COLLEGEVILLE — If Pat McKenzie had turn down this offer, he admitted that St. John’s University athletic boosters might have come to his house with torches and pitchforks.
So when Division I St. Thomas offered McKenzie’s Johnnies the opportunity to play an exhibition game on Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Tommies’
new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena
in St. Paul, it was a no-brainer for SJU’s 11th-year head coach.
St. John’s head basketball coach Pat McKenzie watches his team practice on Jan. 17, 2025, at Sexton Arena in Collegeville.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
“It’s been a while in the making. Getting their new arena was part of the catalyst for it happening,” McKenzie said. “This is ultimately about our alumni. It’s a chance to open up the yearbook, so to speak. It’s going to be a great event and a chance for St. John’s and St. Thomas alums to get back together. I think it’s going to be a big draw.
“There hadn’t been a push from our alumni base for this, but yeah, if I had turned it down, I might have had to shutter the house. There was definitely an appetite for this.”
St. Thomas and St. John’s announced the game on Friday, Aug. 22. As soon as the news came out, McKenzie was receiving texts and calls of congratulations.
“It’s funny because it’s an exhibition game for us,” McKenzie said with a laugh. “It’s like we had made the national tournament or something. I’m interested to see what the atmosphere is going to be like because it’s an exhibition. I talked with (St. Thomas head coach) John Tauer about it. We both want to see what this means to current students — and if they’ll show up for it.
St. Thomas guard Kendall Blue (1) tries to splits South Dakota State defenders William Kyle III, left, and Kaley Garry (10) on Monday, March 11, 2024, during the men’s semifinals at the Summit League basketball tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Richard Carlson/Inertia
“We both know it should be great for the basketball community in Minnesota. We have a ton of respect for John and his staff.”
The game will be a regular season game for
but an exhibition for
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the new multi-purpose arena that will also be home to the Tommies’ hockey teams.
The exhibition game will be the first between the two programs since 2021 when the Tommies won both meetings during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season. Prior to that shortened season, SJU had won six of the previous eight meetings in the series.
St. Thomas left the MIAC following the 2020-21 academic year for Division I and finished second in the Summit League last season with a 12-4 record and 24-10 overall.
McKenzie admitted seeing St. Thomas leave the conference stung at the time, but now it has “felt normal” not to play the Tommies every year.
“It was hard because they were our rival and they were a big draw,” McKenzie said. “It was always a great atmosphere here and there. I miss that. We all do. It was fun to play them. That being said, now it’s normal not to have them in the MIAC. But playing them provided great memories for both of our programs. We were so intertwined with them.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia at play here.”
South Dakota State forward Luke Appel (13) looks to pass against St. Thomas on Monday, March 11, 2024, during the men’s semifinals at the Summit League basketball tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Richard Carlson/Inertia
St. John’s, at least according to McKenzie, has never talked about moving to Division I. When St. Thomas made the move, some speculated that SJU might soon be right behind.
“I’ve never had that conversation with anyone,” McKenzie said. “I’d be the first one to tell you if I’ve had that conversation. I haven’t heard anything about us ever considering that. When St. Thomas did it, I was disappointed — for a lot of reasons. But those reasons were selfish in nature. We lost our biggest rival.”
McKenzie recalled during the 2018 NCAA D-III Tournament that three MIAC teams made the national field. UST wasn’t one of those teams. He felt that the MIAC finally had momentum in terms of being more respected for its strength of schedule.
“The momentum was there, then it was gone,” he said. “We were moving in the right direction and the strengths in our scheduling had improved. My hope is we can get back there some day.”
The last time St. John’s played an exhibition game against a D-I team was on Nov. 6, 2010, at Marquette.
to a Golden Eagles team that featured future NBA stars in Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder. Crowder had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win for Marquette and Butler had nine points in 18 minutes.
“That was a long time ago,” McKenzie said. “This is going to be a great opportunity for our young players more than anything. We’re going to look a lot different this season.”
The Johnnies return only one of their top nine scorers in senior guard
.
Players like Ryan Thissen, Blake Berg, Kooper Vaughn, Luke Healy, Zach Longueville and Griffin Rushin are all gone. Johnson averaged 8.3 points per game last year.
St. John’s has six new freshmen coming in as part of a big recruiting class. It includes Anoka guard Peyton Podany, STMA guard Hudson Hochstedler, New Prague forward Evan Weichert, 6-11 Shakopee center Tommy Auge, BOLD guard/forward Jack Gross and Rochester John Marshall forward Brayson Sawyer.
BOLD senior guard Jack Gross throws down a dunk in the Section 2A championship against Madelia on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at Bresnan Arena at the Taylor Center in Mankato.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
St. John’s opens its season on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
“It’s a pretty good class that we’re excited about,” McKenzie said. “Playing time will be wide open. We’ve got guys who can play. They just haven’t had a lot of reps yet. It’s going to be super competitive when we start practice. It’s well-documented how much we lose.
“But now it’s an opportunity for all the younger guys to come in and pick up some time.”
John Marshall’s Brayson Sawyer (5) attempts to shoot the ball during the Section 1, Class 4A boys basketball championship game against Lakeville North on Friday, March 14, 2025, at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.
Maya Giron / Post Bulletin