THURSDAY SPORTS, FEBRUARY 26, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Dave Brooks will retire as head coach of Mitchell girls basketball at the end of the 2025–26 season. Brooks leaves after four years, compiling a 58–33 record, guiding Mitchell to three straight Class AA state tournament appearances, and capturing an ESD conference title in 2024. The Kernels are currently 12–7 heading into their regular-season finale. Brooks previously served as an assistant before taking over the program in 2022. The search for the next head coach will begin immediately.
— Mitchell Kernels basketball ends the regular season on Thursday night at O’Gorman. The Mitchell girls are coming off a 54-34 home loss on Tuesday vs. No. 1 Brandon Valley. The Kernels are 12-7 on the season and are seventh in AA seed points with a home game next Friday in the SoDAK 16. Meanwhile, the Mitchell boys are 8-10 on the season after a 55-39 loss to Brandon Valley on Tuesday. The Kernels are 12th in seed points and will be on the road next Saturday for their SoDAK 16 game. Pregame on KORN News Radio starts at 5:45 with the doubleheader to start at 6 pm.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball advanced to the GPAC tournament semifinals with a 74-45 win over Doane at the Corn Palace on Wednesday night. The Tigers put the game away outscoring Doane 27-7 in the second quarter. Shalayne Nagel led six DWU players in double figures with 14 points, while Maleighya Estes added 13 points off the bench. The Tigers host No. 3 seed Hastings in the conference tournament semifinals on Saturday at 3 pm at the Corn Palace. The winner advanced to the GPAC tournament final on Tuesday.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball saw its season come to an end on Wednesday night with a 112-79 loss at Northwestern in the GPAC tournament quarterfinals. The Tigers trailed 65-29 at halftime. Randy Rosenquist Jr. had a team-high 16 points. DWU ends the season with a 14-15 record.
— Dakota Wesleyan softball travels to Sioux Center, Iowa, for four games this weekend. The Tigers face Dickinson State on Friday at 4 pm, followed by Haskell at 6:30 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball will be at York (Neb.) for a three game series. Game one is Thursday at 4 pm, followed by a Friday doubleheader at Noon.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s basketball gave North Dakota State its first conference loss of the season with a 59-44 victory in Fargo on Wednesday night. The Jacks held NDSU to just 31% shooting from the field and 2-of-14 from three. Madison Mathiowetz had a game-high 23 points, while Brooklyn Meyer added 18 points and 11 rebounds. SDSU ends the regular season on Saturday when they host USD at 6 pm.
— South Dakota State men’s basketball will be at Kansas City on Thursday at 7 pm. The Jackrabbits are a half game behind USD for sixth place in the Summit League with a 6-8 conference record. SDSU and USD will play on Saturday in Vermillion.
— South Dakota State softball, 12-4 on the season, head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, next weekend with two games on Friday and two on Saturday.
— South Dakota State baseball will be at Central Arkansas on Friday for the start of a four-game series.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD women’s basketball used a strong fourth quarter to pull away from North Dakota on Wednesday night, winning 80-66. The Coyotes would win the fourth quarter 23-13, led by Angelina Robles 17 points. USD will be at SDSU on Saturday night at 6 pm with the winner securing the No. 2 seed for next week’s Summit League tournament.
— USD men’s basketball picked up an 89-72 home win on Wednesday night vs. Omaha. Jordan Crawford finished with a game-high 28 points and 5-of-7 shooting from three. The Coyotes host SDSU on Saturday at 1 pm in Vermillion to end the regular season.
— USD softball travel to Miami this weekend for five games, starting on Friday at 9 am vs. Harvard.
MLB
— Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer is returning to the Toronto Blue Jays for his 19th major league season. The 41-year-old right-hander agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal that could include up to $10 million in bonuses. Scherzer threw 85 innings for the Blue Jays last season and made three postseason starts, including Game 7 of the World Series. The eight-time All-Star owns a 221–117 career record with 3,489 strikeouts, 11th most all-time.
— CC Sabathia’s No. 52 will be retired on Sept. 26 by the New York Yankees, who will dedicate a plaque in honor of the Hall of Famer pitcher at Monument Park before that day’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. Sabathia will be the 24th man to have his number retired by the Yankees, the first since Paul O’Neill in 2022.
NFL
— Contract talks are ongoing between the Dallas Cowboys and Pro Bowl kicker Brandon Aubrey. Both sides agree Aubrey should become the NFL’s highest-paid kicker, but they remain far apart on price. The Cowboys have offered more than the current top average of $6.4 million per year held by Kansas City’s Harrison Butker, while Aubrey’s camp is seeking closer to $10 million. The 31-year-old has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons and holds the NFL record with six field goals of 60 yards or longer.
— The NFL is considering a significant officiating tweak that would allow replay officials to throw penalty flags in limited situations. League executive Troy Vincent says the competition committee is discussing a narrow starting point, letting replay review step in on clear “non-football acts” that on-field officials miss, such as punches or other unsportsmanlike conduct. League officials stressed there is still hesitation about replacing on-field judgment and emphasized any change would likely be small and carefully tested. In other league notes: Special teams coaches are reviewing kickoff rules to further reduce injuries, though the league believes the current format is already safer than the previous version. No team submitted a proposal to ban the “tush push,” though the committee did discuss rules about aiding the runner. The league reported ACL tear rates were at a seven-year low in 2025. There is currently no movement toward adopting a fourth-and-15 alternative to the onside kick.
GOLF
— Tiger Woods is approaching key decisions on both his playing future and a possible leadership role with Team USA. Woods says he has not ruled out competing in the Masters this April, though he has not played competitively in more than a year while recovering from injuries and back surgery. At the same time, the PGA of America wants Woods to decide before the Masters whether he will serve as U.S. captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland. Woods says his heavy workload helping reshape the PGA Tour schedule is a major factor in the decision, adding he wants to be sure he can give the Ryder Cup role the attention it deserves.
NBA
— Jalen Duren had 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Cade Cunningham added 29 points and 13 assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 124-116 in a matchup of conference leaders. The Thunder started the game without five of their six leading scorers. The Pistons now have the best record in the NBA at 43-14.
— Nikola Jokic had 30 points and 12 rebounds to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Boston Celtics 103-84. Denver is percentage points behind Houston for third place in the Western Conference.
— Kevin Porter Jr. had 20 points and Ryan Rollins added 18 as the Milwaukee Bucks held off the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-116 for their fifth victory in six games. The Cavaliers appeared to tie it on Jarrett Allen’s basket underneath at the buzzer, but it was ruled that time had expired. Allen had 27 points and 11 rebounds.
— Devin Vassell scored 21 points and De’Aaron Fox added 20 as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Toronto Raptors 110-107, extending their season-best win streak to 10 games. The Spurs are now two games behind Oklahoma City for best record in the Western Conference.
— Reed Sheppard made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 28 points, while Alperen Sengun had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists as the Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings 128-97.
— Will Richard scored 21 points as the Golden State Warriors routed the Memphis Grizzlies 133-112.
AA BOYS BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
No. 4 Watertown vs. No. 5 Harrisburg
No. 5 Tea Area vs. Marshall (Minn.)
O’Gorman vs. Mitchell
AA GIRLS BASKETBALL – THURSDAY
No. 2 O’Gorman vs. Mitchell
Harrisburg vs. Watertown
CLASS B REGION GIRLS TOURNAMENT – THURSDAY
WINNERS ADVANCE TO THE SoDAK 16
REGION 1B
No. 1 Waubay/Summit vs. No. 5 Hitchcock-Tulare
No. 2 Northwestern vs. No. 3 Warner
REGION 2B
No. 1 Arlington vs. No. 5 De Smet – 6 pm at DSU in Madison
No. 2 Castlewood vs. No. 3 Deubrook Area – 7:30 pm at DSU in Madison
REGION 3B
No. 1 Ethan vs. No. 4 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket – 6 pm in Madison on Q107.3
No. 2 Colman-Egan vs. No. 3 Chester – 7:15 pm in Madison
REGION 4B
No. 1 Parkston vs. No. 4 Freeman – 7 pm on KORN Country 92.1
No. 2 Centerville vs. No. 3 Gayville-Volin – 7 pm
REGION 5B
No. 1 Lyman vs. No. 5 Burke – 6 pm at the Corn Palace
No. 2 Corsica-Stickney vs. No. 3 Gregory – 7:30 pm at the Corn Palace
REGION 6B
No. 1 Highmore-Harrold vs. No. 4 North Central – 7 pm
No. 2 Herreid/Selby Area vs. No. 3 Ipswich – 7 pm
REGION 7B
No. 1 Bennett County vs. No. 4 Kadoka Area
No. 2 Wall vs. No. 3 Jones County
REGION 8B
No. 1 Harding County vs. No. 5 Timber Lake – 6 pm
No. 3 McIntosh vs. No. 7 Faith – 6 pm
CLASS A REGION GIRLS TOURNAMENT – THURSDAY
WINNERS ADVANCE TO THE SoDAK 16
REGION 1A
No. 1 Aberdeen Roncalli vs. No. 4 Sisseton – 7 pm
No. 2 Groton Area vs. No. 3 Milbank
REGION 2A
No. 1 Hamlin vs. No. 4 Florence/Henry – 7 pm
No. 2 Sioux Valley vs. No. 3 Clark/Willow Lake – 7 pm
REGION 3A
No. 1 West Central vs. No. 4 Tri-Valley – 7 pm
No. 2 Dell Rapids vs. No. 3 Flandreau – 7 pm
REGION 4A
No. 1 Lennox vs. No. 4 Canton – 7 pm
No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian vs. No. 3 Vermillion – 7 pm
REGION 5A
No. 1 Wagner vs. No. 4 Mount Vernon/Plankinton – 7 pm
No. 2 McCook Central/Montrose vs. No. 3 Hanson – 7 pm
REGION 6A
No. 1 Mobridge-Pollock vs. No. 5 Platte-Geddes
No. 2 Miller vs. No. 3 Cheyenne-Eagle Butte
REGION 7A
No. 1 Mahpiya Luta vs. No. 4 St. Francis Indian – 7 pm CST
No. 2 Lakota Tech vs. No. 3 Winner – 7 pm CST
REGION 8A
No. 1 Rapid City Christian vs. No. 5 Belle Fourche – 7 pm CST
No. 2 St. Thomas More vs. No. 3 Hill City – 7 pm CST