July 1: The Eastern Coteau Conference has established a hall of fame. The conference started play in 1983-84, and before that, it was known as the Whetstone Valley Conference. Current members are Britton-Hecla, Florence-Henry, Great Plains Lutheran, Florence, Henry, Rosholt (Tri-State co-op along with Fairmount, ND, and Campbell-Tintah, MN), Summit, Waubay, Waverly-South Shore and Wilmot. Clark-Willow Lake, Deuel and Webster Area compete in football only. Past members include Gary, Grant-Deuel, Marietta (MN), New Effington, Tiospa Zina and Veblen.
July 2: With his senior season ahead of him, Madden Smiley was selected by The Coloradoan newspaper as its Boys’ Athlete of the Year in the Fort Collins Area. Smiley, the son of former NSU standout and Northern Colorado men’s basketball coach Steve Smiley, led Windsor High School last season to its first boys’ basketball state championship since 1924. Smiley also was the Class 5A Player of the Year averaging 20.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Smiley and his Windsor Wizards were state runners-up in 2024.
July 7: Watertown junior Gabi Olson won the South Dakota Golf Association-Sanford International Series tourney in her hometown at the Lakeview Golf Course. On the back nine, Olson set a South Dakota Junior Golf record with the lowest score ever for nine holes. She shot a 7-under 28.
July 10: The University of Jamestown officially has joined the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. One of Jamestown’s leaders is athletic director Austin Hieb, a former leader at NSU and Aberdeen Central graduate. The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, including NSU.
July 10: South Dakota native and University of Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer returned to his home state for Sanford Sports Night in Sioux Falls. Coach DeBoer’s former teammate at the University of Sioux Falls, Kurtiss Riggs, moderated a discussion with Kalen discussing the insights, challenges and future of youth sports.
July 10: Former Northern State basketball standout Jacksen Moni scored eight points in his debut for the San Antonio Spurs in a 111-70 win over Philadelphia in the NBA Summer League.
July 11-13: Milbank was the birthplace of American Legion Baseball in 1925. To mark the anniversary, Milbank hosted a Centennial Classic at its Legion Field. Aberdeen attorney Frank Sieh proposed starting American Legion Baseball during the 1925 Legion state convention in Milbank. The first season was in 1926. Four teams (one each from South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska) competed in the tourney, which followed a similar format to the one used in the first national World Series in 1926. Glenwood-Lowry (MN) defeated LaMoure (ND) 9-4 in the championship game.
July 11-13: Late model driver Chad Becker had a big night of racing over the weekend. He won feature races Friday and Saturday at his home track of Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, and then took the feature race at Casino Speedway in Watertown on Sunday.
July 12: The 50th annual Eastern Dakota 4-H Regional Rodeo was held at Derby Downs arena in Watertown. Participants were earning spots in the Aug. 15-17 South Dakota 4-H Rodeo Finals.

July 13: Former Sioux Falls Roosevelt multi-sport standout and 2022 graduate Marcus Phillips was drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft. The Boston Red Sox used the 33 rd pick on the Tennessee star right-handed pitcher. During his time with the Volunteers, opponents hit .233 off of Phillips. He helped the Vols win the 2024 College World Series and led Sioux Falls to the 2017 Little League World Series.
July 13: Watertown native and SDSU sophomore golfer Jake Olson won the 104 th annual South Dakota Golf Association Match Play Championship in Sioux Falls. Olson is the first Watertown golfer to win this tourney since Dick Scott did it in 1966. Harrisburg graduate Hayden Scott of Sioux Falls was the 2025 runner-up and will be Olson’s freshman teammate at SDSU this fall.
July 14: SDSU pitcher Dylan Driessen (Omaha, NE) was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 18th round of the MLB Draft. The right-hand reliefer and closer made 61 appearances for the Jackrabbits from 2023-25.
July 15: Wynot (NE) used an all-Wieseler lineup in its amateur baseball game against Parkston. Cousins Clair (right field) and Steve (catcher) Wieseler filled out Wynot’s starting nine along with their sons Colin (CF), Nate (RF), Peyton (pitcher), Jalen (shortstop), Carson (third), Landon (first) and Trystan (second). Clair and his sons Colin and Nate patrolled the outfield and their cousins manned the infield. Three of the Wieselers joined the team for the first time in order for their family to pull off this rare feat. Host Wynot, a member of the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association, lost 1-0 after 4.5 innings in a weather-shortened game.
July 16: In the final South Dakota amateur baseball poll of the season, the two top spots are shared in both classes A and B. The Renner Monarchs and Harrisburg Woodies are tied for No. 1 in Class A. The two teams split games and have only one loss each. Sharing the top spot in Class B are Dell Rapids Pabst Blue Ribbon and the Canova Gang.
July 16: Sisseton will not have a varsity football team this fall. High school football numbers across the nation have been declining over the years.
July 17: The Summit League has extended its contract with the Denny Sanford Premier Center to continue to host its basketball championships for three more years through 2029. That year will be the 21st time Sioux Falls has hosted the event.
July 19: The third annual Lift Hard, Live Easy Classic was held in Aberdeen. The powerlifting and strongman competitions are sponsored by Massenomics founders Tanner Baird and Tommy Defea. It featured 125 competitors from about 25 states and Canada. The first contest featured about 60 contestants.
July 20: Minnesota’s Maddyn Greenway and her Team USA basketball teammates defeated Australia to win the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup. Greenway, daughter of Mount Vernon native and former NFL linebacker Chad Greenway, will be a high school senior at Providence Academy in the Twin Cities this fall.
July 21: Aberdeen native and University of Nebraska swimmer Gena Jorgenson earned a silver medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle at the World University Games in Germany. She swam a lifetime best 16:15.44 while Team USA teammate Kate Hurst (Texas) won the event in 16:15.40. Jorgenson will be a senior for the Cornhuskers this fall where she is a two-time All-American and holds a multitude of school records.

July 24: SDSU football captains for the 2025 season: Chase Mason (Hurley), Quinten Christensen (Wessington Springs), Sam Hagen (Fordville, ND), Joe Ollman (Mequon, WI), Logan Green (Northboro, IA) and Kobe Clayborne (Sioux City, IA). That means with Mason and Christensen as two of the captains, the Jacks will take to the field this fall for the 12th season in a row led by at least one team captain from South Dakota. Since 2016, 18 of the Jacks’ 50 captains have been from South Dakota: Gus Miller (Brookings) and Tucker Large (Sioux Falls Roosevelt) in 2024; Mason McCormick of Sioux Falls Roosevelt in 2023 and 2022; McCormick, Wes Genant of Parkston and Xavier Ward of Freeman in fall 2021; Genant and Preston Tetzlaff of Brookings in spring 2021; Evan Greeneway of Yankton in 2019; Dalton Cox of Aberdeen Roncalli in 2018; Taryn Christion of Sioux Falls Roosevelt in 2018; Christion and Dallas Goedert of Britton in 2017; Shayne Gottlob of Salem in 2016; and Nick Mears of Milbank in 2016.
July 29: SDSU will serve as the headliner for the second consecutive year of a nationally-publicized event in men’s college basketball in Sioux Falls. The Jackrabbits are scheduled to take part in The Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon at 8 p.m. Nov. 3, when SDSU faces Merrimack in the Sanford Pentagon. The other two games in the Pentagon begin with a meeting between Murray State and Omaha, followed by Drake and Northern Arizona. SDSU (Bryan Petersen), Drake (Eric Henderson) and Murray State (Ryan Miller) all feature first-year coaches with ties to the state. Petersen is a former SDSU assistant, Henderson the former SDSU head coach and Miller was a Mitchell and NSU standout.
July 31: Team USA Parabadminton player and 2024 ParaOlympic silver medalist Miles Krajewski of Yankton continues to win medals at international competitions this summer.

Email us at dave@sdsportscene.com if you think we missed something or if you have an event you would like us to consider for this feature.