MITCHELL, S.D. — Longtime Mitchell High School coach Deb Thill will be inducted into the South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame later this month, recognizing more than three decades of success and service in high school athletics.
Thill is part of the SDHSCA’s 2025-26 Hall of Fame class and will be honored during the association’s 55th Annual Awards Ceremony at 1 p.m. July 19 at the Mitchell Performing Arts Center.
A 1981 Groton High School graduate, Thill earned a degree in health, physical education and recreation from South Dakota State University in 1985 before completing a master’s degree from Emporia State University in 2010.
Thill started Mitchell High School’s volleyball program in 1991, one of the last Class AA schools in the state to add the sport. She quickly turned the Kernels into a perennial contender, leading the program to state championships in 1995 and 2003.
She joined the Mitchell girls basketball coaching staff in 1992 and helped guide the program through South Dakota’s transition to a winter season. The Kernels captured the Class AA state championship in 2003.
Thill also has made an impact in track and field. She began coaching the sport in 2013 and became the Kernels’ head coach in 2022, mentoring several state champion high jump athletes.
Among her career honors are South Dakota Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2003, induction into the South Dakota Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011, recognition as a finalist for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association National Volleyball Coach of the Year award in 2012, and the Max Hawk Award in 2022.
Beyond coaching, Thill has served in leadership roles within the coaching profession, including as president of the South Dakota High School Coaches Association in 2008. She also served on the association’s board of directors and spent nine years on the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Board.
Her induction also marks a milestone for the association, as she and her father, Richard Donovan, become the first father-daughter duo inducted into the SDHSCA Hall of Fame. Richard Donovan entered the Hall of Fame in 2001.
Thill and her husband, Shane, have two children, Jordan and Bridget.