How Colorado State became a Mountain West contender this season

“The biggest key is the competitive nature of our team,” 14-year head coach Ryun Williams told The IX Basketball. “They put themselves in a position to win every night, even when we have tough losses. We have had opportunities. Defensively, we have been fairly solid, and we have been fairly opportunistic, as well. We had big shot making in those big wins.”

Coach Williams mentioned that the team’s big road wins over Gonzaga and Oregon State were early season highlights. Prior to CSU’s 70-66 win, the Bulldogs were undefeated in 22 home openers since the Kennel opened in 2004. CSU also came within two points of beating Stanford in November and lost to Utah by 12 the following month.

Adjusting to a new role

Lexus Bargesser has been a major part of the early-season success. The 5’9 guard averaged only three points per game in three seasons off the bench at Indiana. However, since transferring to the Rams, the Michigan native blossomed into one the top scoring threats in the MWC. Bargesser is scoring a team-best 15.5 points per game (third in the league) and also leads CSU in rebounding, assists, steals, and blocks. She also shoots better than 46% from the floor to lead the conference.

 “All of us are always in the gym working hard and we are trying to get better,” Bargesser told The IX Basketball. “Going into this year, my biggest thing was being confident in my game and my abilities and letting others keep building me up and doing whatever on the court to help us win. We have moments during games where we have some lapses. Being able to figure that out in the moment and grow from that is going to be huge for us. We have a great chance to be the best in the conference, and we need to go out with the mindset.

“My roles have changed quite a bit from where I was before,” Bargesser continued. “That adjustment has been the hardest part for me and also the most rewarding, seeing all of my work in progress come to fruition. The coaches have helped put me in such a good position. Whatever they need from me, whether that is scoring the ball or making the right pass or play, I just want to make sure I am doing that for the team.”

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Bargesser said she chose CSU due to its welcoming coaching staff that she believed has a clear vision.

“The biggest thing is opportunity,” Williams said of Bargesser. “She is on the floor all of the time for us. We facilitate through her a fair amount, She has a really fine game, and I think having that fresh start for her and she is able to showcase her skill set more than in previous years.”

Returning experience and leadership

Senior guard Hannah Ronsiek is in her third year starting and scores 9.5 per game, which is about the same as sophomore guards Brooke Carlson and Kloe Froebe — both of whom were on the MWC All-Freshman team in 2024-25.

“Some of the experience we have back and the leadership has really helped guide us in some of the bigger wins,” Ronsiek told The IX Basketball. “Especially, in the conference, we need to use that to do well. I am excited to see what leadership gets brought out and to push this team and see how we end up in conference.”

The South Dakotan was on the league’s All-Defensive team last season and has perspectives on many great memories from her time in Fort Collins. In addition to November’s Gonzaga win, she listed when the Rams erased a 20-point halftime deficit to beat the Bulldogs 74-72 in OT, at Moby Arena in 2024. It seems the two programs are gearing up for quite the rivalry when they enter the new Pac-12 Conference in the fall.

“She is our rock,” Williams said of Ronsiek. “She is anchoring everything we do, offensively and defensively. Hannah is a great, competitive young lady, and I think that has carried over to the new kids.”

Ronsiek also had the privilege of playing with her older sister Emma for one season. Emma scored 17.7 for CSU in 2024-25 and was named honorable mention All-American. This followed a four-year career at Creighton where she was first team Big East two times. She played professionally in Mexico for the summer, and is currently in Greece. Hannah said she is considering playing overseas after graduation, as well.

While San Diego State and UNLV are undefeated in the MWC, they share similar total records and tournament resumes as CSU, Boise State and New Mexico. The five of them are distancing themselves from the pack as the league-play heats up. CSU wants to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2016, and they see the possibility as within reach, though they know it won’t be easy.

“Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a position to win,” Williams added. “We have to win on the road, and we need to score the ball a little better. We are not scoring as well as we need to. If we get some bench points and some new kids contributing, I think we can keep building this thing.”

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