{"id":669016,"date":"2026-05-13T21:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/669016\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T21:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:26:09","slug":"five-student-athletes-to-join-m-basketball-for-2026-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/669016\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Student-Athletes To Join M. Basketball For 2026-27"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n By: Patrick Murphy \n <\/p>\n


\n Story Links
\n <\/p>\n

GOLDEN, Colo. \u2013 Colorado School of Mines head men’s basketball coach Pryor Orser<\/a> has announced the addition of five student-athletes who will join the Orediggers for the 2026-27 season. The incoming class hails from five different states, and features a mix of perimeter and post players from the prep and collegiate levels.
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\n“We are thrilled to announce this incoming class to our men’s basketball program,” said Orser.\u00a0 “We addressed some critical areas of need, and each signee brings a complimentary skill set to the program. They are all exceptional students and even better guys.”
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\nAnthony Andrew \/\/ Guard \/\/ 6’3″ \/\/ 180 \/\/ Aurora, Colo. \/\/ Rangeview HS
\nA local product from Rangeview High School, Andrew comes to Golden after earning a pair of varsity letters in his prep career. He was named to the Class 6A City League Second Team All-Conference in his career and twice guided Rangeview to a pair of CHSAA Final Four appearances. He averaged 10.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.0 BPG and 1.0 SPG while shooting 58% from the floor and 34% from three-point range. On the club circuit, he competes for the Colorado Miners. Off the court, Andrew was named to the Athletic and Highest Academic Honor Rolls while earning AP Scholar status. He was part of the College board National Recognition Program for both First Generation and School Recognition. He ranked 29th in his graduating class with a 3.85 GPA and plans to study Chemical Engineering at Mines.
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\nCoach Orser on Andrew: “Anthony is a really great sign for the Orediggers.\u00a0He comes from a well-coached Rangeview High School program. It is a “Play Hard Program” that wins, wins and wins. Anthony fits that description perfectly.\u00a0His most telling strengths are his competitiveness, defensive prowess, and his incredible rebounding.\u00a0He is a ball-hunter who will fit well and also provide a need in our program.\u00a0As he improves his shooting, the sky is the limit on his ability as a player. Anthony is also an outstanding student and perfect fit for Mines.\u00a0We look forward to coaching Anthony here at Mines and developing him into an amazing player.”
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\nHolden Caltabiano \/\/ Guard \/\/ 6’4″ \/\/ 190 \/\/ Montgomery, Texas \/\/ Woodlands Christian Academy
\nThe latest in a long line of Orediggers from the Lone Star State, Caltabiano comes to Mines from Woodlands Christian Academy where he was a four-year letter winner. As a combo guard, he earned First Team All-State honors and was twice named First Team All-District in District 17-5A and District 21-5A as he averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 3.0 APG. He also led District 17-5A in points scored, field goals made and assists per game in the 2024-25 season. On the club tour, he competed for several teams including Cooz Elite, Houston Flight, Beast Up and the FYN All-Stars. Off the court, Caltabiano was a three-time Academic All-District selection and was named Academic All-State. He plans to major in Business Engineering and Management Science at Mines.
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\nCoach Orser on Caltabiano: “Holden identified Mines as a school that he would be interested in early in the recruiting process.\u00a0He clearly wanted a great program with great academics, and Mines fits his high standards.\u00a0He played for a coach who we are familiar with, and he also understands Mines academics. Holden is a good combo guard with a good skill set.\u00a0He is a willing passer, can play the lead guard if there is a need but also can guard multiple positions.\u00a0He has good size and strength and is a sneaky good jumper. He also is a great student and will fit in well with our other recruits.\u00a0Holden is also a hard worker.\u00a0We look forward to coaching him.”
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\nWyatt Horner \/\/ Guard \/\/ 6’3″ \/\/ 195 \/\/ Redmond, Ore. \/\/ Redmond HS
\nHorner arrives at Mines by way of the Pacific Northwest and Redmond High School where he was a three-sport standout in basketball, baseball and football and earned a combined nine varsity letters. He ended his prep career as Redmond’s all-time leading scorer and was named Player of the Year. He also earned First Team All-State honors on the hardwood and was a Second Team All-League honoree in both basketball and football. Off the court, Horner carried a 4.0 GPA and earned academic honors in English and Calculus and ranked 12th in his graduating class. He plans to study Engineering at Mines.
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\nCoach Orser on Horner: “We are thrilled to have Wyatt join the Oredigger family.\u00a0He is an outstanding student who comes to Mines with an outstanding resume.\u00a0He had offers in football and basketball, but ultimately chose basketball.\u00a0He is tough-minded with a strong, physical presence, and can score the ball. He can score at all levels and has a true jump shot at the midrange and three-point line.\u00a0He also can drive and finish at the rim.\u00a0His scoring acumen speaks for itself as he was highly productive scoring the ball for his team.\u00a0As he becomes better on the defensive end, he has the ability to be a really good player for the Orediggers.”
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\nMariano Lopez Aarden \/\/ Forward \/\/ 6’8″ \/\/ 215 \/\/ Pleasant Hill, Calif. \/\/ De La Salle HS

\nLopez Aarden comes to Golden after prepping at De La Salle High School in California where he averaged 13.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Twice he was named his team’s Most Valuable Player in his career and was named Most Important Player as a senior. On the AAU circuit, Lopez Aarden played for the Infinite. Off the court, he was an Honor Roll and Principal’s List recipient. He plans to major in Quantitative Biosciences & Engineering at Mines.
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\nCoach Orser on Lopez Aarden: “Having a player come from such a well-respected high school in De LaSalle from the Bay Area is thrilling to say the least. Mariano has played against really great high school teams and high-level players.\u00a0He is a versatile big who has a good skill set and his upside just screams greatness.\u00a0He has intangibles that make a good team a great team. He does what the team needs to win the game, and this is really what attracted us to him.\u00a0He is also a great communicator and has a glowing personality about him that can really add a dimension to our team.\u00a0He is a great student as well and a perfect Mines fit.”
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\nJack Ratigan \/\/ Forward \/\/ 6’7″ \/\/ 220 \/\/ Overland Park, Kan. \/\/ Northwest Missouri State (Blue Valley West HS)

\nRatigan comes to Mines after four-year career at Northwest Missouri State University. A veteran at the Division II level, Ratigan started 50 times in 87 games during his time with the Bearcats and averaged 4.8 PPG and 4.4 RPG while dishing out 128 assists, registering 77 blocks and pocketing 27 steals while shooting .546 from the floor and .664 from the line. In the 2025-26 season, he started all 31 games and shot .460 from the floor, averaging 4.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with career high totals in rebounds (171), blocks (36) and tied his career high with 27 steals. His best season came in 2024-25 when he scored 6.9 PPG with 5.7 RPG with 33 blocks and 27 steals as he shot .604 from the floor in 28 games with 15 starts. A high-academic athlete as well, Ratigan was a four-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll recipient, 2026 MIAA A-Game Scholar Award winner and earned the league’s Academic Excellence Award three times. Prior to NWMSU, Ratigan was a standout prep career at Blue Valley West High School in Kansas. A three-year letter winner on the hardwood, he was named Second Team All-EKL in his career and was a finalist for the Metro Sports Defensive Player of the Year Award. Off the court, he was a member of the National Honor Society and an Academic All-State honoree. A graduate of Northwest Missouri State with a degree in Accounting, Ratigan will pursue a graduate degree in Engineering & Technology Management at Mines.
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\nCoach Orser on Ratigan: “We are thrilled Jack came back to us in the four-year recruiting cycle and will join us as a graduate student.\u00a0We really wanted him out of high school, but chose the best program in Division II at the time in Northwest Missouri State.\u00a0He had two years under the great Ben McCollum, so we are getting someone who has been coached at a high level.\u00a0Jack is a skilled defender, and he fulfills a glaring need at the five position.\u00a0His defensive IQ and leadership qualities will have an immediate impact on our team.\u00a0He is also an outstanding student and graduated with a 4.0 in dual major in Accounting and Finance from Northwest Missouri.\u00a0We look forward to seeing Jack set an example for the younger players of how to defend at a championship level.”
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\nFans can keep up with Mines men’s basketball on X and Instagram at @minesmbb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Patrick Murphy Story Links GOLDEN, Colo. \u2013 Colorado School of Mines head men’s basketball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-669016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}