By Rich Winter

605 Sports

It has been a special season of basketball for hoops fans of Dell Rapids St. Mary. For the first time in school history both the boys and girls qualified to play in the state tournament in the same calendar year. 

Any state tournament appearance is amazing, but sharing that experience with the ones you love adds another layer of flavor to the equation. 

“I’ve been at this school for three years and the excitement from the community the last three weeks has been amazing,” Nate Beckman, Dell Rapids assistant boys coach said. “In the second round of the region tournament our side of the bleachers was packed, everyone was wearing black and that was before the Colman-Egan bus even showed up.” 

The basketball teams at Dell Rapids St. Mary are loaded with siblings. The Cardinal boys have first cousins Maverick and Lincoln LeBrun playing in Aberdeen at the Class B state tournament this week. Lincoln’s sister, Maddyn, played on the Cardinals team that finished fourth in the Class B girls tournament last week. 

Lincoln and Maddyn LeBrun are a sister and brother tandem that found their way to the state tournament this year.

Madala Hanson has been a mutli-sport standout for the Cardinals starting in middle-school when she was an outstanding distance runner. The past few years her basketball game blossomed into her best sport.

Her brother Trimmier is a 5-foot-11 junior on the boys team. 

Class B state tournament fans are well aware of the LeBrun family name. 

Maverick LeBrun’s older brother is Dylan LeBrun, who played his college basketball at Augustana University and was named the NSIC defensive player of the year during his playing days. 

Maverick LeBrun, a -feet-4, 205 pound player, has signed to play football with South Dakota State University. 

“It’s really cool for the communities and the families involved,” Nate Beckman said. “These state tournament runs have brought us all together and it’s been amazing to feel all this in our small school and community.” 

Dell Rapids St. Mary senior Trevon Beckman doesn’t have an immediate connection to the LeBruns but he does have a familial connection on the team — his father. 

Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals guard Trevon Beckman (4) looks to pass the ball during the Boys Hanson Classic. Beckman is the leading scorer for the Cardinals - (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

Beckman was a Class B second-team all-state selection last season averaging 20.2 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game and 4.5 as a junior. 

Beckman did not rest on his laurels and this summer the young man worked on his shooting and made around 90,000 shots during the summer. 

When Beckman was as young as two years old his parents recall him not wanting to watch cartoons but instead clamoring to sit and watch basketball. The summer before his junior year Beckman put up 50,000 shots and the increased workload for this year came after losing to Gregory in the 2024 SoDaK 16. 

“He took about a week off but then started working towards a goal of making 80,000 shots,” Nate Beckman said. “That number doesn’t include warming up, it only counts game shots. After losing to Gregory he wanted to do everything in his power to make sure the team would go to a state tournament.”

The dedication to practice paid off as he is now averaging 25.5 points per game and is shooting 59 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. 

Beckman, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Dakota Valley Conference this season, will play basketball at Doane University next year. Trevon’s father Nathan is an assistant coach on the 2025 Dell Rapids boys team and played four years at Doane.