The Black Hills State University football team signed four South Dakotans on Wednesday, Feb. 5. 

The four South Dakotans to sign with the Yellow Jackets include: Ryder Michalek (Wessington Springs), Dalyn Dschaak (Sturgis), Noah Schaefers (Sturgis) and Sam Knuth (Harrisburg). 

Ryder Michalek was an all-state wide receiver for Woonsocket-Wessington Springs-Sanborn Central. He hauled in 58 receptions for 721 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024, helping lead the Blackhawks to a 7-3 record. A 4-year prep career that resulted in 158 receptions, 2,311 yards, and 23 touchdowns. In addition to his 2024 all-state selection, he earned the accolade previously in 2023 to go along with being a 3-time honoree on the Southeast South Dakota Conference All-Conference team (2022, 2023, and 2024). 

Sam Knuth joins the Yellow Jackets after a stellar prep career at Harrisburg High School. A 2024 Honorable Mention Class 11AAA selection, closed out his HHS career with a total of 6,216 career yards and 67 touchdowns, including 362-of-549 (66%) passing for 5,159 yards and 50 touchdowns. In just his second career start in 2023, Knuth passed for a record-breaking 436 yards through the air in a victory over Brandon Valley, which was the most passing yards in a single game in Harrisburg history. The big game early in his junior season set himself up for a big season overall, which included 2,496 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. A 3-star recruit and No. 9 ranked player in the state of South Dakota by 247Sports, Knuth originally committed to Division I University of St. Thomas. Other accolades earned include a pair of First Team All-Metro Conference and First Team All-ESD Conference honors.

Dalyn Dschaak was a two-way standout at nearby Sturgis Brown High School. Dschaak will be sliding into the tight end spot once he arrives in Spearfish next fall. He was a 4-year letterwinner, 3-year starter, and a 2-year captain (2023 and 2024) for the Scoopers, totaling 46 receptions, 574 yards, 12.47 yards per catch, and eight touchdowns during his prep career. On the defensive side of the ball, he recorded 34 tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery, one interception, and one defensive touchdown while staring at SBHS. Highlighting his prep career was recognition as Honorable Mention All-Black Hills Conference in 2023 after recording 25 receptions, 251 yards, three touchdowns, 10.04 yards per catch to go along with 23 tackles, one sack, one tackle-for-loss, one interception, and one defensive touchdown.

Noah Schaefers helped anchor the Sturgis Brown High School offensive line. While the Scoopers only posted a 3-6 record during his senior season, among those three wins was a massive 15-10 upset of SDHSAA Class 11AA No. 4 Spearfish in the final week of the regular season, shaking up the state playoff seeding. As a starter during the 2024 campaign the SBHS offense averaged 18.1 points per game while totaling 375 passing yards and 781 rushing yards. Highlighting his prep career was a trip to the SDHSAA Class 11AA State Quarterfinals for Sturgis Brown in 2023 as the team posted a 6-4 record, the program's most wins since 2018.