The Stetson Hatters are headed to the 2024 NCAA Division I National Tourney after winning their postseason tourney last week.  It was the first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference title for the Hatters, which also earned them a first-ever trip to the NCAA Tourney.

Among the members of the team is Treyton Thompson, a native of Glenwood who played high school ball at Alexandria his freshman and sophomore seasons before going on to play prep ball at a private school in Indiana.

Stetson University, a private college in Central Florida (Deland, FL), entered the ASUN Tourney as the No. 2 seed, boasting a 22-12 record (11-5 in conference) and had notched an 83-71 victory over Queens in the quarterfinals followed by a narrow 88-87 victory over Jacksonville in the semifinals.

The only team left to beat was Austin Peay (19-15, 10-6 in conference), whom Stetson had beaten in an 83-82 home victory on Jan. 25.  “The game seemed to last forever,” Thompson said during a phone interview Friday morning.  Both teams put together stellar scoring runs, and Stetson’s Jalen Blackmon scored an ASUN championship game-record 43 points to help lead his team to a 94-91 win.

“We went out and competed as hard as we could,” Thompson said. “I didn’t want it to end, but I wanted it to be over so that we could win.”  Thompson had seven points, four rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes played during the title game.

“Guys were sobbing in the locker room afterward,” Thompson said. “I just sat down and was in awe of what we’d just accomplished. No one at Stetson had ever done what we’d just done. It took a while for that to sink in.”

Other members of the ASUN are the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles, Jacksonville University Dolphins, Kennesaw State University Owls, Lipscomb University Bison, University of North Florida Ospreys, University of North Alabama Lions, Eastern Kentucky Colonels, Austin Peay Governors, Queens University Royals, Central Arkansas Bears and Bellarmine Knights.

Eastern Kentucky won the regular season with a 12-4 record, but was upset by Jacksonville in the semifinals, 67-65.

Thompson said the support from the community has been unreal since the Hatters won the ASUN title and advance to the NCAA Tourney. “It’s been very special,” Thompson said.  “It seems like people are coming out of the wood works with all the congratulations; the support from everyone has been unreal and it seems like we’ve been dining at a different spot every night due to people treating us.

“It’s nice to see all the hard work pay off.  I’ve never been on a team where I’ve been outworked, but these guys on our team never quit working and they amaze me with all the work they put in.”

Treyton is the son of Kyle and Kyla Thompson, who live just east of Glenwood.  He is a seven-foot junior forward for the Hatters, averaging 4.5 points and 4 rebounds per game for the Hatters while shooting 54 percent from the field.

Treyton attended first grade in Sedan before moving with his family to Glenwood his 5th grade year.  He attended Alexandria High School from 6th-10th grade, playing his high school ball under coach Forrest Witt.

He played for the Cardinals his freshman and sophomore years, averaging 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore, but following his sophomore season, he had an inkling to play against better competition at that point in his life.  “I wanted to play against better competition to better myself so I started looking at possibly playing 3A or 4A ball in the Twin Cities area,” Thompson said.  “Then, out of nowhere, I got a call from La Lumiere School in LaPorte, IN and I knew immediately that was the place for me.”

He transferred to La Lumiere School in LaPorte, IN for his junior and senior high school seasons.  He helped the Lakers to a 22-5 record as a junior against competition from across the country and then averaged 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a senior as La Lumiere was ranked third nationally heading into the season by MaxPreps.com.

“We played in tournaments all over the country and our school only had about 200 students so the teachers were very accommodating and very receptive to working with us to help us get things done,” Thompson said.

Thompson played for the Minnesota Gophers his freshman and sophomore years of college.  He saw 19 games his freshman year, starting one, and then saw action in 20 games his sophomore year, including eight starts, averaging 2.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

“I just didn’t feel the fit was right with the Gophers,” Thompson said.  “My vision for myself in how I could help the program wasn’t working out and I started looking for other opportunities.”

The move to Stetson University was a good one for Treyton and he took advantage of the opportunity by helping the Hatters achieve a first in school history.

The Hatters will probably be matched up against a first or second seed in the opening game of the tourney, but that doesn’t phase Thompson, who looks forward to the challenge. “We have nothing to lose and it’s been done before where a first or second seed loses in the first round,” Thompson said.  “We’ve played Houston and Cincinnati, we’ve beaten UCF and we’re not scared of any team.  The coaching staff has us prepared and we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

Treyton has one older sister and one brother, Chase, age 16, who plays at Alexandria High School and helped the Cardinals earn a trip to state with a win over SC Tech, Thursday. 

Chase will be playing Mpls. South at 4 p.m., Wednesday in the Class AAA state quarters, while Treyton’s Hatters will be playing their first game Friday at 1:45 p.m.  

That should work out great for their family as the only game scheduled for Class AAA on Friday is the consolation final at 4 p.m.

Thompson plans to be back at Stetson next winter for his senior year and then hopes to continue his basketball career following graduation wherever that may be.

“We first want to win the ASUN again and when we leave the program, we want Stetson basketball to start being well-known due to our success in helping build the program.  In addition, I want Stetson to be a program that my brother would be proud to play for,” Thompson said.  “I would love to play in the NBA, but I would also consider playing overseas.”

When this reporter mentioned he had talked about what it was like playing overseas with Colton Iverson, who moved to the community last year after playing overseas’ basketball,” Thompson said “I’ve had lots of conversations with Colton about that.  He’s been very helpful.”

Overall, Thompson is excited to start the NCAA Tourney, but he doesn’t lose site of the larger picture and the great opportunity this provides.  “I love my teammates and I love our coaches,” Thompson said.  “I feel blessed for this opportunity and we’re just going to go out and play as hard as we can.  We’re happy with what we’ve accomplished at Stetson University and we just want to go out and make our community and school proud.”  Go Hatters!