Paul Raasch, head coach of Castlewood's state B boys basketball champion team, has been named the Region 2 Head Coach of the Year by the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association. Jeff Lockner, an assistant coach for Brandon Valley girls, received the Region 5 Assistant Girls Coach of the Year award. Raasch led Castlewood to a 24-2 record and a state Class B boys basketball championship, while Lockner's team finished as the state Class AA tournament runner-up with a 21-3 record.
Other area coaches honored include Jerome Nesheim of Clark-Willow Lake (Region 1 boys), Andrea Begeman of Clark-Willow Lake and Matt Locke of Groton Area (Region 1 girls), Brad DeBeer of Deubrook Area (Region 2 girls), and Stephen Hettick of Mobridge-Pollock (Region 4 girls). Notable performances from the recognized teams include Clark-Willow Lake boys finishing eighth in the state Class A tournament, Deubrook Area girls making their first-ever State B tournament appearance and finishing eighth, Mobridge-Pollock girls placing sixth in the State A tournament, and Groton Area girls ending with a 15-7 record and Clark-Willow Lake girls with a 12-9 record.
Additionally, in the same awards ceremony, various assistant coaches were acknowledged, including Paul Fischer of Aberdeen Roncalli (Region 1 assistant boys), Amanda Bain of Aberdeen Roncalli (Region 1 assistant girls), and several others from different regions. Denise Clemens of Northwestern and Hank Taken Alive of Mobridge-Pollock were recognized as top lower-level coaches in Regions 1-4.