HENNING, Minn.– The Henning Hornets boys basketball team won Section 6A for the first time since 2020 last season. Now, the challenge is defending their title in the 2025-26.
Last season the Hornets finished the year with a 29-4 record, capped off by finishing in 5th place in Class A as the MSHSL 2025 State Boys Basketball Tournament Consolation Champions. Henning also finished with a 12-0 record in Section 6A play a season ago. It was a perfect 4-peat for the Hornets, who won the Park Region Conference crown for the fourth season in a row with a 14-0 record.
Head coach Randy Misegades will be in front of the Henning bench for his 21st season with a career record of 333-205. Assistant coaches on staff consist of Mark Oscarson, Steve Misegades, Blake Wallevand, and Jason Speer.
Some key returners for the Hornets include Kale Misegades, the only returning senior starter on the roster, along with returning letter winners senior Ryan Despard and junior Todd Bjerke. Captains for the 2025-26 season include Kale Misegades, Ryan Despard and Dawson Bushman. Kale Misegades announced his commitment to play basketball next season for Southwest Minnesota State University on November 12.
“We graduated four all-conference players and seven seniors overall. We will have several inexperienced guys at the Varsity level. But, we had a very successful JV team last year,” said coach Misegades.
An impressive graduating class last season of Teigan Bjerke, Logan Kostelecky, Dawson Misegades, Eli Reinbold, Mason Samuelson, Noah Umland, and Devan Wiederich leaves some spots open on this season. Coach Misegades says Dawson Bushman (Sr-Guard), Andrew Suchy (Sr-Center), Bradon Grabe (Sr-Forward), Beck Thorson (Jr-Guard), Zack Wiederich (Jr-Guard), Trevor Arndt (Jr-Guard), Teghan Wiirre (Jr-Guard), Elliot Severson (Jr-Center), Gabe Froslee (Jr-Forward), Easton Misegades (Fr-Guard) all have the opportunity to contribute for the Hornets this season.
“We also return one of the top players in Class A basketball in Kale Misegades. Kale is fully healthy after missing the first 22 games of last season following ankle surgery. We fully expect Ryan Despard to be a primary scorer and we have a lot of other guys with the skills and attitude to take that next step,” said coach Misegades. “Our guys have been around winning teams and they know how to play the game the right way. We have a very challenging schedule, but we expect to compete once again in both the conference and section.”
In an always competitive Section 6A, coach Misegades knows multiple teams are in the mix every season. That includes Pelican Rapids. Misegades believes Pelican Rapids is a favorite to watch in the section this season. This comes after the Vikings moved down from Class AA to Class A. Pelican Rapids is coming off back to back state tournament appearances after winning Section 8AA in consecutive seasons.
Looking at the Park Region Conference this season, coach Misegades sees multiple schools that will be in the mix this season fighting with the Hornets for the conference crown.
“Pillager and Wadena-Deer Creek are [Class AA] schools in the Park Region with some experience and good numbers. Both of those teams will put solid teams on the floor each night,” said Misegades. “New York Mills and Sebeka played a lot of young guys last season and will definitely be improved.”
The Hornets begin the 2025-26 season on the road against Lake Park-Audubon on Saturday, November 29.