FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will hold their 2024-25 Alumni Game at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 26, in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center.

Saturday, Oct. 26
Alumni Game | No Stream | No Stats | FREE ADMISSION
Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center | 2:30 p.m.

#NookNotes

• The Nanooks are returning five players from last year's squad. Senior guard/forward Jordan Gill, senior guard Paul Johnson, redshirt senior forward Ketan Sidhu, junior guard Cortarius Mingo and junior guard Josh Davis return for another year in Fairbanks. They are joined by redshirt senior Isaac Garcia, a guard who was on the 2022-23 Nanooks roster.
• The remainder of the roster is made up of nine transfers: Chris Lee, a 6-1 junior from Edmonds College; Mike Miller, a 6-4 junior from San Bernardino Valley College; Griffin Effenberger, a 6-5 senior out of Southern Wesleyan University; Isaiah Saams-Hoy, a 6-4 junior from San Jose City College; Jalai O'Keith, a 6-6 redshirt senior from East Los Angeles College; Jeremiah Hersrud, a 5-9 redshirt junior from Bellevue College; Shiloh Zevenbergen, a 6-5 junior out of Edmonds College; Jackson Krug, a 6-7 junior from Lassen Community College and Elyon Zevenbergen, a 6-8 junior from Edmonds College.
• The Nanooks are coming off an 8-18 season that saw them finish eighth in the GNAC with a 6-12 conference record.
• Alaska will play 13 contests at the Patty Center this season while traveling for their remaining 14 games.

Meet the Coaches
The Nanooks are bringing in a new coaching staff for this upcoming season. Frank Ostanik takes over as head coach, returning to Alaska after serving as head coach of the Nanooks from 2004-07. Ostanik has spent the previous 16 years at Monroe Catholic in Fairbanks, where he assumed the roles of head boys and girls basketball coach and Athletics Director. Over his 13 years as the head coach, he earned a 369-85 record, leading to four 3A state championship titles and nine conference titles. During his first stint as the Nanooks head coach, he tallied a 55-32 record, including a 21-9, 13-5 GNAC record in 2004-05, leading Alaska to a share of the GNAC title. That same season, he coached them to an appearance in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship (Sweet 16) before falling to the No. 3-seed Cal Poly Pomona. He is one of three Alaska Nanooks head coaches named GNAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year, winning the award in 2007 following the 2006-07 season that saw the 'Nooks go 17-13, 8-8 GNAC.

Joining his coaching staff is assistant coach Tobin Karlberg, who comes to Fairbanks after a year as the assistant coach at LC State, an NAIA program in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC). In his lone season in that position, he was responsible for on-court instruction, recruiting, travel itinerary, player development, and fundraising. He assisted the Warriors to a 24-9, 19-3 CCC record. After first and second-round victories in the NAIA Tournament, LC State fell to Evangel (Mo.) in the NAIA Sweet 16, ending their season at the NAIA National Tournament. Before joining the Warriors staff, Karlberg finished his playing career with Point Loma Nazarene University after four years and three seasons with the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. In his three years with UAA, Karlberg earned two GNAC All-Conference honors, two GNAC All-Academic honors, and the 2022 UAA team MVP honor. In his one season at PLNU, Karlberg was a PacWest champion, PacWest All-Conference selection, NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team selection and helped lead the Sea Lions to the NCAA DII Sweet 16 at the NCAA DII West Regional. The Anchorage native also had a storied high school career, winning the 2017 Alaska Boys Basketball State Championship with Grace Christian School. Alongside winning the state championship, he was a 2017-18 3A Basketball Alaska State Player of the Year and the 2018 Alaska State Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year. 

Preseason Poll
The Nanooks were tabbed to finish tenth in the conference in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released on October 17. Central Washington took the top spot in the poll, receiving 90 points and four first-place votes. The top two regular season finishers from last season were picked to finish second and third in 2024-25, as Montana State Billings was predicted to finish second with 85 points and three first-place votes, and Northwest Nazarene took the third spot in the poll with 70 points. Alaska Anchorage and Saint Martin's tied for fourth, coming in one point behind the Nighthawks with 69. Both teams received a first-place vote, as did the sixth-ranked team in the conference, Western Washington. The Vikings received 52 points in the preseason poll, putting them three points ahead of Seattle Pacific in seventh. Simon Fraser took eighth in the coaches poll with 25 points, while Western Oregon was picked to finish ninth in the GNAC with 21. Alaska received 19 points, taking the tenth spot in the poll.

What's Next
Alaska kicks off its season in Hawaii, taking on Chaminade on Friday, November 8, with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. AKT.

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