THURSDAY SPORTS, MAY 21, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels boys tennis is heading to the Class AA state tournament Thursday and Friday in Rapid City, looking to build on last year’s sixth-place finish. The Kernels enter after taking third at the ESD Conference meet. Top seeds include Dawson Adams in Flight 4 singles and Dayton Adams in Flight 6, who recently won an ESD title. Tournament play begins at 10 a.m. both days at the Sioux Park Complex in Rapid City.
— Mitchell track and field competes on Thursday at the Wendelgass Relays in Huron ahead of the Class AA state meet next week in Sioux Falls. In the boys sprints, Mitchell’s Alexier Padilla appears three times in the all-state top 10, ranking seventh in the 200 meters (22.05), seventh in the 400 meters (49.96), and eighth in the 100 meters (10.83). Padilla also helped anchor Mitchell’s presence in the relay rankings this season. In the field events, Mitchell’s Bryer Stach is among the state’s best in throws, ranking sixth in shot put with a mark of 53 feet, 6.5 inches and seventh in discus at 163 feet.
— Mitchell girls golf will compete at the Brookings Invitational on Thursday at 10 am at the Brookings Country Club.
— Mitchell Kernels softball ended the regular season with a 3-13 overall and is currently the 14th seed in Class AA. Mitchell would match up with No. 3 seed Sioux Falls Washington. The SoDAK 16 is set for Tuesday, May 26.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State baseball opened the Summit League Tournament with a 7–3 upset win over top-seeded Oral Roberts Wednesday in Minneapolis. Sam Schlecht led the Jacks with 7 1/3 innings, striking out eight without issuing a walk. SDSU scored two runs in the fourth inning, four runs in the sixth and an insurance run in the eighth. The win marked the Jackrabbits’ first-ever postseason victory over Oral Roberts. With the win, SDSU advances in the double-elimination tournament and will face the winner of Omaha and Northern Colorado Thursday evening, while Oral Roberts drops into an elimination game.
— South Dakota State has been named the Summit League Sportsmanship Award winner for the 2025–26 academic year. League officials announced the honor Wednesday, recognizing SDSU for excellence in sportsmanship across student-athlete, coach, staff, and game-day conduct. It marks the third time the Jackrabbits have received the award, joining previous wins in 2009 and 2011. SDSU also finished second in the Summit League Commissioner’s Cup and the league’s men’s and women’s all-sports standings.
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK
— Hanson track and field claimed four event titles Wednesday at the Hanson Invitational in Alexandria. Jason Porth won the boys triple jump and helped Hanson capture the boys 4-by-100 relay, while Lillian Bahmuller won the girls pole vault as the Beavers also took the girls 4-by-800 relay. Freeman won the boys team title and finished second in the girls standings by one point behind West Central. Kimball/White Lake’s Lincoln Kranig swept the sprint events, winning the 100, 200 and 400-meter races ahead of next week’s state meet.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Joe Ryan matched his career high with 12 strikeouts over six innings, while Ryan Kreidler hit a three-run home run as the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 4-1. Ryan retired his last 16 batters after an RBI single by Christian Vázquez in the second. The Twins start a three-game series at Boston on Friday night at 6:10 pm.
CLASS B HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL REGIONAL PLAYOFFS
WEST (Wednesday in Platte)
No. 1 Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake 14, No. 8. Chamberlain/Kimball/Lyman 7
No. 1 Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake 6, No. 4 Rapid City Christian 1
— Top-seeded Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake baseball and Winner/Colome advanced to the Class B state tournament Wednesday by winning West Super Regional titles. The Honkers beat Rapid City Christian 6-1 behind a complete-game effort from Keaton Christensen, while the Royals rolled past Belle Fourche 18-8 after opening the day with a win over Hot Springs. In the North Regional, Madison/Chester/ORR and Clark Area also secured state tournament berths. The Class B state tournament begins May 25 in Brookings.
CLASS A BASEBALL STATE TOURNAMENT – FRIDAY AT RONKEN FIELD, SIOUX FALLS
No. 1 Harrisburg (12-4) vs. No. 8 Watertown (12-7) – 5 pm
No. 2 Brandon Valley (17-3) vs. No. 7 O’Gorman (16-9) – 7:30 pm
No. 3 Sioux Falls Jefferson (18-5) vs. No. 6 Pierre (18-8) – Noon
No. 4 Yankton (20-4) vs. No. 5 Rapid City Stevens (17-4) – 2:30 pm
Winners advance to Saturday’s semifinals with the championship game at 7:30 pm
CLASS B BASEBALL STATE TOURNAMENT – MONDAY AT BOB SHELDEN FIELD, BROOKINGS
No. 1 West Central vs. No. 8 Clark Area
No. 2 Madison/Chester/Oldham-Ramona/Rutland vs. No. 7 Winner/Colome
No. 3 Lennox vs. No. 6 Dakota Valley
No. 4 Vermillion vs. No. 5 Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake
NBA
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder evened the Western Conference Finals with a 122-113 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 Wednesday night. Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 25 points, while Victor Wembanyama finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds. Game 3 is Friday night in San Antonio.
— San Antonio’s double overtime victory over Oklahoma City on Monday night was the most-watched Western Conference Game 1 final in league history, averaging 9.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. The audience peaked at 12 million for the second overtime. Monday night’s game was the second-most watched of this year’s playoffs. It is a strong start to the conference finals after the first two rounds averaged 4.5 million per game across ABC, ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. That is the highest average since 1997, and a 16% increase over last year.
— Dallas’ Cooper Flagg, Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel and Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe were unanimous first-team selections for the NBA’s All-Rookie team, which was unveiled Wednesday night. Also making first-team All-Rookie: San Antonio’s Dylan Harper and Memphis’ Cedric Coward. The NBA will announce the All-Defensive team on Friday and the All-NBA team on Sunday, with Coach of the Year set to be announced Tuesday.
NBA PLAYOFFS – THURSDAY
New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 pm on ESPN – New York leads the Eastern Conference Finals 1-0
NFL
— Aaron Rodgers announced Wednesday that the 2026 NFL season will be his final year in the league, saying, “This is it” when asked about his future beyond a 23rd season. The 42-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is entering his 22nd NFL season and said he made the decision while weighing his return for another year with the organization. Rodgers noted he feels healthy enough to play, but wants to end his career on his own terms. Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, helped lead the Steelers to an AFC North title last season.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is facing long odds in his legal effort to overturn a potential permanent NCAA ban tied to gambling violations, according to an NCAA infractions expert. Sorsby was declared ineligible after acknowledging he wagered on sports, including bets involving his own team during his time at Indiana in 2022. He has since filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction that would allow him to play while his eligibility case is reviewed, arguing the NCAA has delayed the reinstatement process. However, sports law experts say the NCAA has consistently enforced its strict gambling policy, which permanently bans athletes who bet on their own team or sport. The case remains ongoing, with a hearing on a potential temporary injunction expected next month.
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – WEDNESDAY
Vegas Golden Knights 4, Colorado Avalanche 2 – Vegas leads the series 1-0
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – THURSDAY
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens – 7 pm on TNT, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals
MLB
— Kyle Harrison struck out 11 in seven shutout innings as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-0 to sweep the first series this season between the top two teams in the NL Central. David Hamilton had three hits and scored two runs as Milwaukee improved to 14-4 in its last 18 games.
— Trey Yesavage outpitched Cam Schlittler in a marquee matchup between young aces as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the New York Yankees 2-1. Following a rain delay that lasted more than two hours, Yesavage allowed just two hits while striking out eight over six shutout innings. The 22-year-old rookie has a 1.07 ERA in five starts after missing the first month this season due to a right shoulder impingement.
— Shohei Ohtani homered on the first pitch of the game before throwing five shutout innings of three-hit ball in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres. Ohtani lowered his ERA to 0.73 over eight starts.
— Cleveland’s Angel Martínez hit a tiebreaking triple in the 10th inning, while José Ramírez followed with an RBI double as the Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2. Detroit has lost five straight games and 13 of 15. They fall to 20-30, 8.5 games back of Cleveland in the AL Central.
— CJ Abrams hit a three-run homer in the first inning, while Jacob Young added a two-run shot in the eighth as the Washington Nationals returned to .500 for the first time since the season’s first week with an 8-4 victory over the New York Mets. Juan Soto homered twice for the last-place Mets.
— Richie Palacios hit a go-ahead single as the Tampa Bay Rays used a four-run eighth inning to complete a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 5-3 win. Tampa Bay moved to 9-0 against AL East opponents at home this season as they begin a three-game series vs. the Yankees on Friday.
— Jarren Duran’s opposite-field two-run homer in the seventh inning rallied the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. Boston’s three-game winning streak matched its season high.
— Spencer Horwitz homered and rookie Konnor Griffin had four singles as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-0 to snap a four-game losing streak.
— Jeff McNeil hit a tying homer in the ninth inning and Tyler Soderstrom had an RBI single in the 10th to rally the Athletics past the Los Angeles Angels 6-5.
— Austin Riley and Dominic Smith hit three-run home runs, while Chris Sale allowed just one run and struck out eight over seven innings as the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 9-1.
— Nathaniel Lowe doubled twice and drove in three runs as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-4.
— Jhonny Pereda hit his first major league homer, while Randy Arozarena also went deep and scored three runs as the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4.
— Josh Jung hit a go-ahead single in the ninth inning, while Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger connected for back-to-back home runs as the Texas Rangers rallied past the Colorado Rockies 5-4.
— Ketel Marte hit a two-run homer and Geraldo Perdomo drove in three runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks finished a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 6-3 win.