CHESTER — Coming down to his final days of high school baseball and track and field, JD Prorok is representing Chester with countless dominant performances.

On the diamond, Prorok is a 6-foot-4 commanding ace for undefeated Madison/Chester/Oldham-Ramona/Rutland.

On the year, Prorok leads the Bulldogs in innings pitched with 27 with a 5-0 record, allowing just four unearned runs on five hits and seven walks, recording 56 strikeouts in that span. He’s also batting .586 with a .707 on-base percentage in 41 plate appearances, with six doubles, nine walks and 13 RBIs.

But this season hasn’t been anything different for the two-time first team all-state pitcher. In the prior two seasons combined, Prorok has allowed just 12 earned runs (16 total runs) in 67 innings, tallying 145 strikeouts in that stretch as well.

Madison/Chester/Oldham-Ramona/Rutland's JD Prorok pitches during the first round of the Class B state high school baseball tournament last season on May 26, 2025, in Brookings.

He’s helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back state tournament appearances, but have yet to win its quarterfinal game in the past two attempts. Prorok says he feels this year’s group feels ready to turn the page.

“With the past couple years we know we’ve had good players, but with this year we have good players and we work together,” Prorok said. “This group has been playing together since 8U and it seems like this group just works together and we’re all on the same page. This year, it feels different. We show up to a ballpark, we do our job, get things done and we leave. It’s been a good season so far.”

And while he gears up for postseason baseball, Prorok is also one of the top shot put throwers in Class B boys track and field.

Prorok is currently ranked fourth in the event with a distance of 48-11.50 recorded at the Danielsen Relays on April 28. He also competes in the javelin throw, where his season best mark of 142-09 is 12th in Class B, and discus.

“I feel like I’m doing pretty good,” Prorok said. “I’ve had multiple meets where I’ve PR’d and I just keep getting better and better throughout the season. Right now, we’re building where we need to be with state coming up in a couple weeks.”

JD Prorok of Chester competes in the boys shot put during the Howard Wood Dakota relays Friday, May 1 2026 in Sioux Falls. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

And Prorok isn’t a stranger to the dual-sport spring season, earning sixth place at the Class B state track and field meet in shot put last season while taking 11th in the javelin throw.

Despite the different arm angles and weighted objects Prorok competes with, he says there aren't many problems switching between the two sports.

“Shot put and discus isn’t too bad but with that javelin, overhand throw, it’s kind of tweaked the throwing angle,” Prorok said. “It takes an inning or so to get back to it, but it’s not too bad. Haven’t had any arm issues so I can’t complain.”

As he closes out the final chapter in his high school career, Prorok says he’ll miss the small-town aspect he gets in the Chester community.

“You know everyone, everyone’s there for you, the teammates,” Prorok said. “I know every single one of my teammates and that’s something you don’t really get with the big schools. You don’t really know every single teammate but with the small schools, I think that’ll be the thing I miss the most is just knowing everyone and everyone being there for me.”

But Prorok’s athletic career isn’t over just yet. He’ll go on to play baseball for Northwestern College (Iowa) in the fall after announcing his commitment to the Raiders in November 2025.

He says the main reason for choosing Orange City, Iowa, for his future came from a personal tragedy he experienced during his sophomore year.

JD’s father, Moody County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Ken Prorok, was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 2, 2024.

“I kind of fell in love with it right away as soon as we stepped on,” Prorok said of NWC. “The part that really sold me was the religious part. With dad passing a couple of years ago, I’ve grown closer with God and just that part drew me in.”

He added how the Raiders’ baseball team experienced a similar tragedy as him when a student-coach for NWC, Aden De Jong, passed away last year on Feb. 3, nearly a year to the day of his father’s passing.

“They know the journey, they know the grief journey and just them being there for me and saying they understand what I’m going through, that was a huge selling part,” Prorok said.

JD was in the middle of his sophomore basketball season when his father passed, but was welcomed with a packed Chester gymnasium with numerous law enforcement officers there to honor him and his family at the very next home game.

“It was very special and very important,” Prorok said. “With a small community, everyone is there for everyone, and that’s continued from the night that he passed. The night that he passed, we had people out of the house asking what they could do, and that still continues to this day.”