MISSOULA — Former Missoula Loyola standout Rey Johnston was named the 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball freshman of the year, the league announced Wednesday.
Johnston, who was twice the Gatorade Montana player of the year and helped the Rams win three consecutive Class B state championships, is a freshman at College of Idaho. In conference play this season, he ranked among the top 10 in the league in blocked shots (18), defensive rebounds (88) and field goal percentage (53.1).
For the season, Johnston, a 6-foot-6 forward, averaged 12.8 points per game, which ranked second on the team behind Dougie Peoples, a junior who starred in high school at Butte Central. Johnston also led the Yotes in rebounding with 5.4 boards per game.
Peoples, a 6-5 guard, was an all-conference selection after averaging 14.8 points per game.
Tony Frohlich-Fair, who played at Missoula Sentinel High School and is now a senior at Evergreen State (Wash.), also received all-conference honors. Frohlich-Fair led the CCC in scoring at 24.8 points per game.
C of I, which in addition to Johnston and Peoples also features Missoula native Alex Germer in the starting lineup, is 20-10 this season and went 14-6 in CCC play. The Yotes lost to Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) in the semifinal round of the CCC tournament and now wait to see if they'll earn an at-large bid for the NAIA tournament.
College of Idaho is the reigning NAIA national champion and has won two of the past three NAIA titles.
