5 former Dragons men's basketball players headed to D-I Denver, joining Bergstraser

FARGO — The Dragons are headed to Denver.

Five former Minnesota State University Moorhead men’s basketball players will follow coach Tim Bergstraser to his new job at Denver University.

When guard JaMir Price confirmed Tuesday night that he’s headed to Denver next season to continue his college career it completed a day when a bunch of talent moved from the Red River Valley to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Earlier in the day, former Dragons forwards Logan Kinsey and Shaun Wysocki and guards Carson Johnson and Cody Dandridge all announced via social media they are also committed to the Pioneers.

Bergstraser was named the new coach of the Pioneers on Monday, April 14, and that same day Kinsey, Wysocki, Johnson and Dandridge all entered the transfer portal with “do not contact” tags.

As expected, those four players are set to join Bergstraser in Denver. The 6-foot-3 Price was already in the portal and wouldn’t have been able to return to MSUM. Since he played in junior college, Price gets one more year of eligibility that he had to use at a Division I school.

The 6-foot Johnson starred as a true freshman for the Dragons this past season, leading the team in scoring with 19.8 points per game. He was named the most valuable player for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament, marking the first time a freshman won that award.

The Dragons went 25-9 overall this past season, advancing to the NCAA Division II Central Region championship game.

The 6-foot-6 Kinsey averaged 14.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in his recently completed junior season for the Dragons. Kinsey was a two-year starter and three-year rotation player at MSUM.

Wysocki also worked his way into the starting lineup this past season as a true freshman. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 7.6 and 3.9 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-5 Dandridge is a highly regarded prospect who redshirted for the Dragons this past season.

Price played two seasons for MSUM and was a first-team, All-NSIC selection in 2023-24, averaging 14.5 points and 2.5 assists per game. He was limited to 12 games and six starts this past season due to multiple injuries.

Denver plays men’s basketball in the Division I Summit League in which North Dakota State is also a member.

Bergstraser’s introductory press conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (CT) Wednesday, April 16, at Denver’s Hamilton Gymnasium. Bergstraser posted a 75-22 record in his three seasons at MSUM’s head coach.

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.