Sports

It was a tough home opener for the Brookings football team on Friday night as the Bobcats lost 35-7 to Watertown.

South Dakota State has only beaten a power four team one time and it was back in 2015. The Jackrabbits will have a chance to do it again on Saturday when they take on Northwestern.

South Dakota State volleyball hosted No. 1 ranked Nebraska on Wednesday night at First Bank & Trust Arena. 5,113 fans attended and it was a complete sell out. That’s something that seemed unfathomable 10 years ago.

By Andrew HoltanBrookings BeaconBROOKINGS – South Dakota State hung with No. 1 ranked Nebraska for two sets on Wednesday night at First Bank & Trust Arena, but the Huskers proved to be too talented and came away with a sweep.Nebraska won the first two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-20 before winning set three…

South Dakota State will face its lone FBS opponent of the season on Saturday night and while it’s not one of the powers of the Big Ten, Northwestern is still expected to be their toughest matchup of the season.

South Dakota State opened the 2026 season on Saturday night and the Jackrabbits made things look easy in a 70-7 win over Stetson at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

South Dakota State made it look easy in its season opener on Saturday night as the Jackrabbits blew out Stetson 70-7 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

Sioux Valley and Elkton-Lake Benton each dropped to 1-1 on Friday night as both teams picked up losses in the second weekend of the season. 

The Brookings football team came up short in its season opener on Friday night as the Bobcats lost 28-13 to Mitchell at Joe Quintal Field.

The Brookings volleyball team began its season this week and the Bobcats suffered two close losses. However, for a younger team, it was a good sign for the Bobcats that they were really competitive in their first two matches.

The Brookings football team will begin its season on Friday night at Mitchell. The Bobcats are lacking some experience this year but are ready for what’s to come in 2026.

It took until early May for South Dakota State football to find its season-opening opponent, but they did, and now, we’re days away from the Jackrabbits taking on Stetson.

Sioux Valley and Elkton-Lake Benton began the new football season on Friday night with victories.

The expectation going into the season at South Dakota State for the past decade has been to win a national championship. After a rough 2025 season, the motivation to reach that expectation is even higher for the Jackrabbits in 2026.

South Dakota State lost its top receiver from last season, but the Jackrabbits are optimistic about the talent that they have at that position heading into the 2026 season.

South Dakota State recorded 11 goals, setting a program record in the process, to defeat MSU Moorhead by an 11-0 score on Sunday at Fishback Soccer Park. 

The Brookings Cubs fell short of a state title this weekend as they lost in the Class A State Tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

The South Dakota State volleyball program has reached new heights, making the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons. Now, the expectations are high, but there is still something that has eluded the Jackrabbits the past two years, a conference tournament championship.

An incident Friday night during a boys soccer game between Brookings and Rapid City Central at Fishback Soccer Park led to a Rapid City Central player’s ejection and possibly facing criminal charges.

Chase Mason is entering his final year of college football, but it will be his second season as the leader of the offense and he’s worked hard to have complete command of that unit.

Adam Vinatieri officially joined the ranks of football immortals Saturday as the South Dakota State University alumnus was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Brookings Cubs will be playing in the second weekend of the Class A State Amateur Baseball Tournament, but they will have to work their way through the loser’s side of the bracket if they want to win a state title.

Mary Beth Fishback will embark on a journey across the state of South Dakota next month and it’s part of a great cause.

South Dakota State football began its fall camp last week and the Jackrabbits got off and running quickly.

The Brookings Cubs continued their strong season with a North Central District Tournament title over the weekend.

South Dakota State broke ground on a new soccer stadium on Tuesday afternoon as Jackrabbit soccer will have an on-campus home beginning in the 2027 season.

Tyson Lunn of Brookings won the Sanford Series Championship on July 20 at Sutton Bay in Agar and it capped off what has been a successful last 12 months for him.

The Brookings Bombers 13U team closed out their season by going 2-2 at the State Tournament in Brookings over the weekend.

The Brookings Bombers 14U team capped off the season with a 1-2 record at the State Tournament in Pierre over the weekend. 

The Brookings Bombers 13/14U team finished the season with a 1-2 performance at the State Tournament in Sioux Falls over the weekend.

The two Brookings junior legion teams saw their seasons come to an end last week as the red and black teams were each swept in the regional playoff series.

Brookings to play again Wednesday night in Rapid City

The Brookings Bandits punched their ticket to the Class A Legion State Baseball Tournament on Thursday night as they won a three-game playoff series against Sioux Falls East.

Five weeks from Saturday, the South Dakota State football team will take on Stetson in the 2026 season opener. It’s the beginning of a unique schedule for the Jackrabbits and head coach Dan Jackson and senior defensive lineman Logan Green had some thoughts about the schedule at Missouri Valley Football Conference media day last week.

The postseason is here for the Brookings Bandits as they will take on Sioux Falls East in a three-game playoff series with a trip to the Class A Legion Baseball State Tournament on the line.

The Brookings Cubs swept a doubleheader against the Sioux Falls Flying Squirrels on Sunday night and in the process they clinched the Sioux Empire League title.

South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason is one of 30 players who has been named to the initial watch list for the Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually by Stats Perform to the top offensive performer in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Nolan Krogman has had a successful season on the mound so far, but it shouldn’t be a surprise as he comes from a long line of baseball players in his family.

South Dakota State was picked first in the Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll on Tuesday morning.

The Brookings Cubs ran their win streak up to seven this past week as they won three games.

South Dakota State linebacker Cullen McShane was named Tuesday to the initial watch list for the Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented yearly by Stats Perform to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The Brookings Bandits swept a pair of doubleheaders last week, beating Aberdeen on June 30 and Huron on July 1.

Volga’s Chad Hallin pitches during a 16-14 win over Brookings in a junior legion baseball game on Thursday.

The Brookings Cubs topped Harrisburg and Tea this past week and improved to 10-1 in the process.

The Brookings Bandits senior legion baseball team went 2-2 at the Fargo/Moorhead Invitational over the weekend.

Last week, the NCAA announced that they are adopting a new age-based eligibility model that allows for athletes to have up to five years of eligibility if they enroll in college no later than their 19th birthday.

With the recent fallout of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, South Dakota State football coach Dan Jackson has to continue to remind his players about the risks of placing bets on sports as a student-athlete.

South Dakota State University Athletics officials have scheduled the groundbreaking ceremony for the future home of the South Dakota State women’s soccer program to take place on Tuesday, July 28, on the site of the future facility on the SDSU campus in Brookings. 

The Brookings baseball teams are in full swing in their summer season. Some teams have had their struggles so far this season, but let’s take a look at where every team is at with a little over a week left in June.

After a strong start to the season, the Brookings Bandits senior legion team hit a speed bump this weekend, losing three of four games at the Dakota Classic in Sioux Falls.

The Brookings Cubs dropped their first game of the season on Saturday but were able to bounce back with a win on Monday.

It’s time to go through the Jackrabbits 2026 schedule and highlight what should be the most interesting games.

The Summit League announced expansions of its media rights agreements with CBS Sports and Midco Sports Tuesday that will keep both partners at the center of distributing the conference’s national linear and digital network content.

Of the 58,281 names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, at least three are those of former South Dakota State student-athletes.

Kendis Sackreiter just capped off her junior year with two top-five finishes in throwing events at the State Track & Field Meet. She did that on the heels of a top-two finish in wrestling and is hoping that her senior year comes with some state titles.

The Sioux Valley softball team came away with the consolation championship at the Class A State Tournament over the weekend.

The Brookings Cubs were named co-champions of a tournament in Arlington, Minn., over the weekend after the title game was rained out on Sunday.

The Brookings track & field teams finished the season with 13 top-10 finishes at the State Track & Field Meet at Howard Wood Field over the weekend.

The Brookings Bandits opened their senior legion season with a doubleheader sweep over Pierre on May 29.

The Brookings girls’ golf team finished in ninth place at the Class AA State Tournament at Cattail Crossing Golf Course on Monday and Tuesday.

The Sioux Valley softball team will be playing in the Class A State Tournament for the second-straight season this weekend in Aberdeen as the Cossacks clinched a spot in the tournament with a walk-off win over Sioux Falls Christian in the SoDak 16 on May 26.

South Dakota State has had a lot of success since going Division I in athletics back in 2004. With the baseball team making the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, it got me thinking about the amount of success that the athletic department has had as a whole over the past decade.

The Brookings Cubs won their first two games of the season with victories over Madison and Volga. The Cubs beat Madison 10-8 on May 12 and then topped Volga 12-2 on May 20. Both games were played at Bob Shelden Field.

South Dakota State’s Nate Wachter celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run against Oral Roberts on Saturdaty in Minneapolis.

The Brookings Bobcats track & field teams competed at the Eastern South Dakota Conference meet on Saturday.

The Brookings varsity baseball team’s season came to an end over the weekend as the Bobcats were swept in a best-of-three Regional Playoff Series against Rapid City Stevens.

The Brookings softball team lost to No. 1 Sioux Falls Jefferson on Monday afternoon, but the Bobcats gained some confidence during the loss.

The Brookings varsity baseball team wrapped up the regular season over the weekend with a pair of doubleheaders. The Bobcats swept Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon at Bob Shelden Field in Brookings and then were swept on the road by Yankton on Sunday.

The Brookings Cubs will begin their amateur baseball season next week as they host the Madison Broncos at Bob Shelden Field on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Brookings Bobcats varsity baseball team has now won four straight games after sweeping Mitchell last week.

The South Dakota State women’s golf team will be playing in the NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history next week after the Jackrabbits won the Summit League Tournament on April 28.

SDSU men turn around roster after players enter portal

Players to have new roles next year

As of Tuesday afternoon, eight former South Dakota State football players will be at NFL training camps this summer.

SDSU’s Chase Mason feels confident after spring practices

Spring practices answer depth questions

Pending board approval, Brookings High School will have three new head coaches in the 2026-27 school year.

South Dakota State rounds out competition at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a pair of Jackrabbit top 10 all-time performances Saturday evening.

Brookings Friends of Baseball raises money at annual banquet

The South Dakota State softball team went 3-1 in four games against Iowa and Georgia Tech over the weekend at Pearl Field.

With the temperature in the high 70s on Sunday, I enjoyed my afternoon outside, going for a walk. There were plenty of people outdoors and after the up-and-down end of winter and start of spring that we’ve had, it was a good reminder of how much nice weather can change the attitude of people.

The South Dakota State men’s basketball team announced an addition for the 2026-27 season on Tuesday in Colorado State transfer Jon Mekonnen.

The South Dakota State men’s golf team finished in a tie for 11th place at the Robert Kepler Invitational hosted by Ohio State Sunday.

Brookings’ Tetzlaff makes memories before heading to SDSU

South Dakota State announced on Thursday that its wrestling team will be moving from the Big 12 Conference to the Pac-12 Conference starting with the 2026-27 school year.

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium will have a new playing surface this upcoming season as new turf is being installed in the coming weeks.

The Brookings baseball team was supposed to start their season this weekend with five games out West. However, all of those games were canceled due to upcoming inclement weather.

The Brookings softball team opened the 2026 season with a 7-4 win over Yankton on Monday afternoon at the Southbrook Softball Complex.

South Dakota State’s Brooklyn Meyer has accepted an invitation to participate in the Women’s College All-Star Game presented by Lilly, which will be played Saturday,

Brookings senior Bergan Tetzlaff was named as a Class AA All-State Basketball honorable mention last week. He joins eight other Brookings area players that were honored in boys and girls basketball.

SDSU softball looks to turn things around against conference opponents

The South Dakota State baseball team played its first home series over the weekend and are hoping to gain some momentum after winning two of three games against North Dakota State at Erv Huether Field.

Meyer caps off SDSU career with strong performance in NCAA Tournament

South Dakota State’s season came to an end on Friday afternoon as the Jackrabbits lost to Washington 72-54 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Jackrabbit women set to take on Washington in first round

Brookings falls to Aberdeen in third-place game

The Brookings Ranger Junior Varsity 1 team captured a state championship over the weekend at the new rink in Watertown.

The Brookings Rangers Bantam A team capped off a hugely successful season in style over the weekend, winning a state title at the Bantam A tournament in Yankton. Not to be outdone, the Bantam B Rangers also followed up their league title with a state championship win in Aberdeen.

The Brookings Rangers Pee Wee A team skated to a state championship on home ice over the weekend, dominating state competition by a combined 28-0.

Bantam A, Bantam B and PeeWee A teams all capture league championships this weekend