Following an up-and-down year for CSU Basketball, both for the men’s and women’s teams, we got updates on two key players’ futures.

As of Tuesday night, John Tonje of Colorado State Men’s Basketball entered the transfer portal. That means he’s officially looking for a new team with his final year of eligibility.

Tonje grew into a star for the Rams men’s team this year. The 6’5″ guard was the second-leading scorer on the team behind Isaiah Stevens, with 14.6 points per contest while Tonje was also the Rams’ leading rebounder (4.7 RPG). His scoring was 11th-best in the Mountain West Conference this year, too. On top of that, Tonje was CSU basketball’s top 3-point shooter, making 61 shots from beyond the arc, and his 38.9% from downtown was tops for players shooting 87-plus 3s.

The men’s team had a tough season, ending the year 15-18 overall, with a final 64-61 loss to San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. 

Losing Tonje is a big blow going into 2023-24. Luckily, sophomore Jalen Lake stepped up in a big way this year and Niko Medved has to hope the 6’4″ guard can make a leap next season as a junior.

McKenna Hofschild will return for CSU Women’s Basketball

While losing Tonje is tough news, the good news is McKenna Hofschild will return for CSU Women’s hoops.

Hofschild had already publicly announced she would return, but she did so again on Instagram Wednesday morning:

Hofschild is a star at the point guard position. She’s now third all-time in Colorado State history in assists behind only Isaiah Stevens of the men’s team and Ellen Nystrom. Hofschild recently passed Becky Hammon’s 538 assists, which she amassed over four years, while Hofschild has played only three seasons so far.

Her 20.6 points per game were good for 17th-best in the nation last season and her 222 assists were 6th-most in the country. Hofschild was also fifth in assists per game (7.2) and second in assists/game ratio.

She caught the eye of the national media, being a semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award and was also a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman award which is given to the best guard in the country.

The Colorado State women’s team lost in the first round of the WNIT after going 20-12 last year. There’s hope they can improve next season, especially with Hofschild coming back. And on a personal note, she will be able to easily take the all-time assists record at Colorado State, too.