BRECKENRIDGE — Five games into the season, Breckenridge boys basketball has put itself in unfamiliar territory.
The Huskies sit with a 5–0 record to open the 2025-26 season. With its last win over Merrill before the break, Breckenridge marked the program’s best start since the 2023–24 season, giving early proof that this year’s group is built differently. But for head coach Jeff Ostrander, the wins are only part of the picture.
“My son Gavin started coaching the JV once he got out of college, ” Ostrander said. “We’re doing a lot of things together, and a lot of times we bring up eighth-grade players to be our team managers. They’re starting to get a glimpse of what we do and how we do it, as well as some of the philosophy that guides us. By the time they reach varsity, you’re not spending a lot of time trying to teach them the culture. You’re spending more time on teaching, on what you’re trying to achieve that season, and I think that really helps. We’re starting at a different position than we have in years past, and we’re starting to see the benefits of that.”
Breckenridge coach Jeff Ostrander. (SHAWN ROBINSON -MediaNews Group)
In the Huskies’ 61-16 win over Merrill, Breckenridge opened the game aggressively, throwing multiple presses at Merrill on a larger, college-sized floor. While that pace led to some spacing issues and easy buckets for the Vandals early, Ostrander adjusted in the second half, allowing Merrill to slow the game while his team focused on rebounding, execution, and playing within itself.
That ability to adapt and trust the process has helped define the Huskies’ early success.
“We just played our game,” Ostrander said. “Got rebounds, went down, and started stacking up points better and faster that way.”
Ostrander believes the foundation for this season’s start was laid long before the opening tip, with the offseason commitment being a major difference from last season.
He pointed to last summer as one of the most productive he’s had in a long time, highlighted by strong participation in summer ball and player development. Two talented freshmen from last year are now a year older, bigger, and more confident, and the team avoided the long gap where basketball often takes a backseat to other sports.
“You can forget about basketball and not touch a ball from March till November,” Ostrander said. “This year, we had a lot of participation in our summer program. You’re starting your season off at a different level.”
That preparation has translated into an energetic, competitive identity on the floor.
“This year, everybody’s playing intensely at practice,” he said. “They’re not giving up anything, and I encourage that. Make the other guy work.”
That intensity has sharpened fundamentals and created an environment where players are constantly pushing one another. It has also helped fuel an offense that thrives on athleticism, pace, and unselfishness.
“They don’t really care who scores,” Ostrander said. “What I’m seeing this year that I haven’t always seen is that one extra pass. Give up a good shot for a better shot, and that’s hard to coach. This group just does it naturally.”
Leading the way this year has been senior guard Noah Barr, whom Ostrander described as someone who “lives and breathes the game.”
Breckenridge’s Noah Barr. (SHAWN ROBINSON -MediaNews Group)
“He’s put on 20 pounds, and you can tell he put up thousands of shots this summer,” Ostrander said. “If he gets an open shot, the odds of it going in are really good.”
Barr’s growth has been complemented by a senior class that leads with toughness and humility, along with two sophomores who, in Ostrander’s words, “don’t play like sophomores.”
“They fit right in on and off the court,” he said. “They’re respected.”
Perhaps the strongest sign of the team’s maturity is when players begin holding each other accountable.
“When kids start coaching themselves, that’s when you know you’ve got something special,” Ostrander said. “When you hear the things you’ve been saying for years coming out of their mouths, and they acknowledge it, that’s huge.”
Despite the 5–0 start, Ostrander says the team has to stay focused in the second half of the season.
“I wasn’t expecting to get off to a 5–0 start,” he said. “It’s nice, but people are going to bring their A-game against you.”
The message to his team has been simple: don’t look past anyone, and don’t confuse progress with being finished.
“That team’s not ready to be champions yet,” Ostrander told his players after the Merrill win. “You’re getting there, but we’ve got to find it within ourselves to do more.”
For Breckenridge, the start has been strong. The belief is growing. But the focus, Ostrander said, is still on the same question of how good they really are.
“The key is not to look past any game, Ostrander said. “I think we have to focus on every game, no matter who we’re playing. Then we have to prepare for the postseason. That’s the goal every season, to get the team ready to see what you can do, and that’s the exciting part. We have to find within ourselves to do more, and that’s what we’re focused on. We’re focused on how good we can be.”