Head Coach for the Red Raider boys’ basketball team for the 2024-2025 season is Josh Davies. He is assisted by Riley Kirwan and Sam Matzke. This is Davies’ 21st year of coaching. This year’s team is led by five seniors including Preston McFayden, Parker Petry, Brady Cournoyer, Jeremy Cheyenne and Frank Soukup. The team has one returning junior, Ky Arpan. Returning sophomores for this season are Jesse Zephier, Carlos Galindo, Javian Pesicka and Leon Fields. Cruise Koupal will be the lone freshman returning for the Raiders.

Last season the Raiders finished their season with a 12-10 record. This year the team’s goal is to win the Little Missouri Valley Conference (LMVC) and the Southeast South Dakota (SESD) conference as well as make a Class A state tournament appearance. The team did put in time in the offseason and attended the Cornbelt team camp this past summer in Mitchell.

This year’s team returns three starters from last year’s squad including Preston McFayden, Parker Petry and Jesse Zephier. Team members Brady Cournoyer, Carlos Galindo and Javian Pesicka all have a lot of varsity playing time and will be looked to step into leadership positions this upcoming season. Ky Arpan and Frank Soukup will step in and be needed at the varsity level this year.

As the head coach, Davies is most looking forward to having players with varsity experience back covering all positions. He expects to have strong and experienced play at the guard and post positions. Davies’ coaching philosophy is good leadership, positive attitudes and hard work build a program. Teams that will be the toughest for the Raiders this season will be Winner, O’Neill and Gregory. The Wagner Red Raiders kick off their season with a home game against Winner on December 13th. Best of luck on your season. Go Big Red!