PRESS RELEASE
Tickets are on sale for the upcoming South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame bandquet on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
The link to buy tickets is on the redesigned Hall of Fame website at www.sdshof.com; click on the PURCHASE TICKETS tab. The cost is $60 for adults, and $35 for kids 12 and under.
You may designate an inductee to sit near when you order online. All major credit cards are accepted. There will be a very limited number of tickets at the door.
Social hour and media availability of inductees begins at 4:30 p.m. Dinner is at 6 p.m., and the program begins at 7 p.m.
There are 21 individuals who will be inducted this year.
The 2026 class includes a two-time NBA champion, the “Bowdle Blaster,” champion coaches, women athletic pioneers, a two-time NFL draftee, a national champion runner and a baseball legend who homered off of Babe Ruth.
The new inductees are: Taylor Baker, Mike Begeman, Howard Blumhardt, Frank Cutler, Julie (Krauth) Dearring, Laticia DeCory, Jim Dorman, Dan Freidel, Barry French, Jeff Fylling, Randi (Morgan) Haines, Mylo Jackson, Greg Jimmerson, Louis Koupal, Tim Miles, Mike Miller, Kent Mueller, John Papendick, Thelma (Austin) Smalley, Jim Sorensen and Jason Sutherland. Blumhardt, French, Fylling, Jackson, Koupal and Smalley are being inducted posthumously.
With the 21 new inductees, the hall has enshrined 418 women and men from every part of the state representing more than 30 sports. The hall was established in 1968 by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association. A group of unpaid volunteers from across the state now manages it.
The inductees’ full bios are on the hall’s website. Baker won 13 state gymnastics titles at Rapid City Stevens. Parker native Begeman was a basketball star and coaching legend. Blumhardt, “The Bowdle Blaster” was a multi-sport star at Bowdle and USD. Claremont’s Cutler was a career .400 baseball hitter and coaching icon from Platte. (Krauth) Dearring led Augustana to a national softball title.
DeCory was one of the best all-around athletes to come out of talent-rich Pine Ridge Reservation. Castlewood’s Dorman was a statewide athletic administrating guru. Freidel made Armour and Augustana shine in athletics. Sioux Falls’ French was an NFL draftee twice. Lennox native Fylling was the long-time voice of the Augustana Vikings.
Mitchell’s (Morgan) Haines was one of South Dakota’s greatest basketball players. Fall River County (SD) native Mylo Jackson coached Aberdeen Central to seven state titles in three different sports. Rapid City’s Jimmerson led Stanford to a national cross-country title. Koupal homered off of Babe Ruth. Miles of Doland is a DI national basketball coach of the year.
Mitchell’s Miller won two NBA titles. Freeman’s Mueller coached different high school teams to 17 football state championship games. Bridgewater native Papendick is a life-long South Dakota journalist and sports historian.
Smalley of Lake Andes and Wagner was one of the state’s first girls’ basketball stars in the 1920s. Sorensen became a national coach of the year during his long successful career at Beresford. Watertown native Sutherland was one of the most gifted and versatile athletes in state history.
Inductees are voted into the hall in four categories: as athletes, coaches, contributors and/or legends (deceased).
