Dakota State Trojans men's basketball explained

The Dakota State Trojans men's basketball team represents Dakota State University, competing as a member of the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). During the 2025–26 academic year, the Trojans will be moving to the Frontier Conference.^[1] The Trojans play their home games at the DSU Fieldhouse in Madison, South Dakota.^[2] Their current head coach is Darren Tighe.^[3]

History

Conference affiliations

• South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (1917–2000)
• Dakota Athletic Conference (2000–2011)
• NAIA independent (2011–2013)
• North Star Athletic Association (2013–2025)
• Frontier Conference (2025–)

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Conference championships

North Star Athletic Association

• Regular Season Champion (2 times): 2014–15,^[6] 2015–16^[7]
• Conference tournament champion (2 times): 2015,^[8] 2016^[9]

Coaches

Current Coaching Staff

Head Coach	Darren Tighe	Minnesota State University, Mankato
Assistant Coach	Dalton Kleinschmidt	Bethany Lutheran College
Graduate Assistant	Damien Luna	Presentation College
Graduate Assistant	Jacob Strand	Mayville State University
Volunteer Assistant Coach	Greg Kahler

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Arenas

• DSU Fieldhouse (1957–present)

Individual awards and honors

All-Americans

NAIA

• Myron Moen (1967)
• Cliff Anderson (1973)
• Brett Schwartz (1991)
• Jason Smidt (2000)
• Sal Raphael (2005)
• Joe Backus (2007-08)
• Luke Lamb (2013)
• Dylan Hale (2014)
• Bryant Allen (2015)
• Kyle Kilgore (2016)
• Justin Folkers (2019)

SDIC honors

All-Conference

• George Gregerson (1930)
• Oxy Oxwan (1930)
• "Archie" Turner (1930)
• LeMar Nelson (1954)
• Maury Poppen (1956-57)
• Dick Miller (1958)
• Jerry Manthey (1959)
• Gene Appelwick (1960)
• Leroy Debeer (1963)
• Myron Moen (1965-68)
• Simon Schloe (1967-68)
• Cliff Anderson (1971-73)
• Mike Peterreins (1973-76)
• Warren Quail (1975)
• Randy Schaefer (1982-83)
• Tim Asche (1983-85)
• Todd Cavanaugh (1984-85)
• Brian Kearn (1985-86)
• Brett Schwartz (1988-91)
• Fred Fleming (1990)
• Rob Grady (1991)
• Earnest Monette (1992)
• Keith Carter (1993)
• Floyd Johnson (1993)
• Jason Smidt (1999-2000)
• Scot Namanny (1999)

DAC honors

All-Conference

• Scot Namanny (2001)
• J.F. Jensen (2003)
• Sal Raphael (2005)
• Ryan Burggraff (2005)
• Joe Backus (2006-08)
• Mike Larsen (2011)

NSAA honors

First team All-NSAA

• Dylan Hale (2014)
• Yusuf Vinson (2014)
• Bryant Allen (2015)
• Kyle Kilgore (2016-17)
• Tanner Heiser (2017)
• Justin Folkers (2019)
• Lamarr Wood (2022)

Second team All-NSAA

• Miguel Sansavour (2014)
• Derek Meger (2015)
• Tanner Heiser (2016)
• Justin Folkers (2018)
• Josh McGreal (2020)
• Ronnie Latting (2022)
• Sam Muller (2023)
• Mison Coilton (2024)

Honorable mention All-NSAA

• Kevin Daniels (2018)
• Ronnie Latting (2021)

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Notes and References

1. News: DeSmet . Jordan . May 22, 2024 . Dakota State announces move to Frontier Conference . . Madison, SD . November 12, 2024.
2. Web site: DSU Fieldhouse . . dsuathletics.com . November 12, 2024.
3. Web site: Darren Tighe . . dsuathletics.com . November 12, 2024.
4. News: Dannelly . Jason . April 27, 2013 . DSU accepts invite to join North Star Athletic Association . Victory Sports Network . November 12, 2024.
5. News: Dircks . Jackson . May 22, 2024 . Dakota State University joins Frontier Conference . . November 12, 2024.
6. News: Huntimer . Nick . February 21, 2015 . Trojans earn share of NSAA Men?s Basketball regular-season title . playnorthstar.com . . November 12, 2024.
7. News: Huntimer . Nick . February 20, 2016 . Trojans roll past Blue Hawks, earn share of NSAA Men?s Basketball regular-season title . playnorthstar.com . November 12, 2024.
8. News: Huntimer . Nick . March 3, 2015 . Dakota State (S.D.) wins thriller in 2015 NSAA Men's Basketball Championship game . playnorthstar.com . November 12, 2024.
9. News: Huntimer . Nick . February 29, 2016 . Dakota State (S.D.) wins second straight NSAA Men's Basketball Posteason Tournament . playnorthstar.com . November 12, 2024.
10. Web site: 2024-25 Men's Basketball Coaching Staff . . dsuathletics.com . November 12, 2024.
11. Web site: All-Conference list . . dsuathletics.com . November 15, 2024.