South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame to induct 21 new members in 2026

Jason Sutherland (right), the all-time leading scorer in Watertown High School boys basketball history, excited Arrow fans and others across the state with his all-around talent and high-flying dunks in the early 1990s. He helped the Arrows end a 33-year title drought with a state Class AA championship in 1992. Sutherland is one of 21 people set to be inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2026.

Area Inductees

• Sutherland, a 1993 Watertown High Schooll graduate, was one of the most gifted and versatile athletes in state history. He earned all-state football and boys basketball honors for the Arrowsand also cleared 7 feet, 1 inch to win the state Class AA high jump title in track and field. He went on to play Division I basketball at Missouri and also played professional basketball overseas before becoming a semi-pro football star.
• Papendick, a 1978 Bridgewater High School and 1984 South Dakota State University graduate, is a life-long South Dakota sports journalist/historian who wrote his first newspaper story in 1975. He led the Aberdeen News sports department for many years before retiring in 2015.
• Miles, a highly respected college basketball coach, is the only active coach to lead teams to postseason play at the NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I levels.

20 FAVORITES: Links to the stories highlighting the best northeastern South Dakota athletes since 1984

• Dorman, a 1970 Castlewood High School and 1975 S.D. State graduate, has devoted more than four decades to education-based athletic as an anothe, coach, administration and statewide leader.
• Cutler, a 1978 Langford High School and 1983 S.D. State graduate, was an all-state basketball and football player at Langford who went on to play baseball for the Jackrabbits. He was a Watertown teacher and coach in the 1980s before compiling a 546-264 record as a boys basketball coach at Platte-Geddes.
• Blumhardt, a 1946 Bowdle High School and 1950 University of South Dakota graduate, earned a combined eight letters in football, track and basketball at USD. He made his mark in football and eventually was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1950 National Football League draft.
• Jackson, a 1934 Northern State University graduate, spent his final two years of college playing football and basketball at NSU before spending many years as the head track, boys basketball and football coach, and later athletic director, at Aberdeen Central from 1938-63.

San Jose State Spartans head coach Tim Miles in the first half against the Colorado State Rams at Moby Arena in a game in 2024.

Other Inductees

• Miller, a Mitchell standout, was the No. 1 draft choice of the Orlando Magic and played 17 seasons in the NBA.
• Fylling was the voice of the Augustana Vikings football and basketball teams for nearly 50 years.
• Mueller helped build the boys basketball and football dynasty at West Central. He is one of only four coaches in state history to win state football and basketball titles as a head coach, and the only one to win multiple state titles in both sports.
• Sorenson is one of the most successful prep coaches in state history, leading Beresford High School's boys basketball teams to 27 winning seasons and also enjoying plenty of success as the school's golf coach.
• DeCory is one of the best all-around athletes to come out of the talent-rich Pine Ridge Reservation. Was a starter as a true freshman for the BYU basketball team, but transferred to Utah State where she became part of three conference winning track teams.
• Koupal played 19 seasons of professional baseball, with seven in the big leagues. A pitcher, he got his pro baseball break when he was on the mound in an exhibition game on Oct. 18, 1922, vs. Hall of Famer Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees. Koupal homered off Ruth in the game and struck out Hall of Famer “Joltin’ Joe” DiMaggio three times in a game.

GIMME 5 OR 10 LINKS: Roger Merriam's look at the top athletes for all area high schools since December of 1984

• Baker won 13 state tites and led Rapid City Stevens to four state gymnastics championship in the mid-1990s.
• Mike Begeman starred in basketball at Parker High School and Augustana University and spent many years coaching successful girls tennis, boys golf and boys basketball teams at O'Gorman High School.
• Dearring opened her high school athletic career at Tri-Valley and later went on to star in softball and women's basketball at Augustana.

Former Aberdeen News sports editor John Papendick is one of 21 people set to be inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2026.

• Freidel was a four-year varsity performer in multiple sports at Armour High School before enjoying hall of fame football and basketball careers at Augustana.
• French, a 1940 Sioux Falls Washington gradaute, was a versatile offensive and defensive lineman who played in 49 NFL games with the Baltimore Colts and Detroit Lions from 1947-1952.
• Haines, a 2000 Mitchell High School graduate is part of Mitchell's Morgan family that holds a Guinness Book of World Record as a single family to score more than 10,000 points for a one college (Dakota Wesleyan).
• Jimmerson, a track and cross country standout for Rapid City Stevens in the early 1990s, helped lead Stanford to its first NCAA national championship in cross country in 1996.
• Smalley, a 1926 Wagner High School graduate, was one of South Dakota's first and brighest high school girls basketball stars.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: S.D. Sports Hall of Fame 2026 release