OPENING TIP: The Snow College men's basketball team kicks off its season beginning with a match against Real Salt Lake Academy Tuesday.  The Badgers will also face Impact Academy Thursday, and Utah Peaks Prep Saturday, Nov. 5 to open the first week of action.  All matches will be played inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim.
 
Snow College is coming off a 2021-22 campaign that saw the team go 26-8 overall and 13-5 within Scenic West Athletic Conference play.  The Badgers were 10-2 inside the friendly confines of the Horne Activity Center.
 
The Badgers finished second in the SWAC regular season standings in 2021-22.  They also finished as the runner-up in the SWAC Tournament to Salt Lake Community College last season.  The Badgers did receive an at-large bid into the NJCAA National Tournament where they were able to win their first-round matchup against Lee College 83-82 before bowing out of the tournament in an 82-65 loss to Dodge City Community College.
 
BADGERS IN THE PRESEASON POLL:  The Snow College men's basketball team has been ranked 24^th in the NJCAA Division I Preseason Rankings, the Association announced Monday.
 
Snow College will return two starters from last season, Clayton Southwick and Chase Potter.  Southwick played in 33 games last season, all starts, where he averaged 27.5 minutes per game.  Southwick averaged 12.2 points per game on 52 percent shooting from the field.  He also averaged 6.2 rebounds per game.
 
Potter started in 31 of 32 games played throughout the year averaging 28.7 minutes per game.  He was third on the team in scoring last season with 13.2 points per game on 51 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent from three.   
 
Alongside Southwick and Potter, the Badgers will return one other player from the 2021-22 season.  Hayden Franson played in 31 games, two starts, last season where he played 12.2 minutes per game averaging 3.6 points per game on 50 percent shooting from the field.  
 
BY THE NUMBERS:  As a team last season, Snow College averaged 86.7 points per game which was good for 15^th in the country.  SWAC rival SLCC was second in the country averaging 101.9 points per game. Defensively, the Badgers allowed 73.8 points per game. 
 
Snow College shot 51 percent from the field as a team last season while averaging 34 percent from deep on nearly 22 attempts per game.  The Badgers outrebounded opponents by an average of 6.7 rebounds per game.  As a team, they averaged 18.8 assists on 33 made field goals per game.
 
HISTORY WITH RSLA: The Badgers have only one matchup all time with RSLA.  That match took place Jan. 15, 2022, with Snow College winning 117-67.  Six Badgers scored in double figures in that match led by Wyatt Lowell and Hagen Wright.  Southwick poured in 12 for Snow College while Potter added six points in the win.
 
HISTORY WITH IA:  Snow College is 4-0 all time against Impact Academy with the most recent matchup being a 79-56 victory Nov. 12, 2014.  Impact Academy and Snow College first met Nov. 30, 2012, in which the Badgers were victorious 106-65.  Snow College averages 104.5 points per game in meetings with Impact Academy. 
 
HISTORY WITH UPP:  Saturday's matchup will mark the first-ever meeting between Snow College and UPP.
 
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN:  The Badgers will play a total of 30 games this season.  14 games will be played at home with the other 16 being played either on the road or at neutral sites.  Snow College will play a mid-season tournament at the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout in Mesa, Arizona beginning Dec. 27.
 
The Badgers will start the season with five consecutive home games followed by six straight road games including the start to SWAC play which begins Dec. 2 and runs through Feb. 25.  The Badger's first major test will come against preseason No. 2 Florida Southwestern State.  Snow College will play host to the Buccaneers Nov. 12.  
 
Snow College will start 2023 playing four out of five on the road beginning against the College of Southern Idaho Jan. 5.  The Golden Eagles were ranked 17^th in the preseason poll.  The Badgers will also play No. 5 ranked SLCC in that stretch Jan. 19.  
 
The Badgers finish their season playing six out of seven matches at home including two home matches against CSI and a single game against SLCC.  Snow College's final match of the regular season will be on the road against Colorado Northwestern Community College.  The first round of the Region 18 Tournament will begin March 2.
 
NEW MAN AT THE HELM:  Snow College begins a new era in men's basketball as it welcomes Andrew May as the new head coach of the program.  May took over the program in May after Rob Nielson decided to step down.
 
Andrew May, born in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, comes to Snow College after three years at Dixie State University as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for former Snow College head coach Jon Judkins. Coach May helped the Trailblazers in 2019-2020 win a Division II RMAC Championship, and receive an NCAA Tournament Appearance while tying the school record for most wins in a season. 
 
Coach May helped lead Dixie State into the Western Athletic Conference and Division I in 2020-2021, making history with eight wins in their first season including the department's first Division I home, road, and league wins. In 2021-2022, Dixie State improved to 13 wins in their second season of Division I and beat in-state rivals Southern Utah University and Utah Valley University.  The Trailblazers also defeated Grand Canyon University, which is a former NCAA tournament and a top-100 team. 
 
"I am grateful for the opportunity Rob Nielson and President Cook have afforded me as head men's basketball coach," Coach May said. "Snow College is a special place, where I believe we can have continued success to inspire our community and enhance the opportunities of our players. I have a passion for building teams and developing leaders and skilled basketball players by teaching them principles that will transcend their sport and help them in their lives. I'm excited to return to my roots in Sanpete County, where my father Mike May was also the head coach at North Sanpete high school." 
 
Before Dixie State, Coach May worked at Brigham Young University in two separate stints from 2011-2015 and 2006-2011 under Cougar coach Dave Rose. May helped BYU to three straight NIT postseason appearances, highlighted by a trip to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in 2016. May was also part of the team in 2011 that went to the Sweet 16 and set the school record wins led by Consensus National Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette. 

Before his time at BYU, Coach May served as an assistant coach at SLCC where he helped lead the Bruins to a pair of SWAC championships and a pair of NJCAA National Tournament appearances. During May's tenure, he's coached five All-Americans, including NBA player Gary Payton II. May and the SLCC coaching staff also saw 15 players move on to compete at the NCAA Division I level.

Coach May began his coaching career as an assistant varsity coach at Orem High School from 2003-04. He played basketball at Lone Peak High School, where he still holds the single-season and single-game assist records. He holds Bachelor's (2010) and Master's (2011) degrees in Exercise Science from BYU. He and his wife Marissa are the parents of five children.
 
May will be joined on the sideline by Brad Kitchen, who is a 2020 Utah Valley University graduate and is in his first season at Snow College. 
 
UP NEXT:  The Badgers will host Jump Start Sports Academy, a regional club program Friday, Nov. 11 followed by a matchup with FSS Saturday.  Snow College played Jump Start last season in what ended up being the Badger's season-high point total in a 117-70 victory.  Friday's match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. in Ephraim.
 
Snow College also played FSS last season in Fort Myers, Florida Nov. 19, 2021.  The Badger lost that matchup 67-53.  The two teams have only faced off against one another on one other occasion.  Snow College defeated the Buccaneers Nov. 22, 2019, in an 81-79 overtime thriller.  The rubber match of the series is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim Nov. 12.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.