2017 Men's Basketball Season Preview
LIBERAL, Kan. – The Seward County men's basketball season finished with a disappointing season a year ago, finishing 9-22 overall. However, with new leadership guiding the Saints, the team will look to rebound and get back on track to their winning ways.
Head Coach Jason Sautter will look to rebuild a program that was at its height just a few years ago, coming off their fourth consecutive Jayhawk West Championship. Sautter is no stranger to winning at Seward County, as he was an assistant coach for the Saints from 2011-2013, helping the team win two of those four Jayhawk West Championships and finish 3rd at the NJCAA National Tournament.
Sautter starts with a clean slate, consisting almost entirely of freshmen. Of the team's 15 players, 12 of them are in their first year as freshmen. One other – Anthony Thomas – is a redshirt freshman who transferred to Seward County from Navarro College.
There are two sophomores on the Saints team - Terrell Alfred and Ke'Sean Davis. Alfred comes to Seward County following an outstanding year at Dakota College at Bottineau. At DCB, Alfred led the Lumberjacks in scoring (20.6 ppg) while shooting 50% from the field. Davis transfers to Seward County after a year at Salt Lake CC. With the Bruins, he averaged 6.1 ppg and scored a career high 24 against Snow College.
The Saints roster comes from all over the country, with players from Texas (3), New York (3), New Jersey (1), Maryland (1), Missouri (1), Louisiana (1), California (1), and Florida (1). They also have three players who come from overseas. Julian Santamaria, Mohamed Selmi, and Karel Trunecek come from Argentina, Tunisia, and Czech Republic, respectively.
Seward County opens their season on Wednesday (Nov. 1) at 7:00 p.m. in the Greenhouse when they host the Clarendon Bulldogs. Three days later, they will host Northern Oklahoma-Enid at 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 4.
The Saints were chosen to finish 10th in the Jayhawk West in the preseason poll. They were picked ahead of Allen, Cloud County, Pratt and Dodge City. Hutchinson, who Seward opens their conference play against on Nov. 11, was picked to win the Jayhawk West.