Nolan Burmeister is the walking definition of heart over height. Despite standing at five foot seven inches, Burmeister has been the starting point guard for the Owatonna Basketball Team for the last three years and has excelled exceptionally well. His passion for the sport and desire to be the hardest worker on the floor has never gone unnoticed, and it is what has made him so special in his high school career. 

After showing his abilities to play at the next level in his sophomore and junior basketball seasons, along with AAU in the spring and summer, Burmeister gained lots of interest from multiple schools in the upper midwest. Ultimately, he chose St. John’s University because of the atmosphere, the people he met while he was visiting and the opportunity to play basketball at one of the top Division III schools in the country. 

Right now Burmeister is focused on continuing to lead the currently 14-3 Huskies to their first state appearance in ten years. Burmeister said, “I am excited to create bonds and friendships with my teammates and make a ton of good memories.” Additionally, Burmeister has been a great role model for the underclassmen. Senior teammate Mason Kunkel said, “Through all my years of playing with Nolan, he has always been the guy that wants to make his teammates better. He cares more about his teammates and winning then anything else, and he is a phenomenal player and leader.”

Throughout the last two years, not only has Burmeister been a captain on the basketball team, he has also led the team in free throw percentage, assists and has been named defensive MVP both years. Coach Josh Williams said, “Nolan has been an integral part of our success over the last several years.  His leadership, heart, grit and selflessness to put the team first is what makes Nolan such a special player and exceptional teammate/person.” Through the ups and downs and all the adversity the basketball team has faced over the last three years, Burrmeister has been the glue that has kept them together. 

All the hard work put into AAU each spring and summer, to the long seasons in the winter, Burmeister has breathed basketball from a young age. One of his goals growing up has been to play basketball at the collegiate level and to be an officer in the army, and next fall he will be able to cross both of those off his list as he signed his letter of intent on Feb. 3 to continue playing basketball and majoring in kinesiology/exercise science at St. John’s University, while also training in the army ROTC program.