Revamped Lutes Look to Return to NWC Tournament in 2025-26

The Pacific Lutheran University men’s basketball team has been a model of consistency under two-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year Chad Murray who enters his ninth season as the head coach for the Lutes. Under his direction the Lutes have made three trips to the NWC Tournament and have had a winning record for six consecutive seasons— PLU’s most successful run on the hardwood since Ed Anderson did that from 1976 to 1982. 

Murray’s challenge this winter will be to maintain that consistency in a season of transition as the Lutes look to replace 57 percent of its scoring production from a season ago, losing its top three scorers from a squad that finished 14-12 overall and placed second in the NWC with an 11-3 record. 

PLU was picked to finish tied for third with University of Puget Sound in the NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll released last week, sitting behind conference heavyweights Whitworth University and Whitman College.

Ben Tellez is the Lutes’ top returning scorer from a season ago, averaging 9.7 points per game while ranking second on the team in assists with 44. Tellez was a deep threat for the Lutes, draining a team-best 34 treys on the year while shooting at a 34.8 percent clip from beyond the arc. Tellez additionally is the lone returning player to have played in all 26 games last winter.

“I think he’s going to be someone we rely on a lot this year, and he’s got some craftiness to his game, so we’re looking forward to seeing his contribution this year.”

Henry Smith returns after averaging 5.5 points per game last year. Smith played in 25 games and made 16 starts. Another sharpshooter, Smith hit 32 threes last year and shot at a 35.6 percent rate from three-point range. 

“Henry’s such a dynamic shooter; he can really get going. One of the things I really love about Henry is that he puts 100% into everything we do, whether that’s off the court in the classroom – he’s a 4.0 student – and he’s a big-time relationship guy. He works really hard to be the great teammate that we expect everybody to be, but also from a basketball standpoint, he has really tried to become more of a complete player, trying to get to the point where he can get into the paint, and if somebody takes away his three-point shot, he can do something else with the basketball. And from a defensive standpoint, he knew that has been somewhat of a developmental area for him, and he’s really worked hard to carve out that niche for himself to be dependable in a way where we can keep him on the floor.”

Mack Hepper played in 25 games and made nine starts, averaging 4.2 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game. The Lutes will lean on Hepper as one of the leaders of the team, being the lone senior that has played his entire career in the gold and black. 

“Mack’s the lone member of our program who has been here for his entire college career for three years. There’s a couple other guys like Henry Smith and Shaun Burton, they’re juniors, so they’ve been here since they’ve been freshmen. So those three guys – we have 15 in the program – have been here two years or longer. While we have four seniors, there’s only one who has been in the program for the entire time, and the other guys have just been here a year. So they’re not as deeply rooted, so I do depend on Mack, Henry, and Shaun to help spread the message of our program and to take what I’m saying and really implement it into the locker room and into the culture in the dorms and in the off-campus settings and in the classroom. I do really depend on those guys.”

Julian Brown played in 17 games and made 13 starts last winter, averaging 6.0 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game before suffering a season ending ACL injury that will likely keep him sidelined for a portion of the upcoming year. Brown finished in double figures in three of the games he played in, including dropping 24 in an overtime thriller against Linfield University. 

Dom Perasso played in 21 games, making six starts, adding 5.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg for the squad while Charlie Kapranos returns a year older after playing in 19 games and averaging 3.7 ppg. A year older, both Perasso and Kapranos played key minutes down the stretch of the conference season last year.

“Charlie’s been great. Really high basketball IQ. Can shoot the ball well, but a great passer that enjoys passing and that role.”

Joining the squad from the junior college ranks is Jeremiah Sibley, Jamie McGrail, and Dane Odsather.

Sibley joins the Lutes from North Idaho College where he played in 22 games and helped the Cardinals finish with an 18-13 overall record last winter. The guard averaged 3.3 ppg and 1.3 rpg. 

McGrail hails from Portland Community College. The Gibraltar, U.K. native played in 48 games over the past two seasons for the Panthers, averaging 5.1 ppg and 2.2 assists per game and helping the team make two trips to the Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.