WATERTOWN — The South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association (SDABA) and South Dakota Umpires Association (SDUA) are set to bestow hall of fame honors on seven men in 2025.

Five former players — Doug Schooley of Watertown, Freddy Ellis of Mitchell, Nate Henry of Dell Rapids, Lee Heimes of Wynot (NE) and the late Mike Hiltunen of Volga — are set to be inducted in the SDABA Hall of Fame in a banquet scheduled for early November.

In addition, Brad Peters of Hartford will be inducted into the South Dakota Umpires Association Hall of Fame and along with honorary inductee Dr. Tom Stotz of Yankton.

The men will be honored between Class B semifinal games in the state amateur baseball tournament on Saturday, Aug. 16 at First National Bank Field as Aspen Park in Brandon and during the Hall of Fame banquet scheduled for the first weekend of November.

The date, location, times and other details for the banquet will be announced later.

The SDABA Hall of Fame is located in Lake Norden.

Here at the biographies of the honorees:

Doug Schooley

A Yankton native who earned NAIA All-District 12 honors twice as a catcher at the University of South Dakota-Springfield in the early 1970s, Schooley played 14 years of amateur baseball with teams in Yankton, Scotland and Watertown.

Schooley was a “Pete Rose’ type of player, batting leadoff and always hustling to make things happen during the game. During his years in Scotland, he batted around .300 with an on-base percentage of .500 or better and once stole eight bases in a game. Hall of Fame nominators called him one of the best defensive catchers in the state and indicated he possessed a very accurate arm.

With Scotland, Schooley played in state championship games in 1975 and 1983. In 1975, he stole home in the top of the ninth to break a 7-7 deadlock and lift Scotland to its first state championship. Schooley earned all-tournament honors in the state tourney in both 1983 and 1984. He batted .455 in the 1983 tourney and helped Scotland advance to the championship before falling in 15 innings to Renner.

Schooley coached youth baseball and later spent many years as a teacher, coach and athletic director in Watertown. He guided Watertown to two state high school football championships.

Freddy Ellis

Ellis began his South Dakota amateur baseball journey in 1997 after moving on from his college baseball career in North Carolina, quickly establishing himself as a dominant force on the mound. He played for Letcher-Woonsocket, the Depot and CorTrust teams out of Mitchell (winning a state title as a pickup player for the Brookings Cubbys) before closing out his career with the Mount Vernon Cardinals from 2001-2012.

A left-handed pitcher with exceptional control and competitive fire, Ellis tossed five no-hitters and was always the go-to pitcher in high-stakes games. He was part of a team that won five consecutive District 5 titles and was named tournament MVP Ellis threw a no-hitter in the district championship game and pitched all 14 innings of a 2-1 loss to Canova in a state tourney.

Ellis was more than just a pitcher — he was a complete player. When not on the mound, he contributed as a reliable outfielder and a powerful hitter.

Off the field, he was the embodiment of sportsmanship and team spirit. Humble, kind, and fiercely loyal to his teammates, he led by example and left a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege to play with or against him.

Nate Henry

Save for a college baseball stint at Northern State University, the Dell Rapids native played a majority of his baseball career in his hometown (Teener, American Legion and 25 years of amateurs). He played from 1995-2021 with 23 seasons with the Dell Rapids Mudcats and two with Dell Rapids PBR.

An infielder and pitcher, he played in the state tourney every year and in five state championship games — playing for Mudcats’ teams that won titles in 2008 and 2021. Henry made the all-tourney team six times (1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2013) and won the 2003 state tourney batting title with a .643 average.

Henry finished his career with a .433 lifetime batting average to go along with 233 home runs (top 10 all-time as of 2025) and 1,153 runs batted in. He hit 12 homers in state-tourney games and drove in a record-tying 18 runs in the 2007 state tourney.

His name is plastered all over the all-time regular season and state-tourney record books. His 92 RBIs in 2007 is second-best all-time. On the mound, he recorded 57 victories during his amateur career.

Lee Heimes

Heimes has played a big role for the Wynot (NE) Expos, starting as a player in 1994 and adding the title of player-manager in 2013 (a role he still held in 2025 in his early 50s). He’s played in the state amateur baseball tournament every year, twice as a pickup player and all the other years with the Wynot squad.

With Heimes, the Expos have won two state Class B championships and finished second twice.

His ability as a player may be best defined by these two numbers: he once stole 62 consecutive bases without being caught and he once homered 26 times in one season.

In 2018, Heimes was injured in a fall from a ladder but was driven throughout his rehabilitation process to get back on the baseball field. In 2019, he received the Mark Mehlhaf Memorial Award as the SDABA’s Comeback Player of the Year.

He’s also been a successful coach away from the baseball diamond, serving as Wynot’s high school boys basketball coach for 22 years (with nine state tournament appearances and one state title. He’s also coached a state champion track and field team.

Mike Hiltunen

Hiltunen passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack in 2018 but his life was defined by his love for baseball. The Howard native’s amateur career spanned 20 years as a stellar leadoff hitter (career lifetime batting average of .360 with a keen ability to get on base) and a stellar defensive second baseman.

After playing college baseball at Augustana University, he opened his amateur career in his hometown of Howard before playing for the Canova Gang — playing on teams that played for a state championship six times in his 12 years. He had flawless fielding performances in the 1999 (23 chances without an error), 2000 (25 chances) and 2003 (27 chances) state tournaments and was part of a triple play turned the Canova Gang in 2000.

Hiltunen once hit for the cycle in 1998 and earned all-tournament honors in 2000 and 2003.

He also coached all levels of baseball in Howard, leading the town to a state B American Legion Baseball title in 1997 and a runner-up finish in 1993.

South Dakota Umpires Association

Brad Peters

The Winner native's involvement in baseball spanned over several decades. During his teenage years, he spent his summers at Leahy Bowl playing for the Winner VFW Teener (1973-74) and American Legion (1975-77) baseball programs.

The 1977 Winner High School graduate played collegiately at Black Hills State from 1978-82 and played a couple of years of amateur baseball before he incurred a serious injury that abruptly ended his playing days in 1983.

After hanging up the cleats, Peters began his umpiring career. Over the course of 35 seasons (1984-

2018), Peters officiated baseball games across South Dakota at all levels.

During his career, Peters umpired approximately 70 games per season and worked more than 2,000 games. He also had the honor to umpire in numerous state tournaments —including 12 amateur, seven American Legion, eight high school and eight VFW Teener.

Dr. Tom Stotz

Dr. Stotz began his involvement in Yankton baseball in the early 1990s when his sons started playing in the recreational leagues. In 1995, he formed the current version of the Yankton Baseball Association when his eldest son entered into the city’s VFW Baseball program.

Stotz has been on the YBA board for 30 years, serving as president for four years and the past 25 years treasurer, a position which requires nearly daily attendance at the park to pay the umpires.

After his sons began to play amateur baseball, his interest in the South Central League was piqued. He ultimately was elected to serve as the president of the South Central League in 2008, a position he continued to hold in 2025.

“This is a totally unexpected honor for which I am truly humbled. There have been so many that have sacrificed their time and energy to promote the game of baseball, from those at the beginning level all the way up to South Dakota Amateur Baseball who have sacrificed more than I can imagine for those who truly love the game,” Dr. Stotz said.