GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Former Great Falls High and MSU Billings forward Brendan Howard is making the jump from the GNAC to the Summit League, officially transferring to the University of North Dakota men’s basketball team for his final two seasons of eligibility.
Howard, a two-time Gatorade Montana player of the year at Great Falls High, signed with Eastern Washington out of college but transferred to MSU Billings after a redshirt season in Cheney.
Howard, who was limited to just two games in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had a strong career at MSU Billings, earning multiple conference awards over his tenure and finishing with more than 1,000 points and 300 rebounds. In those two games this past year, he scored 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in a 92-84 win over Yellowstone Christian College before striking for 24 points on 8-of-14 from the field to go alongside five boards in a 73-56 victory at Rocky Mountain College.
He was named to the all-GNAC second team in his last full season, leading the Yellowjackets in scoring and placing second in the conference with 20.3 points per game. Howard also finished second on the Yellowjackets and sixth in the GNAC with 7.1 rebounds per contest while connecting on 50.5% of his shots to sit 14th in the league.
In his rookie season, Howard earned GNAC freshman of the year and all-GNAC honorable mention honors after leading the team in scoring and ranking fifth in the league with 15.7 points per game despite only starting seven games.
Prior to his time at MSU Billings, Howard was one of the most decorated players in Montana prep basketball history. In addition to the Gatorade honors, Howard was a two-time USA Today All-USA Montana player of the year and named Mr. Basketball in Montana. He scored more than 2,000 points in his prep career, becoming the first player to reach that mark at the Class AA level in the state, to exit the program as the top scorer in history. He helped Great Falls High reach the state tournament on two occasions.
Howard is also a two-time all-GNAC academic team member and will graduate in May with a degree in Business.
In March, Howard told MTN he was looking for a competitive landing spot with his grad transfer destination.
“The main thing is I just want to be able to help wherever I go, just compete and win and hopefully try and help them win a championship,” Howard told MTN at the time. “And that's the big thing for me. I know I’ll have to work hard wherever I go, but it’s just trying to compete and graduate with a master's degree.”
