Bulldog basketball dominates at Cattle Classic tournament

The Bulldog men’s basketball team rings the bell after a 107-68 win over Clarke University on Nov. 8. The men’s and women’s teams went undefeated at the Cattle Classic tournament.

Photo credit: Kai Olbrich

By Kai Olbrich

Sports Editor

This article is featured in the November print edition of the Sower newspaper. 

The 26th annual Cattle Classic was a success on and off the court as the Concordia Bulldog basketball teams went undefeated through four games, and thousands of cans of food were donated to area food banks.

The women’s team faced a stacked field of ranked opponents, taking down No. 18 Arizona Christian University 99-63 and No. 13 MidAmerica Nazarene University 84-57. The men equaled the 2-0 record with an 87-76 win over Oklahoma City University and a blowout 107-68 win against Clarke University.

Four Bulldogs were chosen to the 2025 All-Cattle Classic team, including junior Sammy Leu and senior Kristin Vieselmeyer for the women and juniors Jaxon Stueve and Brooks Kissinger for the men.

Kissinger was a standout among standouts as the Ashland, Neb., native put up 49 points in the two games, with 31 coming in the close game against Oklahoma City.

Coach Ben Limback loves the scoring threat that Kissinger brings, but also values how he makes those around him better.

“We see that [scoring], obviously. But today I thought he made great assists as well. So having the ability to make other guys better and he’s a great rebounder,” Limback said. “So he did a lot of things for us. And when he’s out there playing that hard, he’s an important player.”
Kissinger came back from a broken hand just a week ago after being out for four weeks, but now feels ready thanks to his coaches, teammates and faith.

“Yeah, I’m feeling good,” Kissinger said. “There’s a lot of preparation that goes into this. A lot of hours that are not seen with my teammates and coaches, so like I said before, it’s just all credit to my teammates and coaches and most importantly to God and the talent and the abilities He’s given me.”

Vieselmeyer had similar feelings and praised the depth of her team, noting how important it is to their game plan. She said that everyone is fully committed to the vision put forward by coach Drew Olson.

“Each and every person is just so bought into our culture of working really hard. And you’re going to be in there for two or three minutes. But that’s got to be 110 percent. And I feel like that makes us different from any other team,” Vieselmeyer said. “We’re just really deep, and we all buy into the effort.”

The Bulldogs came into the season unranked in the first coaches’ poll, but after defeating two ranked opponents, Olson is happy with the message they sent and the confidence they gained.

“Well, it sent a pretty good message that we have a nice team. You still got work to do, and we’ve got to be ready for the next one,” Olson said. “But, yeah, it was a great weekend for our team, and a weekend that gave us a lot of confidence in who we are.”

The big win for the men against Clarke University gave Limback the chance to see a lot of guys in action. He said that everyone made a positive impact, and he is happy with how they are all focused and ready to work.

“Certainly, I thought every guy contributed something, that’s always fun to see,” Limback said. “I feel like they’re all locked in and wanting to do big things this year, and they’re willing to work.”

The collection of donations for local food banks at the 2025 Cattle Classic tournament. Photo: Kai Olbrich.

The weekend was not just about basketball, however, as the tournament also served as a fundraiser and canned food drive for Seward area food banks like Blue Valley Community Action food pantry, Christ’s Cupboard of St. John Lutheran Church and Food Net, which is located at Seward United Methodist Church.

Ryne Seaman, CEO of Cattle Bank and Trust, is proud of the long partnership that Cattle Bank has had with Concordia and the impact that the fundraiser has had for the community. There were more than 12,000 cans of food collected through this year’s event.

Since the Walz Center, which includes the Friedrich Arena, was constructed in 2009, the tournament’s reach and impact have increased.

“So, with this beautiful facility, we’ve been able to bring in, you know, both men’s and women’s teams and compete during the week,” Seaman said. “But … there’s a much greater cause that we’re trying to portray here, in giving back to others. And we like to say we give thanks by giving back and, you know, that’s who we are.”

On top of collecting at the tournament, Cattle Bank challenged local public and private schools to collect cans of food as well. The winning classrooms received a pizza party sponsored by Cattle Bank.

Throughout the history of the tournament, more than 166,000 cans of food have been donated, going to help more than 50 families per week, as well as local school programs.

Tournament game stories are available at www.cunesower.com