Men's Basketball | 08/31/21 | 11:23 AM

HELENA, Mont. -- Carroll College men's basketball head coach Kurt Paulson announced that Helena Capital's Brayden Koch has committed to play for the Saints. With this announcement, Brayden becomes the first member of Carroll's 2022 recruiting class.

"After touring the campus and being around the environment of Carroll, I just felt like it was the place for me," Koch said. "And after talking to (Coach) Almquist and with him having knowledge about Carroll, listening to what he told me I took it to heart and it made my decision a lot easier. Being a hometown kid and getting to play in front of the Bruin community, and most importantly my family, means a lot to me."

An all-state selection, Koch is widely regarded as one of the best and most dynamic players in all of Montana. 

"Brayden is the type of kid you can build the program around in the future.  He is well respected around the state in the basketball circles," Paulson said. "What we love about him is that he is a kid that loves the gym.  He will be in the Pe Center working on his game and get his teammates in there with him as well."  

Koch is coming off of a prolific junior campaign in which he was the third leading scorer in all of class AA, scoring at a clip of 18.8 points per game.

He can also get the job done on the defensive side of the ball, as he averaged 2.47 steals per game last season.

"We couldn't be more excited to get a Helena player of his caliber in our program," Paulson added.  "What a fantastic day for the Saints!"