OPENING TIP: The Snow College men's basketball team will begin the 2026-27 season Friday and Saturday at the Snow Classic inside the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.
 
The Badgers will open the season against Treasure Valley Community College Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Northwest College Saturday at 11 a.m. The College of Southern Nevada will also participate in the two-day event.
 
Friday's game will mark the beginning of a new era for Snow College as Brad Kitchen makes his debut as the Badgers' head coach.
 
KNOW YOUR FOE: Snow College is 12-1 all time against Treasure Valley and has won the past 10 meetings between the two teams. The Badgers earned a 113-73 victory when the teams last met Nov. 24, 2023, inside the Horne Activity Center.
 
The Chukars finished the 2025-26 season with a 17-10 overall record and a 13-1 mark in Northwest Athletic Conference play. Treasure Valley's season ended with a 96-74 loss to Lower Columbia College in the opening round of the NWAC Championship Tournament.
 
The Badgers will meet Northwest for the second consecutive season and the seventh time overall. Snow College owns a 4-2 record against the Trappers following a 79-67 road victory Nov. 29, 2025, in Powell, Wyoming.
 
Northwest took an early lead in last season's matchup before Snow College used a 10-0 run to move in front. The lead changed hands throughout the opening half, but the Badgers took control after halftime and held the Trappers to 26 rebounds in the victory.
 
Northwest finished the season with a 21-12 overall record and an 8-4 mark in Region 9 North play. The Trappers defeated Western Nebraska Community College and North Platte Community College to reach the Region 9 semifinals. Their season ended with a 73-72 loss to eventual Region 9 champion Trinidad State College.
 
ANOTHER NATIONAL TOURNAMENT RUN: The Badgers finished the 2025-26 season with a 29-5 overall record and a 12-3 mark in Scenic West Athletic Conference play. They won their first 17 games and climbed to No. 1 in the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Rankings during the season.
 
Snow College opened the year with victories over Western Nebraska Community College and Casper College before defeating Eastern Arizona College and Arizona Western College at the Region 1/Region 18 Challenge. The Badgers also earned non-conference victories against No. 11 Indian Hills Community College and No. 11 South Plains College.
 
Snow College began SWAC play with three consecutive home victories over Colorado Northwestern Community College, Salt Lake Community College and Utah State University Eastern. After suffering its first loss of the season at the College of Southern Idaho, Snow College won eight consecutive games, including an 83-77 victory against the fourth-ranked Golden Eagles in Ephraim.
 
The Badgers entered the Region 18 Tournament as the No. 2 seed. They defeated Utah State University Eastern 97-84 in the semifinal round before falling to CSI 64-60 in the championship game.
 
Snow College received an at-large bid to the NJCAA National Tournament and was awarded the No. 9 seed. The Badgers made a season-high 18 3-pointers and scored a season-best 128 points in a 128-86 first-round victory over Trinidad State.
 
The season came to an end with a 101-96 loss to Butler Community College in the second round. Snow College committed 30 turnovers, which led to 29 Butler points, but cut an 18-point first-half deficit to five before time expired.
 
The Badgers' 29 victories followed a program-record 32-win campaign in 2024-25. Snow College has won 61 games and made consecutive appearances in the NJCAA National Tournament over the past two seasons. They will also enter action Friday riding a 26-game home winning streak.
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN: Snow College returns three players from last season's roster, including Max Toombs and James Rust, who both appeared in at least 30 games during the 2025-26 campaign. Easton Hawkins also returns after redshirting last season.
 
Toombs leads the returning group after appearing in 31 games and averaging 8.4 points, 1.2 assists per contest. He shot 45% from the field, 39% from 3-point range and 78% at the free-throw line.
 
The Draper, Utah, native scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds in Snow College's second-round national tournament game against Butler.
 
Rust appeared in 33 games and averaged 2.8 points, 1.2 assists per game. He shot 49% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. Rust scored a career-high 10 points in Snow College's victory over Utah State University Eastern Feb. 12, 2026.
 
Hawkins, a 6-foot-4 guard from Lehi, Utah, will begin his redshirt freshman season after spending last year in the Snow College program.
 
The Badgers' 14-player roster also includes sophomore transfers Julian Cuillier, Kobe Jones, Amari Davis and Kyler Hadfield. The newcomers are joined by freshmen Dino Roberts Jr., Isaiah Drisdom, Nash Schroeder, Max Rehl, Hyrum Donaldson, Shane Skidmore and Xander Hale.
 
Seven members of the roster come from Utah. The Badgers also have two players from Arizona and one each from Texas, Idaho, California, Nevada and Washington.
 
ON THE SIDELINE: Kitchen was named the Snow College men's basketball head coach in June after spending the 2025-26 season as the head coach at Timpview High School.
 
Kitchen led Timpview to a 21-3 overall record and an 8-0 mark in Region 7 play. The Thunderbirds won the Region 7 championship during his lone season at the school.
The Springville, Utah, native previously served as an assistant coach at Snow College from 2022-25. The Badgers posted a 73-21 overall record and went 31-14 in SWAC play during those three seasons.
 
Kitchen was part of the coaching staff that helped Snow College finish 32-2, win the SWAC, Region 18 and West District championships and earn the No. 1 overall seed in the 2025 NJCAA National Tournament. Before joining Snow College, Kitchen served as a graduate assistant at Brigham Young University.
 
Kitchen will be joined by assistant coaches Ethan Kahn and Carter Sonneborn.
 
Kahn is entering his second season with the Badgers after helping the team finish 29-5 and advance to the second round of the national tournament last season. He also helped Snow College record a 3.67 team grade-point average, the highest among NJCAA men's basketball programs during the 2025-26 academic year.
 
Sonneborn joins the Badgers after serving as a graduate assistant at the University of Portland from 2024-26. He was involved in player development and earned a master's degree in business administration and a graduate certificate in sports business during his time at Portland.
 
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: The Badgers will play 28 regular-season games, including 11 at home, during the 2026-27 season.
 
Following the Snow Classic, Snow College will host Colorado Northwestern Tuesday, Nov. 3, in a non-conference matchup. The Badgers will then travel to Iowa to face Indian Hills Community College Nov. 6 and Sauk Valley Community College Nov. 7.
 
Snow College will participate in the Region 1/Region 18 Challenge Nov. 13-14 in Yuma, Arizona. The Badgers will take on Eastern Arizona College before meeting host Arizona Western College.
 
Road games against the College of Southern Nevada, Central Wyoming College and Northwest will close November and begin December. Snow College will face Midland College Dec. 4 in Taylorsville before hosting South Plains College Dec. 12.
 
The Badgers will conclude their nonconference schedule at the Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic. Snow College will play Indian Hills for the second time Dec. 17 before facing Missouri State University-West Plains Dec. 18.
 
SWAC play begins with home games against Salt Lake Community College Jan. 2 and Utah State University Eastern Jan. 4. The Badgers will then travel to Idaho for games against North Idaho College and CSI.
 
Snow College will play each of its four conference opponents three times. The regular season concludes Feb. 25 against Colorado Northwestern in Rangely, Colorado.
 
BADGERS ON THE AIR: All Snow College home games this season will be broadcast by SnowTV and will air on the Scenic West Digital Network. All home games and select road games will also be simulcast on KMTI 650 AM.
 
Tanner Wilkinson will provide the play-by-play for games broadcast by SnowTV this season. He is entering his second season as 'Voice of the Badgers.'
 
All broadcasts will begin with a pregame show approximately 20 minutes before tipoff and will include coverage of the game and an interview with Kitchen. Postgame shows will begin immediately following the conclusion of the game and will last approximately 10 minutes.
Live statistics will be provided for all home games as well as several road games during the season. Links to video and audio streams and live statistics will be available at snowbadgers.com.
 
UP NEXT: Following the opening weekend, the Badgers will return to Ephraim to face Colorado Northwestern Community College Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center.
 
Snow College has won 27 consecutive games against the Spartans and holds an 83-3 advantage in the all-time series. The Badgers swept three meetings last season, earning victories of 96-65, 109-60 and 100-87.
 
Snow College will then travel to Centerville, Iowa, to face Indian Hills Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. before meeting Sauk Valley Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. Both games will be played inside the Hellyer Center. For video streaming and live statistics information, visit snowbadgers.com.