RAPID CITY — Wyatt Gylten is continuing a basketball family tradition.

The St. Thomas More High School senior boys basketball player will play college basketball next season at Gillette College, a two-year community college in Gillette, Wyoming. Gylten’s goal is to play Division I college basketball, and said Gillette is the best two-year stop for his aspirations. 

“They have high-level basketball,” Gylten said. “They play about 50 games in a season and they have like an 80% rate of advancing their kids to Division I. It's a great program.” 

When Gylten suits up for the Pronghorns, he’ll carry on a family tradition of college basketball, a sport that runs deep in his family.

“It’s run down my whole family tree, and my sister (Dru) played Division I at Utah,” Gylten said. “My grandpa (Jerry Schultz) played at North Dakota and it’s been passed down. So I have been playing my whole life.”

The college basketball tradition began with Schultz, who played basketball and baseball at the University of North Dakota. He was an all-conference baseball player, and averaged double figures in scoring his junior and senior seasons. He was also a co-captain (with Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Phil Jackson) during his senior year.

Dru played five seasons at Utah, where she finished among the all-time leaders in career assists. She later played one season at South Dakota State University, capping off a career in which she played 138 games. 

Dru’s college basketball experience has given Wyatt a valuable resource for guidance. 

“She is always sending me a bunch of notes and so I really listen to her and follow up with her,” said Wyatt, whose parents are Kristi and Daniel Gylten. 

Wyatt is the youngest sibling in his family, joined by Dru, Michael and Riley. Wyatt said growing up as the youngest helped his development, and he still leans on his older siblings for advice. 

“They still text me today and tell me to keep pushing and they're always on me,” Wyatt said. “Just like they were back in the day. So it helps me a lot.” 

Wyatt’s older siblings were also St. Thomas More Cavaliers, an athletic program that’s been accustomed to decades of success. 

St. Thomas More's Wyatt Gylten (10) passes the ball against Lennox on Jan. 24 at the Hanson Classic in Mitchell. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

The boys and girls basketball programs are synonymous with a rich hoops tradition, a big reason why Wyatt is a Cavalier.
“Mainly the reason I am at STM is because of basketball,” said Gylten, a 6-foot-4 guard. “Their culture has been amazing with top-level teams and schools.”

This season, the St. Thomas More boys basketball team is under new leadership. Tony Young, a long-time Cavalier assistant coach, took over the program when veteran coach Dave Hollenbeck was named head coach at West Central. 

Gylten said Young has been instrumental in maintaining the sustained success for the Cavaliers. 

“We are kind of playing like a college team,” said Gylten, a three-year starter. “We have been taking a lot of notes and moving it around. We are scoring more, moving the ball around, getting everyone associated with each other. So it’s going pretty well.”

The Cavaliers are currently ranked No. 4 in Class A, with an 8-3 record. St. Thomas More has dropped games against Kearney, Nebraska, along with games against Class A No. 1 West Central and Class A No. 9 Lennox at the recent Hanson Classic in Mitchell. 

Gylten logged 18 points, six rebounds and four assists against Lennox, a game in which STM nearly rallied back from a 17-point deficit for the win. 

The Cavaliers will host Class AA No. 4 Spearfish (7-0) on Jan. 27 in a key Black Hills Conference game. St. Thomas More will play Class A No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian on Feb. 14 at the DWU/Culver’s Classic in Mitchell. The Cavaliers will play at Class A No. 5 Mahpiya Luta on Feb. 10 in another Black Hills Conference contest. 

Gylten said facing the perennial powers will help in their quest for a state tournament run. 

“Obviously we are trying to make the state tournament,” Gylten said. “We have Sioux Falls Christian coming up in February. We played these guys (Lennox). We played West Central. So I think it’s preparing us well and we will get back to it at practice.”