Brocke Wisne, a senior forward on the University of Northern Colorado men’s basketball team, is one of the best players in the Big Conference.
He wants to be the best player for UNC.
Though the 6-foot-9 forward from Thornton was left off of the conference’s preseason team, Bears head coach Steve Smiley said it provides “bulletin board” material for a program always looking to retain its edge.
“I think for a guy like Brock, even though he says all the right things and he means it, there’s no doubt we’re telling him, ‘Hey, we believe you’re a player of the year candidate,’ ” Smiley said.
Wisne and the Bears (8-1) return home Saturday evening for a nonconference game against the University of South Dakota at Bank of Colorado Arena. Tip-off is 6 p.m.
UNC is off to its best record since 2009-10 after a win Wednesday at Omaha. The Bears are No. 85 in the first NCAA NET Rankings for this season, which is the best spot under head coach Steve Smiley and highest for the UNC program since getting to 59th in 2018-19. The NET includes winning percentage, game results, strength of schedule, game location and the quality of wins and losses.
Wisne, 22, said he’s working toward the Bears playing in March Madness, the NCAA Tournament. UNC missed out last year by a game with the loss to Montana in the Big Sky tournament championship.
“It’s a team-oriented goal,” he said. “I don’t really have a ton of personal goals. I want to be the best version of myself for the team. I want to achieve high things and do well, but not for personal ambition. It’s for the fact that my team needs me to do well, so I want to do well.”
Northern Colorado forward Brock Wisne (14) takes part in a drill during a practice on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Wisne went over 1,000 career points late last month during a game against Air Force. He’s played his entire career at UNC. Wisne played high school basketball at Horizon High in Thornton and for Colorado Prep. Colorado Prep is the sports arm of Summit Academy in Superior.
In this era of the transfer portal where players change schools, sometimes from one year to the next, Wisne never had an interest in being anywhere but UNC. He said relationships and loyalty are among the biggest things in his life.
“These coaches believed in me from the very start, the first coaches that recruited me,” Wisne added. “Ever since I’ve been here, they’ve believed in me. I think with the relationships that I’ve built with them and the Greeley community, I see no reason to go somewhere I wouldn’t be as loved and as appreciated and have as many people to back me.”
Wisne statistically was the top returning player for the Bears this season. He averaged 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 2024-25, finishing in both categories behind three teammates who were All-Big Sky Conference first-team selections. Northern Colorado forward Brock Wisne (14) helps a teammate off of the floor during a college basketball game against Colorado College at the Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)
A year ago, Wisne was an important but less obvious component of a team that won a share of the Big Sky regular-season title and played for the conference tournament championship. He started in 35 games — one of four Bears to do that — but didn’t receive the external attention of teammates Isaiah Hawthorne, Langston Reynolds and Jaron Rillie. Hawthorne and Rillie used their college eligibility. Reynolds transferred to Minnesota.
This season, Wisne might certainly end up being a key part of another prominent trio for the Bears with guards Quinn Denker and Zach Bloch. Bloch, named to the Big Sky defensive team last year, also started all 35 games. Bloch, Wisne and Reynolds were teammates at Colorado Prep.
Denker joined the Bears last year as a transfer from Idaho. He made a name for himself among a group of talented teammates and has emerged this year as the Bears’ leading scorer. Denker on Tuesday was named the Big Sky Conference men’s player of the week for the second time in two weeks.
Wisne is averaging 15.1 points this year, second to Denker (18.7), and Wisne leads the team with 6.8 rebounds. He’s shooting 60% from the floor this year, which is the lowest of his career.
Wisne has an interest in playing professionally after UNC, but the future is on the shelf for now. He wants to soak in all he can from his final year of college basketball. He wants to enjoy the grinding practices and workouts as well as the travel.
On the court, Wisne’s playing a different position at times. He’s preparing to be used more as a forward than a center, which has been his role in his three previous seasons. As a forward, Wisne will play more on the perimeter than operating fully in the paint. He’ll have looks at 3-pointers and take on opponents near the basket.
Wisne has more of a forward’s body and build. He’s undersized at center. This year, the Bears have received more production in the post from 6-10, 250-pound junior center Egan Shields. Shields also played at Colorado Prep. Northern Colorado forward Brock Wisne (14) vies for the tip off with Colorado College forward Russell MacFarlane (22) during a college basketball game at the Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)
“I don’t know if I’d say natural (forward),” Wisne said. “Coach would laugh at me because they know I would love to be a four man (forward), but I’ve embraced being a five. I don’t know what my natural position is. I’m just trying to be the same guy at every position.”
Smiley said UNC sees Wisne as the best big man in the Big Sky. Wisne will have to prove the belief on the court to everyone else in the conference, the coach said. Wisne was highly efficient with the ball last year while having few chances to score. If Wisne can maintain the efficiency from last season with more touches, “he’s going to have a year that is off the charts,” Smiley said.
Mike Moskowitz coached Wisne not long after Wisne started in the game as a middle school student. Moskowitz oversees a club team called the RoughRiders and the program at Colorado Prep. Moskowitz said Wisne was the right athlete to pick up the game quickly. Within a couple of years after getting into basketball, Wisne was a member of a top-notch boys team as an eighth grader.
Northern Colorado forward Brock Wisne signs an autograph for a young fan after a basketball game at Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Wisne has the DNA from a family of athletes, he’s smart, coachable and he works hard.
“He’s fully aware of his capabilities and his challenges,” Moskowitz said. “He’s an incredibly intelligent young man who has a great feel for the game.”
Wisne’s father, Jerry, played football at Notre Dame and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. An offensive lineman, Jerry played in nine games over parts of five seasons. Brock’s mother, Shannon Suddarth Wisne, was an All-American swimmer at Notre Dame. His older sister, Arielle, played basketball at Indiana. Brock’s grandfather Gerald Wisne Sr. and paternal uncle Andy Wisne also played football at Notre Dame. Northern Colorado forward Brock Wisne's parents Jerry Wisne, left and Shannon Wisne, right, both cheer after a basket by Northern Colorado during a game at Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)
Brock said his father didn’t want the boys to play football because of the high risk of injury. Brock’s father and grandfather suffered injuries playing football. Andy Wisne’s collegiate career ended because of concussions. Brock’s parents wanted their children to be involved in sports. Brock is the second of six children, three boys and three girls, and they are a close group.
“He steered me away from football, and I’m glad he did,” Brock said of his father. “I took basketball really seriously. … I was enjoying it, and I just don’t think there was a reason for me to continue playing football now.”
Younger brother, Boaz, plays basketball at Horizon and for a high-level AAU club team called the Utah Mountain Stars. He’s being recruited with the class of 2027. Anna Wisne, one of Brock’s two younger sisters, is a student at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Anna’s primary interest in education and teaching, Shannon said. Sister Alexi, 13, and brother Briggs, 9, share the family’s interest in sports. Northern Colorado forward Brock Wisne (14) listens to head coach Steve Smiley with his teammates during a practice on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)“I don’t know how to do life without sports,” said Shannon, who swam the breaststroke and individual medley (IM) and now coaches. “I’ll take a Saturday going to seven basketball games any day over cooking a meal.”
Jerry’s parents and Shannon’s parents both live in Colorado and have helped with the grandchildren as they’ve grown up, either taking them to practice or games or looking after others at home.
“Our village was incredible,” Shannon said, also including friends and teammates’ families.
Wisne said athletics is the biggest influence in his life other than his religious faith. He knew from a young age he wanted to play college sports.
“I always knew that I would end up at a high level,” Wisne said. “That’s just kind of what I thought and was incorporated in my brain. And I think, honestly, that belief that if a kid has that from a young age, it kind of just comes true.”
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