Most sports teams think about what their seasons could’ve been afterward. Tough losses, bad breaks, bad calls and injuries all factor into those thoughts. However, I can’t remember a season that turned into a ‘what could’ve been’ exercise more than the 2025-2026 Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team’s.
What turns the Skyhawks’ season into an even bigger ‘what could’ve been’ thought exercise is they still ended up being a very good team despite so many injuries and tough losses. The Skyhawks finished 18-11 overall, 15-5 in the RMAC and made the conference tournament semifinals for the second-consecutive year.
A microcosm of the season could be seen on Friday night in Spearfish, South Dakota, as the No. 4-seeded Skyhawks took on the No. 1 seed, Black Hills State, in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament semifinals. The Skyhawks were without fifth-year forward Chuol Deng, who didn’t travel with the team due to team reasons. FLC ended up losing that game 77-75, likely ending the Skyhawks’ season.
If Deng was doing what was needed to play, would he have made a difference? On paper, FLC was losing about 13 points and eight rebounds. It’s not a crazy leap in logic to say if he were playing, FLC could’ve advanced to the RMAC tournament finals and had a shot at making the NCAA tournament.
However, all of the ‘what could’ve been’ scenarios begin in the preseason. Coming off Year 1 under head coach Jordan Mast, the Skyhawks reloaded in the offseason by bringing in a mix of college players in the transfer portal, high school players, and they retained a lot of their roster from the previous year. Mast felt like he added size and scoring to the 2024-2025 squad that also made it to the RMAC tournament semifinals.
Then, the injuries started happening. Arguably, the most significant injury was the first with guard Jude Tapia, who tore his meniscus in August and didn’t play for the Skyhawks this season. Tapia, a 5-foot-11-inch guard from Albuquerque, was the RMAC’s leading scorer in 2024-2025 for Adams State, averaging 17.4 points per game.
Besides Tapia’s scoring average, what made him so impressive as an addition was his efficiency as a scorer on a bad Adams State. All eyes were on him, and he still managed to finish first in the conference with 3.46 3-pointers per game and second in the conference at 43.1% shooting from 3-point range. Tapia’s elite shot-making could’ve really been used on this year’s Skyhawks squad, which finished 13th out of 15 schools in the RMAC in field goal percentage.
Then freshman guard Daniel Steverson tore his ACL during the first few days of practice. Mast expected him to be a freshman who could contribute right away after scoring over 2,000 points in high school down in Rio Rancho. He would’ve provided a great scoring option at the guard position and a strong guard on defense.
The injury bug didn’t go away once the season started. Redshirt sophomore guard Nathan Penney only played a few games before breaking his foot. He was one of two players who had been in the program for three years and was expected to be a great depth piece for the Skyhawks. Depth is especially important for the Skyhawks with the pressing, aggressive style they play on defense for all 40 minutes.
Another brutal blow happened in the regular season when starting point guard Yorgio Golesis tore his ACL on Dec. 17 against St. Mary’s. It was the end of the non-conference schedule against St. Mary’s and FLC was up 19 when Golesis got hurt. When he went down, so did FLC’s only true pass-first, natural point guard.
After all these guard injuries, FLC’s playmaking and depth were decimated, putting so much on the shoulders of redshirt sophomore guard Stewart Erhart. The defensive player of the year in the conference, Erhart was stellar this season, but he’s not a natural point guard, and FLC struggled to move the ball, finishing 13th in the conference in assist/turnover ratio.
In the non-conference schedule, FLC led Western New Mexico and Lubbock Christian at home in the second half. Both of those teams have been in the top 25 in Division II this season, and both will make the NCAA tournament.
Even with all these injuries, FLC started conference play 12-0. It had a three-game lead on the rest of the conference. Despite being down so many guards, FLC shouldn’t have finished two games behind Black Hills State in first in the final standings. You can’t blame everything on injuries. The Skyhawks lost games it shouldn’t have to Western Colorado and New Mexico Highlands. They struggled on the road more than they should have, compared to how good they were at home.
However, if FLC had all or just more of its guards, how much would’ve been different? Could the Skyhawks have found the two points they needed to beat New Mexico Highlands on the road and beat Adams State after the game was tied with 30 seconds left? FLC had a lot of slow starts to halves this season. How many of the slow starts wouldn’t have happened with Tapia’s scoring or Golesis’ playmaking? Could Tapia or Steverson’s scoring have kept FLC in the fight with Western New Mexico and Lubbock?
Losing one or two guards is tough and happens to a lot of teams. But four? It’s hard to come back from that. Take two of the top teams in Division I, Duke and Michigan, for example. If Duke lost Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evens, Darren Harris and Nikolas Khamenia, the Blue Devils would look and operate a lot differently. The same with Michigan if it lost Elliot Cadeau, Roddy Gayle, Nimari Burnett and Trey McKenney
Imagine if none, or only one or two of FLC’s players got hurt. FLC’s season would probably still be going, and the team’s seniors would be heading to the NCAA tournament as a perfect send-off.
Injuries aren’t 100% responsible for FLC’s season, but they played a huge role in what could’ve been for the Skyhawks. Next season will be Year 3 for Mast and his staff. If FLC stays injury free, Mast and his staff need to continue the upward trajectory and make the RMAC tournament championship and the NCAA tournament.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
