Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Left to Right: Front Row: Kellen Fritz, Joseph Hackett, Joe Long, Tavian Harvey, Merritt Pomerenke, Jordan Thompson, Brayden Williamson, Josh Blake, Landon Traetow Back Row: Jalin Jackson, Joey Crissinger, Reed Johnson, Logan Junkermeier, Carmyne Hecht, Mac Larson, Isaac Laidig, Josh Soelter

FAIRMONT – The 2025-2026 Fairmont High School boys basketball team is aiming for another consistent season under head coach Jared Thompson. The Cardinals had a nice year in 2024-2025, finishing the campaign with a 17-10 record before dropping to Jackson County Central in the second round of the Class 3AA Sections.

Fairmont will be without a handful of key players from last year’s roster, including forward Oliver Tordsen, who earned All-Sentinel Co-Player of the Year after averaging 15 points, nine rebounds, and three assists per game.

The backcourt duo of Nolan Schultze and Hadan Toomer will also be missed on the hardwood. Both guards logged more than 500 minutes last season while averaging over 6 points per contest. Trevor Maakestad was another presence off the bench for the Cardinals, who provided strong minutes with his versatile 6-6 frame.

“We graduated so much size last year,” coach Thompson said. “That’s something we know to make some adjustments defensively and offensively, just to have a different identity with a different group of kids.”

Headlining this new identity is senior Logan Junkermeier. The forward is coming off an impressive junior campaign last season, sharing the All-Sentinel Co-Player of the Year title and averaging identical statistics as Tordsen – 16 points and nine rebounds per game.

Senior sharpshooter Joe Hackett returns after starting last season for Fairmont, leading the team with 54 3-pointers while shooting at a clip of 40.3%. Joe Long and Brayden Williamson are two more guards coach Thompson expects to see more playing time after earning heavy minutes off the bench last season.

Coach Thompson still wants to use an inside-out style of play to secure an overall balanced offensive attack, despite having a more guard-heavy roster than in previous seasons.

“I think we have a lot of high-IQ guards and will probably be playing with a little more pace this year,” coach Thompson said. “But we still, at the end of the day, have big advantages inside throwing the ball into Logan Junkermeier and Reed Johnson, a 6-5 junior who played B-squad last year. … Our identity is still there.”

The rest of coach Thompson’s team will consist of individuals who were a part of a successful B squad last season, describing them as “Chomping at the bit” for their next opportunity at the varsity level.

“Jordan Thompson, Merritt Pomerenke, and Tavian Harvey, all three of those juniors, played a lot of minutes on the B-squad last year,” Jared Thompson said. “They had a really nice year and are looking to make that next step up as seniors.”

Coach Thompson is still figuring out his team’s philosophy on the defensive side of the court.

After using the length of Tordsen, Junkermeier, and others to pose a disruptive zone scheme the past two seasons, coach Thompson hopes to switch to a full matchup style of play, leaning into Fairmont’s guards and depth to his advantage.

“Defensively, we have to show we can be really physical,” coach Thompson said. “You don’t have to be 6-5 and weigh 200 pounds to be a physical basketball player, so it’s just building that identity to play with a lot of toughness and physicality, letting our depth work in our advantage.”