Ben Nau saw the vision for St. Thomas basketball. Now he preaches it himself.

Five years ago, Ben Nau turned away 10 inquiring Division I schools and signed with a St. Thomas program aimed at what nobody had done before, knowing he would never play in the NCAA tournament.

Now in his senior season, Nau and the Tommies are 19-7 and second in the Summit League after they made the unprecedented move directly from Division III to Division I in 2021.

They remain ineligible for the NCAA tournament until next season. Yet both Nau and St. Thomas coach Johnny Tauer use the same phrase to describe how Nau became the first Tommies player signed to a D-I scholarship. In doing so, the 6-2 shooter off the bench joined a program Tauer now calls the “coolest story in college basketball.”

“We both took a leap of faith,” Nau said.

Tauer’s power-point presentation, shown to Nau from afar during the pandemic, detailed the university’s vast alumni-student system. Its mentorships, internships and job networking has produced CEOs, doctors, even top Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Sean Sweeney among the many.

Tauer still shows Tommies recruits this presentation. Some last 10 minutes, others an hour. Nau’s call during his junior season at Brookfield Central High outside Milwaukee approached 90 minutes.

“I’d seen film of him, but I hadn’t seen him in person,” Tauer said. “But his spirit and the things he valued — I texted our coaching staff and said, `He’s a Tommie.’

“I knew this kid would love being at St. Thomas. Not just basketball, but the academics, the social life. I just felt this was a kid who really would embrace our overall culture, which is really important.”

Tauer has a doctorate in psychology, taught it at St. Thomas for 21 years and studied intrinsic motivation longer than that.

“It’s not just recruiting the best players,” he said. “It’s recruiting kids who value the same things you value.”

North Dakota State offered a scholarship. Tennessee-Chattanooga and Wisconsin-Milwaukee filled out his final four.

Starting with that video call, Nau embraced what his coach calls St. Thomas’ mission and values, which Tauer ticks off as “Unselfish, smart, skilled, tough.”

“When I was 17, I had no idea what I was getting into,” Nau said. “Back then, I was like, `Why are you showing me all this? Does it really matter?’ ” Nau said. “Now that I’m here, it’s honestly probably the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve never been part of something so special.”

A coach’s son, Tauer arrived as an assistant in 2000 and became head coach in 2011. He was assistant or head coach for 12 consecutive MIAC championships starting in 2005. They won at least of share of 14 of 15 regular-season titles, , along with the 2016 D-III national championship.

Nau signed when St. Thomas was still a Division III powerhouse, before it transitioned to Division I the next year. He studies finance there and hopes to play in Europe next season if the NCAA doesn’t grant him one more season’s eligibility.

Nau experienced a 12-game losing streak in the Tommies’ first D-I season. They won 19 and 20 games the next two seasons. They have five games left this regular season, including Saturday at home vs. first-place Omaha.

“I knew the ball is going to stop bouncing someday,” Nau said. “Being here sets everyone up for life, with everyone you get to know. The business school here is unreal and the basketball, J.T. has been a winner his whole life.”

St. Thomas athletic director Phil Esten calls this third-year Division I program a tree’s roots and a foundation for its future.

“We’re building what St. Thomas is going to be,” Nau said.

There was no blueprint to transition directly from D-III to D-I because no one had done it. But Tauer said there is one for urban Catholic schools that have proud basketball traditions: Creighton, Marquette, Villanova, Gonzaga, Loyola (Ill.) and DePaul.

Nau never could have guessed how St. Thomas would go so far so fast. The Tommies sold out 1,800-capacity Schoenecker Arena for a 79-62 victory over North Dakota State on Feb. 2. The digital CBS Sports Network streamed the game. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch and GM Tim Connelly attended.

“It was just electric,” Nau said.

A new multipurpose arena that seats 5,500 for basketball is scheduled to open next fall.

The NCAA last month changed its postseason probationary period for schools that make the leap to D-I from five years to four, which is still one year too many for Nau. St. Thomas can, and has, played in the Summit League postseason tournament.

Nau calls missing out “heartbreaking,” but he knew it when he signed. Last year, Oakland University’s Jack Gohlke, another Milwaukee-area player, made 10 three-pointers off the bench in a stunning NCAA tournament victory over Kentucky.

“That’s what you dream about doing,” Nau said.

Nau gave up that dream for everything else he has gained.

“You can get a great education, play a really high level of basketball in an unbelievable metropolitan area and prepare for life after basketball, if that’s your aspiration,” Tauer said. “When basketball is done — and it’s going to be done at some point whatever division — you better have other things in life that help you spring out of bed in the morning.”