MISSOULA — The good news keeps pouring in for the Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team, as another key cog of this past season's championship run is returning to UM.
Te'Jon Sawyer, a 6-foot-8 forward and anchor in the middle for the Griz, was announced by the school to have received another year of eligibility, and Sawyer in turn is opting to use that season to come back for another run with Montana in 2025-26.
"I would like to start off by saying thank you to the University of Montana for the amount of love and support you've shown me throughout my two years here as a Griz!" Sawyer wrote in a post on social media.
"I'm so thankful for my teammates, coaches, and the rest of the Griz family for believing in me and always sticking by my side through the toughest times in my career this past season. Due to the new JUCO ruling, I have been granted another year of eligibility!
The good news keeps pouring in for #GrizHoops as forward Te’Jon Sawyer (@tejxn__) has been granted another year of eligibility and will return to Montana for another season. Started in 33 games for UM, averaged 9.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg this season. pic.twitter.com/pmyJEdLoRp
— Kyle Hansen (@khansen406) April 1, 2025
"With that being said, I will be coming back to compete for another Big Sky Championship and another run in the NCAA March Madness tournament. We will be champions! Let's run it back! Go Griz."
Sawyer, a native of San Francisco, Calif., played one season at Cal Baptist before spending his sophomore year at San Francisco City College before ultimately making his way to Missoula in 2023-24.
Sawyer was mainly a role player in his first season at Montana where he averaged 8.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Griz. This past year, Sawyer was inserted into the starting lineup and quietly become one of UM's more impactful players especially down the stretch.
He scored in double figures in six of UM's final nine games, including a 15-point performance against Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament and a UM career-high 19 points against Eastern Washington in the regular season finale.
For the season, Sawyer averaged 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and shot at a 57.7% clip from the field while adding 21 blocked shots and 18 steals. He also began to display his range in his 3-point game, converting 40.4% (21 of 52) of his attempts from the arc.
Sawyer has appeared in 70 games as a Grizzly, and started in 33 of the 34 games he played in this past season. For his career, he's averaging 8.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Sawyer's return comes on the heels of guard Money Williams also announcing his return to Montana for next season, plus the addition of Minnesota transfer forward Kadyn Betts which UM announced yesterday.
Three Grizzlies have entered the transfer portal since the season concluded, highlighted by starting guard Malik Moore, who is still weighing a return to UM while exploring options, MTN Sports has confirmed. Redshirt freshman forward Zack Davidson and junior guard Jeremiah Dargan are the other Grizzlies who have entered the portal.
