BILLINGS, Mont. - The Battlin' Bears will play their first games of record this weekend with three road matchups in Kansas, participating in the Baker University Labor Day Classic, and wrapping up with one more matchup against Kansas Christian College.

This Week's Matchups

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Rocky Mountain College (0-0) vs #9 Missouri Valley College (0-1)
Saturday, August 30th - 5:30 pm (MT)
Baldwin City, Kansas | BU Labor Day Classic

Rocky Mountain College (0-0) vs #15 Baker University (2-0)
Monday, September 1st - 9 am (MT)
Baldwin City, Kansas | BU Labor Day Classic

Rocky Mountain College (0-0) vs Kansas Christian College (NCCAA)  (0-1)
Wednesday, September 3rd - 12 pm (MT)
Overland Park, Kansas

Game Notes

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2025 Non-Conference Wraps Up
The Battlin' Bears will play their first games of record this weekend with three road matchups in Kansas, participating in the Baker University Labor Day Classic, and wrapping up with one more matchup against Kansas Christian College. These three games will conclude their non-conference schedule as they look ahead to the conference opener on September 19th. Similar to a season ago, the Rocky men will take on top competition to open their season, as they'll face off against two top-15 teams in the NAIA to open the weekend. In 2024, the Battlin' Bears took on the eventual national champions, followed by another matchup with National Tournament qualifiers Georgia Gwinnett, both of which a young Battlin' Bear group fell in a one-score contest. 
 
New Year, New Leadership
The Battlin' Bears enter the 2025 season with earned optimism under first-year Head Coach Milo Downey, a former two-time All-American for the Battlin' Bears. The Rocky men return six starters from the 2024 group, headlined by Second Team All-CCC member Ryan Daniel as a senior captain in the backfield. Sophomore Henry Chalkley also returns to the pitch following a freshman season that earned him All-CCC Honorable Mention recognition. With the new season comes new faces, as Rocky boasts ten newcomers to the program who look to make immediate contributions, as Coach Downey seeks his first head coaching victory. 

Scouting the Competition
The Battlin' Bears will begin their weekend participating in the Baker University Labor Day Classic, hosted in Baldwin City, Kansas. There, they will take on a pair of top-25 preseason-ranked teams in the NAIA. The first matchup on Saturday will be against Missouri Valley College, who was picked ninth in the NAIA Preseason Poll. The Vikings compiled a record of 16-3-3 a year ago, including an undefeated 9-0-2 record in conference play. Finishing runner-ups in the Heart Tournament Finals, Missouri Valley qualified for the NAIA National Tournament, where they advanced to the Round of 16. They graduated a staggering three 1st Team NAIA All-Americans from the 2024 class, but return two 2nd Team All-Americans in goalkeeper Cristobal Benitz Elgado and defender Jacob Adams. 

Monday morning will see Rocky taking on the Labor Day Classic hosts in No. 15-ranked Baker University, who are off to a 2-0 start to the season. The Wildcats totaled a 13-8-1 record, advancing to the NAIA National Tournament Round of 16 a season ago and are led by 2024 Second Team All-Conference returner Akira Itadani.

Rocky wraps up their weekend against NCCAA opponent Kansas Christian College. The Falcons played an NAIA opponent, Park University, to open their season, falling 9-0.