RAPID CITY — Dave Hollenbeck added another championship to his legendary coaching resume on March 21.

The West Central head coach guided the Trojans to its first state boys basketball championship since 2001 on Saturday after defeating the defending champ, Sioux Falls Christian, in the title game.

Hollenbeck, who won his fifth state title in his long coaching career, says he was especially excited about what the championship means to the community who hadn’t won a state title in 25 years.

“I’m real excited for the whole community,” Hollenbeck said. “When we started this, we said let’s do something not as a team, but for the whole community.”

But Hollenbeck is still relatively new to the West Central community. The veteran coach was hired to be the new leader of the Trojans after a 29-year run with St. Thomas More. He totaled 532 wins in Rapid City, including 16 state tournament appearances with four state titles in 2006, ‘07, ‘11 and ‘12.

So when he took a new job East of the Missouri River, he was ready for the challenge.

“I met with my seniors when I got to town, that was my first meeting,” Hollenbeck said. “I told them what we kind of needed to do culture-wise, what we needed to do strategically and they bought in the whole time. They had a heckuva season from Day 1 all the way through, they never let up. It’s just a good, fun group to coach.”

West Central head coach Dave Hollenbeck celebrate their victory over Sioux Falls Christian in the Class A championship in the boys state tournament on Saturday at Summit Arena at The Monument in Rapid City. (Matt Gade / 605 Sports)

He credits the team’s willingness to buy-in to his coaching and philosophies that allowed for a seamless transition into the Hollenbeck era.

“They bought in from Day 1,” Hollenbeck said. “I maybe scared them a little bit early on, I put a little fear in them. But credit to them, they really bought in and they carried it out throughout the year. They’re not just good basketball players, they’re great teammates, great guys.”

And Hollenbeck inherited a standout group of basketball players. The Trojans returned three starters from last year’s consolation championship squad including 6-foot-10 center Will Kuhl, 6-foot-5 forward Kolte Garry and 5-foot-10 point guard Connor Mebius.

West Central's Dave Hollenbeck talks with junior guard Connor Mebius during the Class A state championship on Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Rapid City. (Matt Gade / 605 Sports)

Kuhl and Mebius, who were selected to the all-tournament team, following the title game said how much Hollenbeck meant to this team going undefeated with a state championship.

“He means a lot,” said Kuhl, a future Northern State men’s basketball player. “Obviously, this was hard and he definitely made it hard on us. He told us it wasn’t going to be easy, but he said it’s easier than you think, you just got to do it and work as hard as you can.”

“Super important, he’s the biggest piece,” Mebius added. “He’s super intense. He pushes us everyday to make us better and he’s a really great coach.”

Hollenbeck is now tied with Mike Tuschen for the sixth most wins in state boys basketball history with 557. He says he’s had many memorable seasons throughout the years, but to go undefeated in his first year in a new program is definitely towards the top.

“Extremely (memorable),” Hollenbeck said. “My 2006 team went undefeated and they were a special group just like these guys. To go undefeated, it’s really hard and in our conference (Dak-XII), that’s a tough conference. Night after night after night, we’re getting people’s best punch, and we answered. We answered the bell.”