5 finalists for 2026 Minnesota Mr. Basketball revealed

Originally posted on Bring Me The News | By Joe Nelson | Last updated Mar 23, 2026 12:56 PM ET

On the eve of the opening day of the 2026 Minnesota boys' basketball state tournament, the five finalists for the annual Mr. Basketball award have been announced.

The five finalists include Wayzata teammates Christian Wiggins and Nolan Anderson, Hopkins guard Jayden Moore, Henning High School's Kale Misegades, and Waseca's Deron Russell.

Nolan Anderson, Christian Wiggins

The Wayzata (25-3) teammates have led the Trojans into the state tournament as the No. 2 overall seed in Class 4A, where they will face No. 7 Apple Valley in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Anderson is averaging 23.1 points per game, while Wiggins, who was recently named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Minnesota, averages 21.1 points.

Anderson is committed to the Golden Gophers, while Wiggins will play at Iowa State. Notably, fellow Gophers commit, East Ridge guard Cedric Tomes, did not make the list of five after being included among the 10 semifinalists.

Since Hopkins standout Joe Coleman signed with the Gophers in 2011, Amir Coffey and Braeden Carrington are the only two Minnesota Mr. Basketball winners to play college basketball in Minnesota.

Jayden Moore

Moore averaged 18.2 points and 9.3 assists per game to lead the Royals to a 21-8 record. They fell to Wayzata in the section championship, putting a bow on Moore's record-setting prep basketball career in which he set the state's all-time assists record.

Moore will play in college at the University of North Dakota.

Deron Russell

The scoring machine has the Bluejays in the Class 3A state tournament as the No. 6 seed, and they will play No. 3 Minnehaha Academy in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night. Russell broke Waseca's all-time scoring record, passing former Minnesota State-Mankato national champion star Malik Willingham's previous mark.

Russell is committed to North Dakota State University as a football player.

Kale Misegades

The 6-foot-2 guard has led Henning to a 30-0 record entering the state tourney, where they are the No. 1 seed in Class 1A and will face No. 8 Upsala in Thursday's quarterfinal opener. Misegades is committed to Division II Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.

This article first appeared on Bring Me The News and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: