BUTTE, Mont. -- Montana Tech's football program and head coach Kyle Samson are excited to announce that 40 soon-to-be high school graduates will be joining the Oredigger program this coming fall.

Twenty-six Montanans will be donning the green and copper for the first time in the fall of 2025, and that cohort will be joined by 14 recruits from outside the Treasure State. All 40 young men were multi-sport athletes for their respective high schools.

"All of them are great competitors and will represent our program very well in the classroom, the community, and on the field," Samson said. "These are the types of student athletes that we want in our program! These recruits are not only good athletes but great leaders in their schools and communities."

For Samson, winning the recruiting battle inside the state was a key to success for this recruiting cycle. 

"Recruiting Montana kids is a huge priority for us," Samson said, "and we feel that we have done a great job getting a lot of the top players from our home state here to Butte!"

The Montanans joining the program are some of the best. Twenty-four incoming players were selected for the 78th Annual Montana East-West Shrine Game, the state's premier high school all-star football game (June 21 in Great Falls). 

Winning tradition was something the Oredigger coaching staff also emphasized; 18 of the incoming class won high-school state championships during their careers.

"This is a great recruiting class, and we are very excited about the potential that these young men have, especially the athleticism of this group from all positions," Samson said. "We feel this is a group that has great size and speed and there are some guys that will definitely have big impacts on our team in the very near future."

Another point of emphasis was recruiting along the offensive and defensive lines. Fifteen members of the 2025 class play up front.

"We are extremely excited about our fronts on both sides of the ball in this class," said the head coach. "You win championships upfront with your O-line and D-line, and we feel that these two groups have the potential to be very special here at Tech."

Samson said he is especially thrilled to be bringing in three hometown players — Tocher Lee, Sam Sampson, and Will Stepan — from Butte High School. Another highlight of the class is the 2024 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year (Merek Mihelish, quarterback, Capital HS, Helena).

"I really want to thank our coaching staff for doing a tremendous job to get these student-athletes to Montana Tech," Samson said. "I am very fortunate to have great assistant coaches on our staff who truly value relationships, and they have done a great job of identifying players who will be great fits for our team and our culture. I can't thank them enough for all their time, effort, and commitment to bringing in young men who will make our community of Butte proud.

"I also want to personally thank all of our campus community for helping us in our recruiting efforts as well," Samson continued. The whole Tech community is a big reason that these young men have chosen to come to Butte. 

"Lastly, I want to thank these recruits' families and their high school coaches and teachers," Samson added. "They wouldn't be where they are today without them, and we know they will be successful here at Montana Tech because of all the great mentors they have had in their life. Myself and our whole staff want to welcome these great young men and their families to our Montana Tech family and look forward to seeing all of them this fall. This class has the potential to be one of the very best that we have had here at Tech and will be a huge part of our future success!"

Montana Tech continued its run of success on the gridiron in the 2024 season. The Orediggers enjoyed a 9-3 record and reached the NAIA Football Championship Series for the second-straight season. Tech finished the season ranked 10th in the NAIA top 25.

2025 Montana Tech Football Signees

Name		School	Hometown	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.
Dylan	Almquist	Capital HS	Helena, Mont.	WR	6-1	175
Dane	Aselin	Juanita HS	Kirkland, Wash.	OL	6-3	270
Case	Barker	O-Dea HS	Tacoma, Wash.	DB	5-11	160
Luke	Bigsby	Banks HS	Buxton, Ore.	DL	6-1	280
Henry	Carlson	Bigfork HS	Bigfork, Mont.	OL	6-5	290
Brady	Casagranda	Bozeman HS	Bozeman, Mont.	LB	6-0	205
Chris	Click	Post Falls HS	Post Falls, Idaho	DL	6-2	265
Riley	Collette	Great Falls HS	Great Falls, Mont.	P	6-0	175
Jack	DeBourg	Billings Central Catholic HS	Billings, Mont.	LB	6-2	205
Kobe	Dorcheus	Glacier HS	Kalispell, Mont.	RB	5-11	195
Jerzey	Duenes	Rigby HS	Rigby, Idaho	RB	5-10	200
Xavier	Florence	Bethel HS	Puyallup, Wash.	DB	6-2	165
Mason	Fulford	Big Sky HS	Missoula, Mont.	DB	5-9	160
Schafer	Garness	Great Falls HS	Great Falls, Mont.	OL	6-1	270
Ty	Gilbertson	Sheridan HS	Sheridan, Wyo.	DB	5-10	185
Jack	Gollehon	Capital HS	Helena, Mont.	OL	6-3	265
Cole	Graham	Capital HS	Helena, Mont.	DL	6-0	200
Brody	Hardy	Frenchtown HS	Missoula, Mont.	LB	6-0	195
Misael	Jimenez	Beaverhead Co. HS	Dillon, Mont.	DL	6-2	290
Ben	Jones	Hamilton HS	Chandler, Ariz.	DL	6-1	225
Luke	Kelley	Centerville HS	Stockett, Mont.	DB	6-0	170
Jace	Koshatka	Sentinel HS	Missoula, Mont.	DB	5-11	190
Corbin	Lancaster	Skyline HS	Idaho Falls, Idaho	LB	6-3	190
Daniel	Larson	Capital HS	Helena, Mont.	WR	6-3	195
Tocher	Lee	Butte HS	Butte, Mont.	WR	5-8	165
Jackson	McMillan	Capital HS	Helena, Mont.	LB	5-10	185
Merek	Mihelish	Capital HS	Helena, Mont.	QB	6-2	190
Ryder	Murdock	Senior HS	Billings, Mont.	DB	6-0	165
Thomas	Pantega III	Laguna Creek HS	Elk Grove, Calif.	DL	6-0	295
Jackson	Ritchie	Billings Central Catholic HS	Billings, Mont.	OL	6-7	300
Sam	Sampson	Butte HS	Butte, Mont.	WR	6-3	180
Cash	Short	Tumwater HS	Olympia, Wash.	LB	5-11	200
Kaesen	Smith	Skyline HS	Idaho Falls, Idaho	DL	6-1	215
Will	Stepan	Butte HS	Butte, Mont.	DB	5-9	160
Solomon	Stortz	Billings Central Catholic HS	Billings, Mont.	TE	6-2	215
Alex	Swenson	Helena HS	Clancy, Mont.	DL	6-0	180
Brady	Swenson	Helena HS	Clancy, Mont.	DB	6-1	180
Aidan	Williams	Palma HS	Salinas, Calif.	TE	6-3	225
Cooper	Woydziak	Post Falls HS	Post Falls, Idaho	OL	6-4	280
Jake	Zeeman	Capital HS	Helena, Mont.	OL	6-6	240

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