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St. Thomas basketball teams enter Year 4 in Division I
University of St. Thomas basketball coaches John Tauer and Ruth Sinn spoke Monday in front of what will be their new arena next season. Both Tommies teams open their 2024-2025 season in two weeks.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Standing in front of what will be their new home starting in the 2025-26 season. University of St. Thomas basketball coaches John Tauer and Ruth Sinn talked Monday about entering their fourth season in Division I.
Thanks to a $75 million donation, the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, for both men’s and women’s basketball and hockey on campus, is set to open in 2025. Teams will have their own locker rooms, lounges, a weight room and place to spend time together. The total project will cost about $175 million. Lee and Penny Anderson also donated $60 million for the Anderson Student Center, which houses the athletic facility on the main campus.
"You look at it, it’s inspiring. You’re awe struck when I walk by here a lot of days. To spearhead this, there’s not enough ways to say thank you," Tauer said. "This is going to be another one of those landmark moments for us in this journey in Division I athletics."
"This is going to be their home away from home," Sinn said.
Why it matters
The St. Thomas hockey programs currently share ice with St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights. Soon, they’ll have their own arena for Division I hockey. The arena will hold about 4,000 fans for hockey, and up to 5,000 for basketball.
Men’s basketball will have new look
The Tommies will have a bit of a new look entering their fourth season in Division I. Tauer has five redshirt freshmen, four freshmen and three transfers. St. Thomas has two returning starters in Kendall Blue, who averaged 10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and guard Drake Dobbs, who averaged 9.5 points in 33 starts. Tauer is also bringing back key bench pieces in Carter Bjerke, Ryan Dufault and Ben Nau.
"This is a really critical year for us in so many ways," Tauer said. "That means culture and continuity is really important."
The Tommies won 20 games last season, and 19 two years ago. That’s the first time that’s happened in 25 years for a program transitioning to Division I. They open their season Nov. 4 against North Central.
Tommie women return 6 seniors
In an area of NIL and the transfer portal, the St. Thomas women are as connected as they’ve ever been. The Tommies return six seniors this year, including four who have stayed with the program since they were freshmen. They have three of their top four scorers back in Amber Scalia, Jade Hill and Sammy Opichka.
"Four years ago we had a group of freshmen, we built this very organically. They made a commitment to St. Thomas that they wanted to build something special," Sinn said.
St. Thomas is coming off its best season in Division I with 14 wins. The team did a foreign tour in Italy this summer, and played against two professional teams. They’ve already had a closed scrimmage, and open the season Nov. 4 against UW-Milwaukee.
"The possibilities are endless. You know how this time of the season is, everybody is undefeated, so there’s hope, there’s optimism and there’s a lot to be excited about," Sinn said.