By Matt Gade

605 Sports

WALL — To say Teelan Kjerstad is passionate about basketball would probably be an understatement.

The 6’1 junior Wall Eagle loves basketball so much that there really is no off-season.

Even as a part of the Eagles’ 9A state championship football team, Kjerstad was still in basketball mode, too. 

“I played basketball throughout football,” the all-state defensive back said. “I was going to the gym probably, like four days a week.”

That dedication to the sport of basketball is no surprise for Wall head basketball coach and Teelan’s father, Ryan Kjerstad.

“There are moments where it's like — maybe gets a little bit stressful, where it's like you have to separate the two between life and basketball. But I mean, for us, it is a great relationship builder for us as a father-son,” Ryan said. “It's been really fun to see him develop. And probably the best part for me is seeing his work ethic because what you see here is because of the work that he puts in. You know, he does have talent, but he puts in a tremendous amount of time.”

That talent was recognized on Dec. 30 when the Eagles played Little Wound and Teelan scored his 1,000th career point.

A milestone, while achieved by Teelan, is one that Ryan said comes from the supporting cast around Teelan.

“It's in large part because we have a tremendous group of kids that put in the time, that work, that are very unselfish,” Ryan said. “Yeah, Teelan gets a lot of the spotlight image as well, but when you have guys like Dawson Handcock, who is a tremendous athlete, and has the humility to say, ‘You know what, I'm going to be a rebounder, I'll score when I need to.’ And then you got Younger Amiotte, right. You got Jace Mohr at the point guard, who could be a scorer as well. Trevor Schulz just does all the little things, right. Emmet (Dinger), too. We got tremendous guys on the bench too, and in practice, that makes us better every day.”

As a sophomore, Teelan averaged 19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 3.3 steals. So far this season, Teelan is averaging 25.9 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 4.5 steals.

So far this season, the sixth-ranked Eagles are 7-3 with tough losses against Class A foes Mahpiya Luta and Pine Ridge at the Lakota Nation Invitational and a 61-51 loss to Class B’s top-ranked Viborg-Hurley at the Midwest Miracles Classic on Jan. 3.

“You just have to battle back. They're all learning experiences,” Teelan said. 

While the losses were tough to stomach for Teelan, he said getting to play against other top players in the state such as Marvin Richard III from Pine Ridge and Brady Schroedermeier from Viborg-Hurley, was a fun experience.

In 2025, the Eagles qualified for the Class B state tournament for just the second time in school history and recorded their first-ever win at the state tournament. 

The Eagles finished fifth with a 79-67 win over Freeman in the consolation championship game.

“We're hoping that this team is not finished, you know, we're going to continue to build on that legacy that this group has established,” Ryan said.

The group of Eagle upperclassmen has a bond so strong that they’ve been playing basketball together since they were in third grade with Ryan as one of their primary coaches the entire time.

Ryan said while he was coaching Teelan, he was learning a lot about the game of basketball too. 

“(Teelan’s) kind of carried the load for me, honestly. I mean, it's been super fun, obviously, but a learning curve for us both,” Ryan said. “We're fortunate to be surrounded by not only really good players throughout that whole time frame, but tremendous coaches, you know, Kent and Josh Mueller have been instrumental with myself and this group.”

While Teelan and Ryan are father-son, most of their time together now is probably spent in the gym together, according to both.

“Practice is probably the biggest time frame we spend together,” Ryan said. “I mean, we try to eat supper as much as we can together, but honestly, beyond that, it's like, yeah, ‘too cool for the family right now.’ Which I get it. 

“They got a really good group of just solid people, solid families. And they love hanging out. And, I mean, they're super, I don't know, someday they're gonna look back and understand how special it was to have the group.”

While Ryan and Teelan and the rest of the Eagles are taking it game-by-game to make sure they have another run, the duo still get competitive at times with each other.

“All the time,” Teelan said of the competitiveness between the two. “We go to the gym together. He will try to one-on-one me. I obviously beat him.”

“I actually have to say that, unfortunately, in the last couple of years, it's a miracle if I compete, but I gotta, I gotta take a shot at least a few times a year,” Ryan said.