Roster Shakeup

BROOKINGS — The South Dakota State men’s basketball roster will look different in the 2026-27 season as six players from last year’s team are transferring and the Jackrabbits have added three transfers so far.
Damon Wilkinson, Kalen Garry, Jaden Jackson, Luke Haertle, Andrell Burton Jr. and Bubz Alvarez all entered the transfer portal.

Wilkinson and Garry each entered the portal on the last day it was open, while the others entered towards the beginning of the two-week window. SDSU head coach Bryan Petersen said Wilkinson’s entry was specifically surprising.

“He was expected to come back and be part of our team. He came into my office on the last day of the portal and told me [he was entering it]. He had already signed back and had verbally committed to come back. He had signed his papers and NIL contract and everything to come back to us. It was totally unexpected, but we’ll get through it,” Petersen said.

Garry has a no-contact tag on his name in the portal, so there is a possibility that he could return to the yellow and blue. Petersen did not comment on his status.

The Jacks have begun to fill those roster spots, adding three players that all have multiple years of eligibility left. The biggest get was Jesse Van Kalsbeek of Northwestern (Iowa), who will have two years of eligibility left.

Van Kalsbeek was named the Bevo Francis Award Winner in 2026, which is given to the top men’s basketball player across NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior colleges. He led the NAIA in points, averaging 27.8 per game, and was second in the NAIA in rebounds at 12.4 per game. He had 27 doubles-doubles this past season and one triple-double.

Van Kalsbeek is 6-foot-6 and is from Sheldon, Iowa. Petersen said he’s excited to see Van Kalsbeek’s athleticism at the Division I level.

“He’s a really good player, good kid,” Petersen said. “He’s probably the closest thing we’ve had to Doug Wilson in our program. Jesse’s got a very versatile skill set with his elite athleticism. He’s got a great body and I think there’s a lot of room for growth too.

“... I know it’s at a different level, but he’s been very consistent over the course of his first two years at the NAIA level, not only scoring it, but rebounding and making plays for others too.”

SDSU also added 6-foot-3 guard Elijiah “EJ” Ryans out of Western Michigan. The Grand Rapids, Mich. native will have two years left of eligibility and started all 31 games for the Broncos this past season. He averaged 7.5 points and 1.9 assists per game during the 2025-26 season and shot 39.8% from the field and 31.2% from three.

Petersen said Ryans might not pack a huge scoring punch for the Jacks, but he’s excited about what he can bring from a leadership standpoint.

“I think he’ll be able to play a little point guard for us,” Petersen said.

“He’s a pass first guy and he’s played a lot of Division I basketball. He started every game at Western Michigan in the MAC Conference, which is a very good league. He’s a versatile defender and he’s a little bit bigger from a guard standpoint. So he’s a little different than what we had last year, from a size standpoint at the guard position.

“He’ll be able to play off the ball as well too. But he’s a really good leader. You know, talking to the Western Michigan staff that coached him for two years, it sounds like he was a big time connector and a really good leader.”

The last transfer that the Jacks have added so far is Jon Mekonnen, who is from Colorado State. Mekonnen will have three years of eligibility left after he redshirted in the 2024-25 season. Last year he played in 11 games and averaged 2.1 points per game. He was a three-star recruit coming out of Eagan, Minn., and was the No. 7 ranked recruit in Minnesota in his class.

Petersen said he thinks Mekonnen has a lot of potential and even though he didn’t play in a lot of games at CSU, he gained valuable experience going up against great players in practice.

“He doesn’t have a lot of experience in games, but he’s played against some really good players,” Petersen said. “In his redshirt year he went up against Nique Clifford, who was an NBA draft pick, that was who he guarded. So he’s been challenged at a pretty high level for two years in practice.

“... He has a lot of untapped potential. I mean he’s 6-foot-7, probably closer to 6-foot-8, and he could be a legitimate wing for us. He’s got some versatility as well. His skillset is growing. His body I think can continue to grow, but he’s an elite athlete. I think he can be one of the best athletes in the Summit League, alongside [Van Kalsbeek] as well.”

SDSU will also add three freshmen to the roster in Huron’s Blake Ellwein, Cameron Swearengen from Knoxville, Tenn., and Samaj Stampley of Alton, Ill.

Petersen said those three freshmen could make an impact in their first season in Brookings, but he does have to add another player to the roster after the departure of Wilkinson.

“Blake Ellwein is a state champ here in South Dakota and the best player in the state that’s coming our way,” Petersen said. “And then Swearengen is a big guard from Tennessee that has a lot of versatility. Semaj Stampley is from down by St. Louis and he’s a 6-foot combo guard that can really shoot it. He’s very quick and will be one of the best defenders in the Summit League.

“They’re all freshmen, but I am excited about those three guys. We will add one more [transfer]. With the [Wilkinson] departure, we do have to actively try to fill that spot. So we will be looking to add one more player to our roster with our returning group.”

The returners from last year’s roster are Joe Sayler, Alec Squires, Trey Buchanan, Jaden Rogers, Jadyn Cascio-Jensen and Davis Kern. All of those players will have two or more years of eligibility left.

Luke Haertle is going back to Winona State after spending his first two collegiate years there. Bubz Alvarez is heading home to Houston to play at Houston Christian. None of the other former SDSU players that entered the portal have made a decision where they will play next.