(TRINIDAD, Colo.) – Trinidad State had a very successful basketball season in 2016-2017. The Trojans had their best winning percentage since the 1996-1997 team under Hall of Fame Coach Jim Toupal that went 21-10. This season's Trojan team finished 16-12. They also had a very successful first semester in the classroom with a team GPA over 3.0.

At the conclusion of this very successful season the Trojans learned that sophomore guard Brandon Newman was named to the 2016-2017 All-Region IX team. Newman, from Hawthorne, California led Region IX in assists, averaging six dishes a game. He averaged 13 points a game to lead the Trojans in scoring and was third on the team with 123 rebounds.     

Newman, and the rest of the talented sophomore class will be moving on. Leaving Trinidad to graduation will be Newman, Payton Dickerson, Torrance Littles, Karamoko Cisse, Malik Hart, Paul Ambuul and Billy Biyombo. Recruiting for the 2017-2018 team is underway with hopes of continuing the upward trend the team has been demonstrating over the past couple of years.

All Region IX Team - Men's Basketball 2016-17

First Team
Diontae Champion- North Platte Community College
Dominik Heinzl- Laramie County Community College
Irshaad Hunte- Central Wyoming College
Abdul Mohamed- Gillette College
Wayne Stewart- Lamar Community College
Deante Strickland- Casper College

Second Team
Channel Banks- Sheridan College
Josh McSwiggan- Casper College
Montenia Nelson- Miles Community College
Brandon Newman- Trinidad State Junior College
Vinne Shahid- Western Nebraska Community College
Da'Zhon Wyche- Laramie County Community College

Third Team
Alihan Demir- Central Wyoming College
Lewis Diankulu- McCook Community College
Tyrell Isaacs- Western Wyoming Community College
Edwin Jeudy- Gillette College
Jervae Robinson- Otero Community College
Michael Skinner- Lamar Community College