PRESS RELEASE

CORALVILLE, IA — Ten coaches and an athletic director from South Dakota are set to receive honors at the 2026 National High School Athletic Coaches Association Convention June 29-July 1.

Jason Olson of Rapid City Stevns and Jim Sorenson of Beresford are South Dakota’s inductees into the NHSACA Hall of Fame. The ceremony is scheduled for June 30.

Eight coaches and an athletic director have been chosen as South Dakota’s Coach of the Year finalists for 2026. The Coach of the Year ceremony is scheduled for July 1.

Here are South Dakota’s nine national COTY finalists:

Paul Raasch, Castlewood (Boys Basketball)

Raasch has been a boys basketball coach in South Dakota for 40 years, coaching 10 years apiece at Alpena and Webster, 16 at Langford and the past four in his hometown of Castlewood. He has guided 13 teams to state Class B boys basketball tournaments including the 2025 state champions from Castlewood. The Warriors finished second in 2026.

Raasch is the longest active-tenured boys basketball coach in the state and is third overall all-time in wins with a career record of 643-265.

Casie King, Sioux Valley (Special Sports-Dance Coach)

King has coached for 23 years, including Sioux Valley’s competitive cheer squad the past 19 years. During that time, the Cossacks have won every state Class A cheer championship in the sport’s 19-year history as a sanctioned sport by the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

Ronette Costain, Harrisburg (Volleyball)

The Webster native has spent the past 30 years coaching volleyball at Harrisburg, where her teams have produced a 561-74 record and seven state titles (one on Class A and six in Class AA).

The Tigers won their fourth-straight state Class AA title last fall. Even though Harrisburg’s state-record 87-match winning streak ended with losses to nationally-ranked teams in a tournament at Las Vegas (NV), the Tigers still haven’t lost to a South Dakota foe since September of 2022.

Tony Thoreson, Brandon Valley (Assistant Coach for Girls Sports)

Thoreson has spent the past 31 years as an assistant cross country and the past 23 years as an assistant track and field coach for both boys and girls at Brandon Valley, primarily coaches the school’s distance runners.

With his help, the Lynx have produced five state championship and 13 state runner-up teams in the two sports.

Rick Weber, Flandreau (Athletic Director)

Weber spent 28 years as the athletic director of the Flandreau Public Schools and has served the state in many capacities for the South Dakota High School Activities Association, South Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association, Big East Conference and Flandreau Booster Club.

Jim Jarovski, Sioux Falls Lincoln (Boys Track and Field)

Jarovski is currently in his 28th year of coaching track and field at Lincoln. He served an assistant for eight years before becoming the Patriots’ head boys and girls coach the past 20 years.

He has guided Lincoln’s boys to state AA titles in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 and 2025 and Lincoln’s girls to state AA titles in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025.

Luke Vander Leest, Sioux Falls Christian (Boys Cross Country)

Vander Leest has coached Sioux Falls Christian’s boys and girls cross country teams since 2014 and the school’s boys and girls track and field teams since 2017 and has led the Chargers to an unprecedented run of success that has included the past four state Class A titles in girls track and cross country along with boys track.

SFC has won six overall state titles each in boys’ track and cross country and four overall state titles each in girls’ track and cross country.

Jared Fredenburg, Sioux Falls Lincoln (Football)

The Edgeley, ND native began his coaching career at Sioux Falls Roosevelt and served as an assistant on teams that captured state Class 11AA championships in 2006, 2007 and 2011. He was hired as the head coach at Lincoln and has led the Patriots for the past nine years.

After starting 4-15 the first two years, Lincoln has compiled a 60-18 record with state Class 11AAA championships in 2023 and 2024 and a runner-up finish in 2025.

Tyler Schuring, Yankton (Soccer)

During his 12 years as Yankton High School’s girls soccer coach, he has transformed the Gazelles into a consistent state contender and model program.

A former soccer and baseball player at Presentation College in Aberdeen, he guided the Gazelles to Eastern South Dakota Conference championships in 2018 and 2019 and an undefeated 2019 season (15-0-2) that culminated with a state Class AA championship.