Loyalty.
A noun.
The quality or state of being loyal.
It's a term used to describe college sports. It's almost a badge of commitment, a bond between teammates and universities. But in the modern era of collegiate athletics, that word has become much harder to find.
Across Division I men's basketball, almost 40 percent of players now transfer each year. The portal is full of new beginnings and financial offers, but it's also littered with unfinished stories.
At Northern Arizona University, three players –
Oakland Fort,
Diego Campisano and
Ryan Abelman have chosen to write theirs differently.
In a sport of constant change, they stayed.
Not only will this trio return, but they will have momentum on their side.
Northern Arizona men's basketball continued its upward climb during the 2024-25 season, building on the foundation laid a year earlier. After finishing 14-18 in 2023-24, the Lumberjacks improved to 18-16, marking a four-win improvement and the program's best season under head coach
Shane Burcar. That progress carried NAU all the way to Daytona Beach, Florida, where they competed in the 2025 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
Now, as they look to climb further up the Big Sky standings, the foundation rests with players who've seen the program through its growing pains. Players who value the daily grind as much as the desired destination.
"I'm looking forward to the process this year, not just the result," said
Oakland Fort, the senior guard from Phoenix. "Each day is its own challenge. I just want to give my best effort, then flip the page and do it again the next day."
Fort's words carry a quiet wisdom. In a program where trust has been built over time, his steady leadership has anchored the locker room. He's lived every chapter of the rebuild; the setbacks, the near-misses and the moments that hint at something bigger taking shape.
"NAU is the place I started at," Fort said simply. "It's the place I want to finish at."
For
Diego Campisano, Northern Arizona isn't just a stop in his basketball career — it's home by bloodline. His parents both attended NAU, and his mother, Cristina, once played for the Lumberjacks women's basketball team.
"I came back because I wanted to end my collegiate career with NAU," said Campisano, now in his final season while pursuing a master's degree in human relations. "It wouldn't have felt right finishing anywhere else."
The 6-foot-6 forward has steadily become one of NAU's most reliable shooters, known for his poise and balance on the perimeter. He calls this year's team "hungry," and the word fits.
His six-game scoring streak late last season, during which he averaged nearly 17 points per game and shot over 50 percent from the field and from three, was a glimpse of that hunger made real. But for Campisano, it's not about personal numbers anymore. It's about finishing strong with the teammates who started the journey beside him.
"I'm proud I'll have played my whole career here," he said. "It's rare these days, but it means something."
If Fort is the heart and Campisano the strength,
Ryan Abelman might just be the conscience of this team.
A mechanical engineering major and the 2024-25 Golden Eagle Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Abelman is the quintessential student-athlete, disciplined, self-aware and deeply rooted in faith.
He redshirted, waited, developed, and earned his place the old-fashioned way. His shot — smooth and efficient from beyond the arc – has made him a weapon for the Lumberjacks. But his loyalty runs far deeper than the hardwood.
"I came back to NAU because of how much this school has given me," Abelman said. "Everyone here from the coaches to the academic center staff to my church, has made this place feel like home. I want to finish the job I came here to do and cement a legacy for others to follow."
He still remembers his first visit to Flagstaff.
"The team treated me like one of their own," he said. "Every time I look up at that mountain or drive down Milton or walk out of the HPC, I'm reminded I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. This place will be home forever."
But there is still work to do in this unfinished climb for the trio.
Loyalty doesn't win you headlines. It doesn't come with a massive NIL deal or a transfer highlight reel. But it does build something lasting.
For head coach
Shane Burcar, that's the point. "When you build with guys who stay, who invest, it shows up in everything," Burcar said. "In practice, in the locker room, in close games. These three represent what we want this program to be."
The climb continues for Northern Arizona. The goals are still out there – March Madness, a Big Sky title, a shot at something bigger. But as the Lumberjacks take those steps, they do so grounded in something rare and powerful.
Not just talent.
Not just potential.
Loyalty.
