MOORHEAD — While Max Beeninga is a multiple-sport athlete for Wayzata (Minn.) High School — a Twin Cities suburb — Moorhead also has a familiar feel even though its a few hours away from his home.
Beeninga has been closely following Minnesota State Moorhead men’s basketball since grade school. Three of his older brothers have played or play for the NCAA Division II program.
“The kid’s been wearing Dragons gear since like he was in fourth grade, so he kind of almost grew up going to Dragons games, even though we are from the (Twin) Cities,” said Jacob Beeninga, Max’s older brother who completed his MSUM career last season.
Max added to the Beeninga bloodline as he recently committed to the Dragons. The Wayzata junior is part of the 2027 recruiting class. MSUM head coach Jason Kemp can’t comment on the latest Beeninga until Max signs.
“My brothers going there was huge, them going through it, them loving it and loving the area,” Max said. “I can’t see myself playing anywhere else, so why not just commit now?”
Max is the youngest of seven siblings, including five older brothers, to parents Julie and Dean. Three of his older brothers also chose the Dragons. Johnny Beeninga (2016-20) and Jacob (2020-25) both scored more than 1,000 points during their MSUM careers. Eddie Beeninga is a senior on the current MSUM roster, preparing for his final season in the program. In addition, Max also has a brother who goes to school at North Dakota State.
Johnny and Jacob has remained in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Max is also excited to be closer to his nephew Crew, Johnny’s son.
“It’s going to be pretty cool to be playing in front of my brothers and my nephew, too,” Max said. “That will be pretty cool.”
Counting the upcoming 2025-26 season, there’s set to be a string of 10 consecutive seasons in which the Dragons have had at last one of the Beeninga brothers on the roster. After a gap season in 2026-27, Max is slated to continue the lineage.
“My brothers made a huge impact on my decision,” Max said. “I’ve watched my brothers make lifelong friends with people in that area.”
At 6-foot-1, Max is projected to play point guard or off guard for the Dragons. His three older brothers also played guard spots for the Dragons. Johnny, Jacob and Eddie have combined to score 3,102 career points for MSUM with Eddie having one more season remaining. They’ve played a combined 329 games, including 161 starts.
Jacob said Max is a mix of his sibling predecessors with the Dragons.
“He’s really smart,” Jacob said. “He loves basketball, just like all of us. He draws on different parts of our games.”
Max added speed and shooting are two of his strengths on the court.
“He’s really athletic,” Jacob said. “He’s really fast. It will be interesting to see how he develops. He’s still super young. He could be really good.”
Max added: “I really like to use my speed and shooting, which are the main things, and being gritty on defense.”
Wayzata (Minn.) High School’s Max Beeninga has verbally committed to play men’s basketball for Minnesota State Moorhead. He’s part of the 2027 recruiting class.
Submitted photo
Max recently played in a prep football game against the Moorhead Spuds at Jim Gotta Stadium. He had a highlight-worthy interception in a 28-27 road loss against the Spuds. His brothers, members of the Dragons basketball coaching staff and multiple current MSUM players were in attendance.
Max said it was cool to receive that support from his family and also his future college teammates.
“It was super cool for them to be going crazy for me,” Max said.
Max anticipates he will need an upgrade in his Dragons apparel once he makes it official and signs with MSUM.
“I probably have a couple (Dragons) T-shirts that are too small for me now,” Max said.
Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent baseball team and helps out with North Dakota State football coverage. Peterson has been working at the newspaper since 1996.