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Contenders to watch in 2026 South Dakota high school softball season

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Contenders to watch in 2026 South Dakota high school softball season


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The 2026 South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) softball season is underway, and teams all across the state will be vying for the state championship title over the next two-plus months.

Here’s a rundown of each of the three classes and which teams can win the state championship, broken down into three tiers — defending champion, contenders and dark horses.

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Class AA

Defending Champion: Sioux Falls Jefferson

Jefferson broke through in 2025 as the No. 4 seed, beating two-time state champion Sioux Falls Lincoln in the semis before shutting out Sioux Falls Washington in the championship game.

The Cavaliers’ pitching led the way last season, but Whitney Portner graduated, leaving Tya Devericks projected to hold down the circle the most. The now-junior pitcher recorded a 2.96 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 26 innings a season ago.

Devericks, Macy Bryant and Brooklyn Herrera form a three-headed monster at the top of Jefferson’s lineup that can compete with nearly any in the state.

Portner is a massive loss for a breakthrough Jefferson team, but the Cavaliers appear to have the pieces in place to repeat if things fall right.

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Contenders: Sioux Falls Lincoln, Harrisburg, Sioux Falls Washington, Brandon Valley

Sure, this list includes the rest of the top five seeds from last year’s state tournament, but there’s a reason for all of them to be included.

Lincoln and Harrisburg are both off to 0-1 starts, but they have the track record to give some level of confidence they’ll be near the top of the state come postseason time. Lincoln lost a bunch of seniors from last year’s team, but won the first two SDHSAA state championships and has been the top seed all three years. Harrisburg has dealt with a little less roster turnover this year and was the No. 2 seed all three years, even if it only ended in one second-place finish.

Washington finished second last season with a relatively young roster, and it feels like the program has been ascending, even if the seeds have been relatively the same.

Brandon Valley has to replace nearly 100% of its innings pitched from last year, but most of the offense returns and the Lynx could very well slug their way to contention and their first state title since softball was officially sponsored by the SDHSAA in 2023.

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Dark Horses: Tea Area, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, Rapid City Stevens, Brookings

There’s very few dark horses in Class AA, given there are only 17 teams, but all three have a case to break out this season.

Tea Area already has a win over Lincoln this season after finishing with a 6-11 record a season ago. The Titans’ early win can be great for confidence and propel them back to the top of the state after making back-to-back Class A state title games in 2023 and 2024.

Sioux Falls Roosevelt is returning lots of production from a young team in 2025. The Rough Riders didn’t get off to the best 2026 start with a big loss to Brandon Valley, but they have the potential to improve a ton throughout the season and make a leap into the upper tier of Class AA.

Rapid City Stevens went 16-4 a season ago and didn’t lose a ton of production, but the No. 6 seed in 2025 will seemingly always face an uphill battle with the travel required to get in games against Class AA competition.

Brookings had a dominant team in 2023 that fell just short and has lost in the SoDak 16 each of the last two years. The Bobcats had a stable of freshmen last year who can make a leap and bring Brookings softball back to the precipice of state title contention.

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Class A

Defending Champion: West Central

West Central has been in each of the first three Class A state championship games, and the Trojans should be extremely strong again with a large senior class.

West Central has already dropped a 17-15 game to Madison to open the season, but a few losses crept into the regular season last year. The Trojans went 22-0 and won a state championship in 2023, and went 22-1 and dropped the state title game to Tea Area in 2024 before a 21-3 run to the state title a year ago.

This year’s crop of Class A softball appears to be even better than the past, and the Trojans will need to dig deep and pull out some tough games to repeat and win their third Class A state championship.

Contenders: Tri-Valley, Madison, Elk Point-Jefferson, Dell Rapids, Dakota Valley

This list essentially comprises the rest of the year in, year out contenders in Class A. All five teams consistently show up in the state tournament and beat each other as West Central mows down its opposition en route to the state championship game.

Tri-Valley was last year’s No. 2 seed and runner-up, and is already off to a 3-0 start in 2026. The Mustangs have most of the same roster as last year and will be able to plug in most of their holes with 2025 backups.

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Madison has the aforementioned win over West Central already, but has taken a loss to Tri-Valley. The Bulldogs have consistently had an offense in the top third of Class A, but things can change quickly if the big-game run prevention shows up.

Elk Point-Jefferson, like Tri-Valley, is off to a 3-0 start. The difference is the Huskies haven’t quite faced the level of competition as the Mustangs. Elk Point-Jefferson has dispatched of that opposition accordingly, and early-season momentum is never a bad thing.

Dell Rapids has finished third each of the last three seasons, and lots of young talent returning can help the Lady Quarriers break through the barrier. Dell Rapids’ seed has gotten worse over the last three years, so there’s also the chance there’s another dip.

Dakota Valley has been the most up-and-down of the teams in this tier, bouncing from the third seed to seven seed year to year. The Panthers have a difficult early-season schedule, where a lot will be learned about this group.

Dark Horses: Beresford, Sioux Valley

This is a short list with the top contenders in Class A being so stable, but each team has a reason for being listed.

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Beresford is off to a 2-0 start and has clubbed Class B’s Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy and Castlewood. The Watchdogs’ next two games are against Madison and Dakota Valley, so their long-term viability in this race will be determined soon.

Sioux Valley is looking to build off a 16-8 2025 season with only two seniors to replace. The Cossacks have already lost a 6-2 game to Tri-Valley, but they need just a couple big wins to break through into the upper tier of the class.

Class B

Defending Champion: Deuel

This is the first defending champ who doesn’t have a clear path to a repeat due to the graduation of pitcher Katrina Hagberg. A strong pitcher can be overwhelming, especially at smaller schools, and losing that weapon can pose serious problems for a team that surrendered 43 runs in 24 games.

Also, Deuel only scored five runs in the last two state tournament games, fully relying on pitching and defense to beat elite competition.

Counting out the defending champs is never a good idea, especially with so much of the team coming back, but this feels like a year for the Cardinals to reset and find a new way to win games.

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Contenders: Castlewood, Flandreau, Gayville-Volin, Florence/Henry, Bon Homme

The theme here is teams that didn’t lose their star pitcher or lots of seniors from last year, as pitching is at a premium in Class B.

Castlewood has lots of roster continuity, while also coming off a 16-6 season and a sixth-place finish in the state tournament. The Warriors won the 2023 championship and were second in 2024, and have a few tough tests against Class A teams lined up to determine how strong they really are.

Flandreau could technically be considered a dark horse given they weren’t in the state tournament a season ago, but the Fliers are off to a dominant 2-0 start with 32 runs scored. Flandreau could make a leap from a SoDak 16 appearance to a run in the Class B state tournament.

Gayville-Volin is also 2-0 this season, and the Raiders have won in a low-scoring game and had the offense go for 16 runs. The Raiders made a run to the state championship game as the No. 6 seed, and this could be the year they bump up a step and win it all.

Florence/Henry is another example of a team that went to the state tournament and has a lot of roster continuity. The Watchdog Classic on May 9, will determine a lot about how the Falcons will fare this season, with Beresford, Dell Rapids, Tri-Valley and West Central all set to test Florence/Henry.

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Bon Homme was the No. 2 seed in 2025 and had a dynamic offense, scoring 27 runs in three games at the state tournament. The Cavaliers’ offense remains mostly intact and hasn’t gotten on the field yet, but appears to be the best in Class B.

Dark Horses: Scotland/Menno, Chester, Clark/Willow Lake

There’s a few teams that can break into the Class B state championship picture, but they all have different ways of doing it.

Scotland/Menno is already 2-1 on this young season, and the Trappers have dominated their two inferior opponents this year. Scotland/Menno made the state tournament in 2024 and could be returning in 2026.

Chester already has a huge win after being upset in the SoDak 16 a season ago. The Flyers have five seniors and five players who are freshmen or younger, so they could have some ups and downs and get hot at the right time.

Clark/Willow Lake has started 1-2, but played a couple very close, low-scoring games against Avon and Elk Point-Jefferson. The Cyclones have a very young team and could also cause problems if things come together throughout the season.

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SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for June 27, 2026

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The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at June 27, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from June 27 drawing

03-16-28-30-59, Powerball: 11, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from June 27 drawing

03-08-18-22-39, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from June 27 drawing

02-21-25-30-32

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 27 drawing

26-32-38-51-52, Bonus: 05

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Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

  • Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
  • Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
  • Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
  • Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Another South Dakota secretary of state bounced after four years by GOP delegates

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Another South Dakota secretary of state bounced after four years by GOP delegates


Left: Heather Baxter | Right: Monae Johnson

South Dakota is getting another chief elections officer.

Secretary of State Monae Johnson failed to win the Republican nomination for a second term during the South Dakota Republican Party Convention Saturday in Rapid City, where GOP delegates instead favored another Pierre outsider to oversee the state’s elections for the next four years.

“When this office runs well, you don’t notice it. When it doesn’t, you feel it everywhere,” Rep. Heather Baxter told a capacity crowd of delegates and attendees at The Monument events center, where she received nearly 60 percent of votes cast by more than 700 party delegates.

Populist push falls short in South Dakota GOP contest for Public Utilities nod

Populist push falls short in South Dakota GOP contest for Public Utilities nod



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Work, housing and staffing: How South Dakota’s corrections chief aims to keep inmates from returning

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Work, housing and staffing: How South Dakota’s corrections chief aims to keep inmates from returning


SIOUX FALLS – South Dakota’s repeat offense rate for people who leave prison can return to the low point it saw a a dozen years ago, the state’s corrections secretary said Tuesday.

Nick Lamb, now six months into his role atop the Department of Corrections, laid out the agency’s plan Tuesday at the Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force at its meeting in Sioux Falls. The plan includes work release programs, residential housing for inmates and a top-to-bottom restructuring of how the department operates.

Recidivism measures how many inmates return to prison within three years of their release. The figure for South Dakota stood at

 50%

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in the most recent data, which was based on the performance of inmates released in 2021.

South Dakota’s lowest recidivism rate in the last two decades was 39% in 2014.

“We’ll get back there,” Lamb said Tuesday.

Lamb told reporters after the meeting he wants “to start getting in the business of closing prisons” during his tenure.

“Our population is too high for our state,” Lamb said. “We need to get our population down, but we’ve got to give the offenders the tools they need that they haven’t always had.”

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Several recommendations presented on Tuesday, by Lamb and other criminal justice experts, will require more staff and funding.

State Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, worries that the Legislature’s budget-setting committee will balk at new spending.

“My concern is that we put all these elaborate proposals together, then when we get to appropriations we’re going to hit the wall,” Hughes said.

Inmates return to work release

Under Lamb’s predecessor, Kellie Wasko, pay for inmate work performed outside the prison walls

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was increased to minimum wage

. After that policy change, fewer communities and organizations contracted inmate workers for community service jobs.

Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, said most of the roughly 250 minimum-security prisoners he oversaw during his tenure as corrections secretary participated in work release.

“They got up and they all had jobs. They were used to getting out of bed, going to work, getting in a habit of that,” Reisch said.

When he toured the prison last year, fewer than 20 were working, he said.

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Lamb has cut inmate wages below minimum wage since he started.

“We reached out to a lot of these communities, basically asking if they need help,” Lamb said. “We lowered the wage, which upset some people, but we need them out working.”

This summer, inmates will work at Sioux Falls parks and at its regional landfill, and they’ll prepare the fairgrounds in Huron for the State Fairgrounds in August. They’ll also help out during Riverboat Days in Yankton, and pitch in on tournament preparation for the National Field Archery Association.

Statewide residential facilities planned

Lamb also wants to establish a residential corrections program. He shared a presentation showing how such a program

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operated in Iowa

, where he served as deputy director of institutional operations for the Iowa Department of Corrections before his move to South Dakota.

In Iowa, most residential facilities were filled with people on probation, parole or work release. He envisions a similar program in South Dakota, with housing outside of traditional prison settings designed to help transition back into the community, but he hasn’t finalized details or a timeline.

“We’re going to try it,” Lamb said. “I’ll be honest, I haven’t talked to the lieutenant governor or anybody else about it, but we need to try it. It works.”

The program has been in Iowa for decades. Iowa’s three-year recidivism rate peaked at 38.9% in 2019 and has since fallen to 32.8%, based on the

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latest data available

.

“I’m not trying to throw you a sales pitch,” Lamb said, but residential programming is “a good idea.”

Lamb said he doesn’t want to replace programs like the one run by the Sioux Falls-based nonprofit St. Francis House, but to add to it.

St. Francis House doesn’t cap how long residents can stay and limits rent to $250 a month. Lamb said a state-run program would include a time limit and higher rent.

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A lack of “felon-friendly housing” is a major driver of recidivism, said Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, who’s leaving his position soon after two terms in office. The problem won’t improve without government involvement, he added.

“If the state ever chooses to invest in St. Francis House programming, it’s money well spent,” TenHaken said.

Justice Center recommendations

The percentage of inmates who got rehabilitative programming increased from 27%to 44% between 2023 and 2025, according to a report presented Tuesday by the Council for State Governments Justice Center.

The national nonprofit was contracted to analyze the state’s prison system and help guide the task force’s work.

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Despite the gains in programming, the group reported, 46% of inmates released in 2025 received none. Access was also limited by where inmates were held, due to space and staffing restrictions.

The justice center recommended several changes, including:

  • Creating a rehabilitation and reentry division and hiring several new positions.
  • Creating a centralized waitlist for programs.
  • Streamlining the program catalog to reduce overlap and fill gaps.
  • Sequencing programming to cover an inmate’s entire stay, rather than stacking programs in the last few months of their sentence.
  • Creating a dedicated parole violation program track.

Many of those recommendations hinge on hiring and retaining adequate staff — one of the department’s most significant challenges, according to the group.

Sara Friedman, program director with the Justice Center, said her team consistently heard in interviews that the department tends to shift employees around when attempting new initiatives, rather than hiring. That creates gaps for inmates seeking programming.

Sometimes, for example, shifting staffing patterns will leave facilities without enough security staff to transport inmates to classrooms.

“Technically, you’re fully staffed, but you’re fully staffed so thinly that the moment one thing goes wrong, the waterfall effect is people are not getting their rehabilitative services,” Friedman said.

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Lamb told South Dakota Searchlight after the presentation that he wasn’t surprised by the staffing recommendations. The department lacks adequate staff to backfill for sick or vacationing employees, he said, though he didn’t say how many more employees would need to be hired to address the issue.

The department is already working to create the new rehabilitation and reentry division and centralize its scheduling.

The task force plans to meet two more times before it’ll finalize its recommendations for the Legislature ahead of the next session, which starts in January.

— This story was originally published on southdakotasearchlight.com.





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