WEDNESDAY SPORTS, MARCH 18, 2026
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan’s Ashlen Johnson has been named the GPAC Softball Player of the Week. Johnson went 10-for-19 at the plate last week in Tucson, Arizona, hitting .526 with a home run, a triple, four doubles, five RBIs, nine runs, and two stolen bases. The sophomore has a .346 batting average this season, with three home runs and 17 RBIs. Dakota Wesleyan opens conference play Wednesday with a doubleheader against Northwestern in Sioux Center, Iowa, at 6 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball will face Lindsey Wilson in the NAIA national tournament Round of 16 in Sioux City on Friday at 1 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball, 10-8 on the season, will be at Hastings on Friday at Noon for a doubleheader.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State senior Brooklyn Meyer earned an honorable mention All-America selection from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association on Tuesday. Meyer averages 22.4 points per game (11th in the NCAA) and has a .646 field goal percentage on the year (fifth in the NCAA). She also leads the Jackrabbits with 8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 blocks per game in her senior campaign. She was also named first-team all-Summit and to the all-defensive team.
— South Dakota State earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and will face No. 6 Washington in the first round Friday in Fort Worth, Texas. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. The winner will advance to play either No. 3 TCU or No. 14 UC San Diego in the second round. This marks SDSU’s 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 seasons, after the Jackrabbits secured an automatic bid by winning their fourth straight Summit League tournament.
— South Dakota State softball was swept in a doubleheader at Wichita State on Tuesday, losing 12-5 and 3-1. The Jackrabbits fall to 15-19 on the season. SDSU begins Summit League play on Friday with the start of a three-game home series vs. USD starting at 3 pm.
— South Dakota State baseball lost at Oklahoma State 7-6 on Wednesday. The Jackrabbit held a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning before Oklahoma State scored five runs to take a 7-5 lead. SDSU falls to 5-15 on the season. The Jacks take on Oklahoma State again on Wednesday at 4 pm before hosting North Dakota State for a three game home series starting on Friday.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD women’s basketball will take on the winner of Air Force and Northern Colorado in the second round of the WNIT. The game time and date is yet to be announced, between Sunday and Tuesday.
— USD softball, 8-20 on the season, will be at Kansas on Wednesday at Noon.
NCAA TOURNAMENT – FIRST FOUR
No. 16 Howard 86, No. 16 UMBC 83 – Winner plays No. 1 Michigan
No. 11 Texas 68, No. 11 North Carolina State 66 – Winner plays No. 6 BYU
No. 16 Lehigh vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M, 5:40 pm on TruTV – Winner plays No. 1 Florida
No. 11 SMU vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio), 8:15 pm on TruTV – Winner plays No. 6 Tennessee
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
— Venezuela has won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, rebounding from a blown eighth-inning lead to beat the United States 3-2 on Eugenio Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the ninth. Maikel Garcia’s third-inning sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu’s fifth-inning homer off of Mets rookie Nolan McLean built a 2-0 lead. Eduardo Rodríguez and the Venezuela bullpen limited the Americans to just two hits before Bryce Harper’s two-out, two-run homer in the eighth tied it.
NFL
— The Denver Broncos have acquired wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins. Denver sends a first-, third-, and fourth-round pick to Miami, while also receiving a fourth-rounder back along with Waddle. Waddle gives quarterback Bo Nix a No. 1 target and pairs him with Courtland Sutton. Meanwhile, Miami continues a major rebuild after also moving on from WR Tyreek Hill and QB Tua Tagovailoa. Waddle spent five years in Miami, eclipsing 1,000 in each of his first three seasons.
— The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms with four-time All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker, who will begin his 15th season in the NFL. The 36-year-old Hekker spent last season with the Tennessee Titans. He played three years with the Carolina Panthers after spending his first 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. Hekker will be in line to replace Ryan Wright, who signed with New Orleans. Hekker set what was then a league record in 2016 with a net average of 46 yards per attempt. His net average with the Titans in 2025 was 40.3 yards, the third-lowest of his career, but his gross average matched a career high at 46.8 yards.
— Player representatives for the NFL Players Association have elected former union chief strategy officer and retired Cleveland Browns offensive lineman JC Tretter as their next executive director, the union announced Tuesday. The NFLPA has been searching for a permanent leader since July, when then-executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned following reporting that he had charged a pair of strip club visits to the union. Tretter beat out an initial field of 300 candidates and the two other finalists.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
— Three Freshman have been named to the AP All-Amercian first team as Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, and Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas headline this year’s team. Boozer led Duke to ACC regular-season and tournament titles and the top overall seed. Dybantsa is the nation’s top scorer at 25 points per game, while Acuff earned Arkansas its first first-team pick since 1979. Joining them are Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg and JT Toppin of Texas Tech.
— Authorities found 2.1 pounds of marijuana in Alabama basketball star Aden Holloway’s apartment when they arrested him Monday on a felony drug charge. Alabama’s No. 2 scorer has been suspended indefinitely and is away from the team as it prepares to face Hofstra on Friday in the NCAA Tournament. Holloway’s attorney says it could take 18 months for the case to make its way through the Alabama courts. That would jeopardize Holloway’s college and possible NBA career.
WORLD CUP
— Iran’s Embassy in Mexico has suggested the country is negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico. FIFA says it is in regular contact with the Iran soccer federation and it is not changing the match schedule announced last December. Iranian officials have previously said it is up to FIFA and the U.S. to keep the team safe during the World Cup.
NBA
— Julius Randle scored 32 points and Bones Hyland had 22 points off the bench to help the Minnesota Timberwolves offset the absence of All-Star Anthony Edwards and beat the Phoenix Suns 116-104. Rudy Gobert added 19 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who are 7-4 without Edwards this season, who will miss the next week or two with knee inflammation. Devin Booker scored 34 points for the Suns.
— Josh Hart scored a season-high 33 points on 12-of-13 shooting including 5 of 5 from 3-point range to lead the New York Knicks over the Indiana Pacers 136-110. OG Anunoby scored 26 points and Karl Anthony Towns added 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Knicks’ fourth straight win.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 113-108 for their 10th straight win. Chet Holmgren added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder. Paolo Banchero had 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Orlando.
— Jalen Duren had 36 points and 12 rebounds for the Detroit Pistons, who lost All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham to back spasms in the first half of a 130-117 victory over the Washington Wizards. The teams meet again on Thursday; should Detroit prevail, Washington would equal its 14-game losing streak from early this season.
— Evan Mobley had 27 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, while James Harden also scored 27 as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 123-116.
— Christian Braun had 22 points, while Nikola Jokic finished with 14 assists as the Denver Nuggets routed the Philadelphia 76ers 124-96. Denver kept pace with Minnesota in a tight Western Conference race. There are 1 ½ games separating the third-place Lakers and the Timberwolves in sixth.
— Victor Wembanyama had 18 points and eight rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Sacramento Kings 132-104. Former Kings star De’Aaron Fox added 15 points, five rebounds and six assists for San Antonio. The Spurs have won eight of nine. They also improved to 11-3 on the second half of back-to-backs.
— LaMelo Ball had 30 points and 13 assists as the Charlotte Hornets pulled away in a huge fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 136-106. Coby White scored 24 points off the bench and rookie Kon Knueppel added 22 as Charlotte won for the ninth time in 12 games. The Hornets outscored Miami 40-18 in the fourth.
— Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Tuesday’s game against Cleveland with a hyperextended left knee and bone bruise. The two-time MVP left Sunday’s win over Indiana after landing awkwardly on a dunk and didn’t play the fourth quarter. Coach Doc Rivers says there’s no serious damage but declined to say how long Giannis will be sidelined. This marks the 32nd game missed by Antetokounmpo this season, the most in his 13-year career.
The Class AA Boys Basketball State Tournament is set for March 19-21 at the Monument Ice Arena in Rapid City
All times are Central
No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln (21-0) vs. No. 9 Tea Area (13-8) – Noon
No. 4 Harrisburg (16-5) vs. No. 5 Watertown (16-5) – 1:45 pm
No. 2 Sioux Falls Roosevelt (17-4) vs. No. 7 Brandon Valley (13-8) – 6 pm
No. 3 Huron (17-4) vs. No. 6 O’Gorman (13-8) – 7:45 pm
The Class B Boys Basketball State Tournament is set for March 19-21 in Aberdeen.
No. 1 Viborg-Hurley (20-3) vs. No. 8 Lyman (17-6) – 11 am
No. 4 Aberdeen Christian (20-3) vs. No. 5 Castlewood (20-3) – 12:45 pm
No. 2 Freeman (21-2) vs. No. 7 Sully Buttes (18-5) – 5 pm – Q107.3 and Q107Radio.com
No. 3 De Smet (19-4) vs. No. 6 Wall (19-4) – 6:45 pm
The Class A Boys Basketball State Tournament is set for March 19-21 at the Summit Arena in Rapid City
No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian (20-1) vs. No. 8 St. Thomas More (16-5)
No. 4 Hamlin (20-3) vs. No. 5 Groton Area (18-4)
No. 2 West Central (22-0) vs. No. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte (20-3)
No. 3 Clark/Willow Lake (20-2) vs. No. 6 Stanley County (20-2)