough,
particularly after having just played a pair against CU. The Rams will also play their final home match as MW members against the Cowgirls when they make the trip down 287 for a late-November showdown in Moby (Nov. 18).
The expectations for CSU might be a lot different than the other programs around the league. But a lot like what we said about Kohan embracing that mentality earlier, it’s something that the community leans into as well. There’s a reason that the Rams can easily draw 5,000 fans for a significant match. Shoot, the Rams can pull a crowd of 7,500+ if the right opponent comes to town. But the reason those people show up year after year is because there is a
standard of excellence that’s been maintained throughout the 21st Century. The fans don’t just want to win, they expect it. And anything short of greatness is considered a significant disappointment.
The tough thing for the Rams is, unlike last year when Kohan had the benefit of leaning on several fifthyear seniors, that nine of the players on the roster for 2025 are either in their first or second year of college volleyball. One of those players, Maria Brun, is considered a rising star out of Barcelona, Spain. There’s just a lot more inexperience across the board than we are accustomed to seeing in the program. And while it’s exciting to know a new era may be upon us, and that
there is a chance for multiple new players to shine in their own right, it’s a bit of an odd feeling after getting so used to depending on Malaya Jones, Naemah Weathers, etc.
Regardless of the circumstances which are admittedly challenging, as you should well understand by now, the mindset for CSU Volleyball is always going to be championship or bust. We’ll see if this young group rises to the challenge and begins establishing their own legacy. Or we’ll see if the roster turnover proves to be too much to overcome with such a daunting nonconference slate, and with a target on the team’s back as everyone else looks to rain on the Rams’ parade before they exit the conference for good.
2025 CSU VOLLEYball SCHEDULE
DATE
OPPONENT
LOCATION
Aug 16 (Sat) Creighton (Exhibition) Omaha, NE
Aug 29 (Fri) Colgate Fort Collins, CO
Aug 30 (Sat) Washington Fort Collins, CO
Sep 2 (Tue) Northern Colorado Greeley, CO
Sep 4 (Thu) Portland Invitational CSUN Portland, OR
Sep 5 (Fri) Eastern Washington Portland, OR
Sep 6 (Sat) Oregon Eugene, OR
Sep 11 (Thu) East Texas A&M Fort Collins, CO
Sep 12 (Fri) Notre Dame Fort Collins, CO
Sep 18 (Thu) Colorado Fort Collins, CO
Sep 19 (Fri) Colorado Boulder, CO
Sep 23 (Tue) Wyoming Laramie, WY
Sep 27 (Sat) New Mexico Fort Collins, CO
Oct 2 (Thu) UNLV Las Vegas, NV
Oct 4 (Sat) San Diego State San Diego, CA
Oct 9 (Thu) Boise State Fort Collins, CO
Oct 11 (Sat) Utah State Fort Collins, CO
Oct 16 (Thu) Air Force USAF Academy, CO
Oct 18 (Sat) Nevada Reno, NV
Oct 23 (Thu) San Jose State Fort Collins, CO
Oct 25 (Sat) Fresno State Fresno, CA
Oct 30 (Thu) Nevada Fort Collins, CO
Nov 1 (Sat) Air Force Fort Collins, CO
Nov 6 (Thu) Utah State Logan, UT
Nov 8 (Sat) Boise State Boise, ID
Nov 13 (Thu) San Diego State Fort Collins, CO
Nov 15 (Sat) UNLV Fort Collins, CO
Nov 18 (Tue) Wyoming Fort Collins, CO
Nov 20 (Thu) New Mexico Albuquerque, NM
Karsyn Fetzer, Brenna Rowland, Maria Brun, Sydney Black
YOURAdventure BEGINS HERE
Whether you’re here for the weekend, for the season or with us for a while, let Wilbur’s Total Beverage welcome you to Fort Collins.
Same standard, different team
CSU hopes to find the right pieces to continue success
By Justin Michael
THE ALI FAROKHMANESH ERA is officially here. After seven years as Niko Medved’s right hand man, the former Northern Iowa star was promoted to head coach of the Colorado State men’s basketball team last spring. He’d been with Niko Medved since the very beginning of his tenure and was the obvious frontrunner to land the job when the former CSU coach went back home to Minnesota.
Now going into his first season as the head coach, Farokhmanesh will look to maintain the successful program he helped build. And he’ll look to do so with a roster that features a nice mix of continuity from last season’s team, as well as a couple of highly intriguing additions through the transfer portal.
Coming off such an incredible run to close out the 2024-25 season, which included CSU’s first Mountain West Championship of any kind in 22 years, the Ram faithful hoped to be able to bring back all of the rising stars who made it possible. We knew it would be the end for guys like Nique Clifford and Jalen Lake in a Ram uniform. But after being just seconds away from the school’s first-ever Sweet 16 appearance, CSU supporters crossed their fingers that Farokhmanesh would be able to
hang onto a few of the starters. Unfortunately for the Green & Gold, Kyan Evans (North Carolina) and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (Minnesota) both elected to move on to greener pastures. They certainly landed in situations where their wallets are greener, as both received significant offers to leave CSU for their new high-major teams. Rashaan Mbemba, however, decided to stay loyal to the school that signed him in the first place. And assuming that he’s healthy, he’s about the only player you can say with any kind of confidence will be a starter for the Rams this season.
Mbemba has never been a stat sheet stuffer but anybody that watched the last two NCAA Tournament runs knows how valuable he’s been for the Rams. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound big man is not your prototypical ‘5’ out there, but it’s a role he’s proven to be impactful in with the way he changes the tone for CSU physically.
It will be nice for Farokhmanesh to have a familiar and steady piece for the lineup, even if it ends up being four new starters
and a highly different rotation alongside him. Nikola Djapa and Kyle Jorgensen are both back after having nice seasons off the bench, and there’s definitely a world in which those guys take the next step with their respective development and ultimately play much larger roles for the Rams this season. But outside of the aforementioned, there’s going to be a lot of new faces for the fanbase to learn this winter.
Darnez Slater, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound redshirt freshman guard is somebody to keep an eye on after frequently turning heads in practice in his first year at CSU. Jon Mekonen, a 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward, has long been praised for his athleticism and work ethic as well. He too could be somebody that makes a big leap in his second season of college basketball after quietly developing behind the scenes. Many of the minutes, though, are very likely going to be divided among a squad of transfer additions.
Brandon Rechsteiner is one of those additions and is presumably in line to be the team’s new starting point guard after coming over from Virginia Tech. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior has averaged 11 points per game on about 37 percent from the floor through his career. In a guard-friendly system that often goes “5out”, Rechsteiner should have plenty of opportunities to either shoot the ball or to put it on the floor and drive.
In theory he’s a natural fit based on his strengths. The key for him will just be finding ways to increase his efficiency and
Ali Farokhmanesh (left) with CSU Athletic Director John Weber
Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications
2025-26 Colorado State University mens BASKETBALL ROSTER
cutting back on turnovers a little bit. Fortunately, he’s in the perfect position to do exactly that, as we’ve now seen two straight point guards make massive leaps in Fort Collins.
Along with Rechsteiner, if I had to bet in the preseason on who the other frontrunners to start will be, Josh Pascarelli, Jevin Muniz and Augustinas Kiudulas would be the guys. None of them come from big name brand basketball programs but their game does all of the talking.
Pascarelli is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound combo guard who came over from Marist College. He’s a 39-percent 3-point shooter on six attempts per game through two collegiate seasons so far. He’s also coming off a year in which he scored 16 points
per game on about 13 shots a night. All of that is to say that Pascarelli is used to the pressure of being a high-volume scorer, and that’s very likely something that the Rams could be lacking without Clifford or Evans in the mix this season. He’s definitely someone to keep in mind going into the 2025-26 campaign.
Muniz, at 6-foot-6 and 190 pounds, should help the Rams with some size at the wing. The former Delaware State and Florida Gulf Coast starter had a lot of options in the portal, including with Mountain West rival New Mexico. The last signing CSU had in the spring period was a very much-needed piece of the puzzle for the Rams.
Kiudulas isn’t a household name after playing for the Vir-
ginia Military Institute, but the 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward is a highly skilled scorer who can start at power forward. He’s coming off a really strong year where he averaged 15 points and six rebounds per game. And his skillset is pretty much perfect for a system that requires the bigs to be able to pass, dribble and shoot from all areas of the floor.
Finally, rounding out the projected rotation will likely be freshman point guard JoJo McIver, junior forward Carey Booth, and sophomore combo guard Jase Butler. McIver is a highly touted hoopster out of Texas and it would not be surprising at all to see the first-year player serve a decently sized role on this team. The other two are former 4-star recruits
out of high school who are looking for a fresh start after things didn’t work out with their power 4 schools. Butler comes to Fort Collins after a one-year stint at the University of Washington, while Booth ended up back in his home state after stops at both Notre Dame and Illinois. It will definitely be a challenge to get this many new pieces of the puzzle to come together quickly. But there’s no reason to believe that the Rams should not be competitive in the league and potentially even push for a fourth NCAA Tournament bid in five years. The Rams may have a new leader running the show from the sidelines but the standard for CSU men’s hoops remains the same.
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AFTER THE GAME
Coming together
Rams
hope key roster additions, returning players, develop a
winning combination
By Justin Michael
IT’S A NEW YEAR for Colorado State women’s basketball and the Rams are hoping to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.
CSU won 22 games last season, which was the most since the 201617 campaign. The Rams actually managed to beat future Pac-12 Conference mates Oregon State and Gonzaga in the nonconference portion of the schedule as well. After a fairly underwhelming third-place finish in the Mountain West, followed by a disappointing quarterfinal loss in the conference tournament to Fresno State, the end result felt like it left a lot to be desired.
The Rams won’t have last year’s superstar forward Emma Ronsiek, who is now playing professionally in Mexico for Panteras de Aguascalientes Fem after wrapping up her collegiate eligibility in the Green & Gold. They do however still have
Emma’s sister Hannah, who is back for her senior season in Fort Collins after being one of just two players last year to start all 32 games.
Hannah was a workhorse as a junior, averaging 32.8 minutes per game in a year she averaged 9.1 points and 5.9 rebounds a night. The senior guard will have a good chance to put up bigger numbers this season though, as the Rams will not only have to account for the lost production of her sister Emma, but also Hannah Simental. Those two accounted for roughly 28 points per game in 2024-25, so there’s a big opportunity for some of the returners like Ronsiek to increase their workload offensively. Her experience will be valuable for a team that lost
about 23 field goal attempts per game between the aforementioned graduates. While bringing back the younger Ronsiek was a big win for head coach Ryun Williams, so was retaining Khloe Froebe and Brooke Carlson. The guards combined for 33 starts as true freshman and certainly would have had interested suitors in the transfer portal. Sometimes your biggest offseason wins are simply keeping the up-and-coming talent already in your locker room. And there is definitely excitement for what these two can do as sophomores. Froebe was fourth on the team in scoring last year at 8.6 points per game, while Carlson was fifth at 7.7 (PPG). Both flashed in multiple ways despite being
first-year players.
Froebe was highly impactful on the glass, which is not always something you see from freshman players. The 2024 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year tied for third on the team in rebounds per game (4.4) but she got more and more impactful as the year progressed, culminating with three double-digit conference games on the glass, including a season-high 18 rebounds in a road win over San Diego State. Carlson, on the other hand, actually tied with E. Ronsiek for the team-lead in assists per game (2.6). You’ve got to assume that the ball will be in her hands even more in year two, so it will be fun to see what type of leap she makes for CSU.
Hannah Ronsiek
2025-26 Colorado State University womens BASKETBALL ROSTER
Rams WOMENS
The Rams were 7-2 last year when she recorded four or more assists.
Last but not least, out of last season’s rotation, CSU also brings back senior guard Marta Lemaine. The veteran guard saw a slight decrease in scoring as a junior, but she’s made 37 starts over the last two seasons and has been steady in her role. It’s nice to see some continuity for the Rams going into the season, even if last year’s finish fell short of expectations. It takes time and experience to grow chemistry to develop out on the floor. And the Rams are pretty well positioned when it comes to the group they will be running in the 2025-26 season.
Along with returning talent, Williams was able to bolster the roster with a couple of key additions through the transfer portal. Four of the last five MW Newcomer of the Year Award winners have played for CSU, so the portal has been pretty kind to the Rams in recent years. And this time around, the veteran coach was able to go out and add some quality pieces to solidify the frontcourt.
Maddy Bragg, a 6-foot3 senior forward, joins the Rams after a couple of all-conference seasons at Northern State. She averaged about 17.5 points per game over the last two seasons with the Wolves and is well regarded for her impact as a rebounder and shot blocker. She shot 48 percent on 398 field goal attempts as a junior and was an impressive 80-percent free throw shooter to boot.
Lexi Deden, a 6-foot-2
graduate student, comes to CSU after playing in 119 games at Montana State over the last five years. She suffered a season-ending injury after just six games in the 2023-24 season but returned to the floor in a limited capacity in 2024-25, playing 10 minutes per game in 23 appearances for the Bobcats. When healthy, she too has been someone that can be a steady contributor as well, so it will be interesting to see how big of a role she ultimately plays for the Rams.
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Williams, the final campaign in the Mountain West, there is plenty of reason for optimism on paper. It’s been nine years without an NCAA Tournament bid and the supporters are starting to get a little uneasy after the last half-decade. It’s not that the team has been a disaster or a laughing stock or anything like that. But it’s a lot to be desired for the fans when you are consistently the thirdbest team in a one-bid league. Fortunately, the Rams no longer have to worry about Allyson Fertig, which could help the Rams leapfrog Wyoming in the league’s pecking order of late. UNLV has very much established itself as the face of the league though. So, the big question going into the year is whether or not the Rams can reverse the trend after dropping nine straight games to the Rebels. CSU is just 3-12 against UNLV going back to the 2018-19 season, so if they have any hopes of returning to the top of the mountain, it all starts with finding a little luck against the team based in Vegas.
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Football Recruiting
Colorado’s Top 12 Instate Recruits — Class of 2025
Rank Player
/ Hometown
#1 Deacon Schmitt OL 6-5 / 320 National 370, Position 31 Windsor / Windsor, CO
#2 Camden Jensen TE 6-6 / 250 National 393, Position 18 Heritage / Littleton, CO
#3 Kannon Smith OT 6-5 / 260 National 447, Position 38 Valor Christian / Littleton, CO
#4 Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais DL 6-3 / 307 National 478, Position 55 Cherry Creek / Englewood, CO
#5 Mason Bonner TE 6-6 / 200 National 602, Position 30 Mullen / Denver, CO
#6 Ty Goettsche TE 6-7 / 225 National 634, Position 32 Cherry Creek / Englewood, CO
#7 Jaxon Pyatt LB 6-2 / 220 National 647, Position 49 Arvada West / Arvada, CO
#8 Mason Bandhauer OT 6-5 / 260 National 744, Position 65 Fort Collins / Fort Collins, CO
#9 Toray Davis ATH 6-1 / 170 National 907, Position 64 Fairview / Boulder, CO
#10 D.J. Bordeaux QB 6-2 / 195 National 873, Position 50 Legend / Parker, CO
#11 Braylon Hodge LB 6-3 / 212 National 896, Position 71 Cherry Creek / Englewood, CO #12 Tripp Skewes OT 6-7 / 300 National NA, Position 99 Kent Denver School / Englewood, CO
