When we think about brothers playing a sport, we think of the rivalry of playing against each other, like the Ball or the Watt brothers. It’s rare to have brothers play on the same team, let alone have three brothers play on the same team. UW-Oshkosh has a rare trio of brothers, Jonah, Riley and Logan Rindfleisch.

Jonah Rindfleisch, a senior, has been on the team for four years and has started in 87 games in his career at UWO. Riley Rindfleisch, a junior, has been on the team for three years and has played in 15 games, and Logan Rindfleisch, a sophomore, has been on the team for two years and has played in 38 games.

Their basketball careers began at Wisconsin Lutheran High School, a dominant program ranked No. 1 in Wisconsin and recently produced an NBA talent in Kon Knueppel.

Jonah Rindfleisch said that the instruction from coaches Ryan Walz and Cornelius Whiteside prepared him for collegiate basketball.​

“The way they prepared us in high school and coached us and taught us the things they did and the way they did it, it felt pretty seamless to go from high school to college,” Jonah Rindfleisch said.​

The three brothers were all recruited by UWO head coach Matt Lewis. 

“I committed here, and then coach Lewis was big into recruiting those two, Riley and Logan,” Jonah Rindfleisch said.

Then, after Jonah Rindfleisch committed, Riley Rindfleisch and Logan Rindfleisch saw Lewis’s authenticity and decided to come here as well.

“Me and Logan saw coach Lewis come to Jonah’s games, and just how, you know, open he was and how genuine he was of a guy and a coach,” Riley Rindfleisch said. “He always showed that he cared when he was recruiting Jonah, he cared for Jonah and he cared for our parents and us as (siblings). So that family aspect definitely helped lead us here.”

To Jonah Rindfleisch, it was an exciting experience to be a mentor to his younger brothers on the team.

“Having them kind of follow in the footsteps, and then me being not only a leader of kind of like the team, but older brother of these guys too,” Jonah Rindfleisch said. “It’s been awesome.”

Being able to play with their older brother was also a special time for Riley Rindfleisch and Logan Rindfleisch. Riley Rindfleisch said it was great to play basketball outside of playing pick-up games in their driveway.

“We weren’t able to play with Jonah in high school at all,” Riley Rindfleisch said. “ So it’s really nice to have, like a formal way and just someone we can look up to.”

Riley Rindfleisch said he was coached by Jonah Rindfleisch while he was injured and that  having shared experiences gave him insight on the court, and how it was a great experience getting coached by his older brother.

“I remember my freshman year when Jonah was out for the season with his injury,” Riley Rindfleisch said. “Jonah was on the bench and in practices, like giving me tips on things that he actually went through on the court.”

Logan Rindfleisch said that being able to lean on each other is the best thing about being teammates with his older brothers.

“We’re all experiencing basically the same thing,” Logan Rindfleisch said. “So we can, understand, for one of us is having a struggle, we can understand what they’re going through.”

Jonah Rindfleisch, who has been on the team for four years, said he has seen the team’s ups and downs. 

This season has been the best overall record for the Titans at 18-7 since Jonah Rindfleisch was a freshman when the Titans went 24-7 and made it to the quarterfinals in the NCAA Division III tournament.

“I think we’ve just faced a lot of adversity with just a lot of our main, a lot of our main guys getting injured throughout the season, and with that, it’s tough for everyone to find their role as hurt,” Jonah Rindfleisch said.

Riley Rindfleisch said that he keeps going into each year thinking the team bond keeps growing, and being connected through other organizations on campus has made them stronger as friends and teammates.  UWO men’s basketball is more than just a team to these brothers; it is an extension of their family.

​“Every year I think to myself, like, this is the most connected group of guys we’ve had,” Riley Rindfleisch said. “And especially this year, I’m thinking the same thing about our connection going way beyond off the court.”