2023 Class A Boys Basketball Tournament Capsules 

Dakota Valley 

Record: 23-0

Coach: Jason Kleis

Key players:  Isaac Bruns (26.5 pgg, 9.4 rpg), Jaxson Wingert (15.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg), Randy Rosenquist (13.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 8.8 apg), Jaxon Hennies (8.7 ppg)

Notes: No. 1 Dakota Valley plays No. 8 Hot Springs at noon in the first round. … The Panthers won last season’s Class A state championship. They’re riding a Class A boys basketball record 50-game winning streak. … Isaac Bruns is the No. 18 all-time leading scorer in South Dakota boys basketball history with 2,236 career points. Bruns will play college basketball at the University of South Dakota, where his brother, Paul, is a sophomore guard. Randy Rosenquist recently committed to play college basketball at Dakota Wesleyan University. 

Hot Springs

Record: 19-4

Coach: Aaron Noteboom

Key players: Josh Kleinsasser (14.2 ppg, 6 rpg), Matt Close (11.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.7 apg), Camron Maciejewski (9.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg)

Notes: No. 8 Hot Springs plays No. 1 Dakota Valley at noon in the opening round. … Hot Springs is making its first state tournament appearance since 2019. … Hot Springs won the first 15 games of the season. One of the Bison’s four losses were against Class A state tournament qualifier St. Thomas More. … Hot Springs outlasted Winner, 47-43, in the SoDak 16 to qualify for state. 

Sioux Valley 

Record: 21-2

Coach: Bill Vincent

Key players: Oliver Vincent (20 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 6.5 apg), Alec Squires (15 ppg, 11 rpg), Patrick Carey (14 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Maverick Nelson (8 ppg, 6 rpg)

Notes: No. 4 Sioux Valley takes on No. 5 Hamlin at 1:45 p.m. in the opening round. … Sioux Valley defeated Hamlin, 69-65, earlier this season. … Sioux Valley’s two losses have come against Class A state tournament qualifiers Dakota Valley (82-57) and Sioux Falls Christian (71-63). The Cossacks also have wins over state tournament teams De Smet, St. Thomas More and Castlewood. … Alec Squires, a 6-foot-10 junior center, has verbally committed to play at Division I South Dakota State University. … Oliver Vincent is Sioux Valley’s all-time leading leader in career assists and has more than 1,000 career points. 

Hamlin 

Record: 19-3

Coach: Todd Neuendorf

Key players: Todd Stevenson (14.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg), Easton Neuendorf (13 ppg, 4 rpg, 5.2 apg), Brennan Keszler (11.5 ppg, 4 rpg)

Notes: No. 5 Hamlin takes on No. 4 Sioux Valley at 1:45 p.m. in the quarterfinals. … The Chargers lost to Sioux Valley, 69-65, earlier this season. … Hamlin is making its first state tournament appearance since 1993. … Two of Hamlin’s three losses were against Class A state tournament qualifiers Sioux Falls Christian and Sioux Valley. The Chargers defeated state tournament qualifiers De Smet, Mount Vernon/Plankinton, Castlewood and Aberdeen Christian.

St. Thomas More

Record: 20-2

Coach: Dave Hollenbeck

Key players: Caleb Hollenbeck (21.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg), Jordan Uhlir (13 ppg, 4.2 rpg), Will Green (5.5 ppg)

Notes: No. 2 St. Thomas More plays No. 7 Elk Point-Jefferson at 6:00 p.m. in the first round. … St. Thomas More has now qualified for five straight Class A boys basketball tournaments. The Cavaliers lost to Class A state tournament qualifier Sioux Valley, while they also lost to Winner. … The Cavaliers have wins over Class A state tournament teams Hot Springs and Mount Vernon/Plankinton. 

Elk Point-Jefferson 

Record: 17-5

Coach: Jake Otkin

Key players: Easton Kempf (14 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Jakob Scarmon (9.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg), Chance Fornia (8.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg)

Notes: No. 7 Elk Point-Jefferson plays No. 2 St. Thomas More at 6:00 p.m. in the quarterfinals. … The Huskies are making their first state tournament berth since 2010. … EPJ dropped games against conference foes Sioux Falls Christian, Dell Rapids, Lennox, Dakota Valley and Tea Area. … The EPJ football team won the Class 11B state football championship in the fall. 

Sioux Falls Christian 

Record: 19-4

Coach: Mike Schouten

Key players: Ethan Bruns (17 ppg, 7 rpg), Britton Mulder (12 ppg, 3 rpg), Cole Snyder (12 ppg, 3 rpg)

Notes: No. 3 Sioux Falls Christian plays No. 6 Mount Vernon/Plankinton at 7:45 p.m. in Thursday’s quarterfinals. … The Chargers have now qualified for eight straight state tournaments. … The Chargers have lost against state tournament qualifiers Dakota Valley, Sioux Falls Jefferson and Yankton. They also lost against Western Christian, Iowa. Sioux Falls Christian defeated state tournament qualifiers Hamlin, Sioux Valley and White River. 

Mount Vernon/Plankinton 

Record: 18-5

Coach: Eric Denning

Key players: Reed Rus (18.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 3.3 spg), Jordan Stoltz (12.4 ppg, 6 rpg), Zach Baker (12.3 ppg), Mason Hetland (11.7 ppg)

Notes: No. 6 Mount Vernon/Plankinton plays No. 3 Sioux Falls Christian at 7:45 p.m. in the opening round. …MVP is making its first Class A state tournament berth since 2017. … Two of MVP’s five losses were against Class A state tournament qualifiers St. Thomas More and Hamlin. … Reed Rus is MVP’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Rus will play college football at the University of South Dakota.