The 2023 college rosters include more than 90 former area high school athletes

More than 90 former area high school athletic standouts are competing at the next level this fall.

These athletes were listed on the rosters for athletic websites for colleges in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.

The fall sports center around football, golf, tennis volleyball, cross country and soccer but also include cheerleading, powerlifting and equestrian. Some swimming and diving athletes are listed since their seasons start in the fall and continue through the winter.

Some area athletes to keep an eye on this fall include Blake Holden, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound junior defensive lineman from Watertown who is started for the University of South Dakota,. The Coyotes are off to a 2-1 start.

Dakota Wesleyan's football team definitely has some area flavor with three former Watertown athletes (Adam DeJong, Hunter Cordell and Kale Stevenson) all starting in the defensive backfield and Ethan McCune of De Smet starting at defensive end for a team that is off to a 3-1 start. DeJong earned NAIA All-American honors as a safety last fall. Another Watertown grad, Cole Holden, is a starting wide receiver for DWU.

On the volleyball court, former Watertown standout Sophie Tietz is a senior starting right side hitter for the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks. She currently leads the team with 97 kills in the Mavs' first 10 matches.

On the golf course, junior Kelsey Heath of Sisseton is a leader for the Mount Marty women's team. She recently earned All-Great Plains Athletic Conference Women's Golfer of the Week honors.

Lists of athletes competing in winter and spring sports will be published later in the school year. If we're missing somebody, email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com and will add them to the list.

2022 Fall: Which former high school standouts are competing at the next level

• South Dakota State — Ross Ritter of Watertown, sophomore (men's swimming and diving).

• South Dakota — Blake Holden of Watertown, junior defensive lineman (football).

• Northern State — Football: Stanley Haskins Jr. of Britton, senior running back; and Paden Johnson of Watertown, sophomore offensive lineman. Men's Cross Country: Evan Halbe, sophomore from Watertown; Blake Stoks, a sophomore from Porter (Minn.) and Canby High School graduate; Ricky Berndt, freshman, Brandt (Deuel High School). Girls Cross Country: Kenzie Hamann, senior, Clear Lake (Deuel) and Avery Miles, freshman, Turton (Doland).

• Sioux Falls — Chase Kelly, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman from Henry (football); Rhianna Cantine, a senior from Milbank (women's tennis); and juniors Camdyn Crowder and Brenna Dahl and sophomore Shelby Wietzema, all of Watertown (cheerleading).

• Augustana — Bentley Boike, senior defensive lineman from Gluek, Minn. (Dawson-Boyd grad); Nick Batchelor, a sophomore from Milbank (men's cross country); Rachel Halverson, a senior from Madison, Minn. ( women's golf); Maya Wente, a sophomore middle hitter from Canby, Minn. (women's volleyball); Talan DiCarlo, a freshman from Watertown (men's swimming and diving) and Savanna Osowski, a sophomore from Milbank, and Amaya Street, a junior from Milbank (women's swimming and diving).

• Dakota State — Football: Mason Lloyd, a sophomore defensive back from Watertown; Kaden Eng, a sophomore defensive back from Castlewood; Xander Sheehan, a redshirt freshman running back from Hayti; Marcis Hausman, a senior defensive back from Estelline; Gavin Holland, a senior running back from Arlington; Gavin Benck, a freshman tight end from Clear Lake (Deuel); Ronald Begalka, a freshman linebacker from Clear Lake (Deuel); Noah Harrison, a freshman linebacker from De Smet; Ashton Wienk, a freshman linebacker from Lake Preston; Gannon Gruenhagen, a freshman wide receiver from De Smet; Blake Van Regenmorter, a freshman tight end from De Smet; Braxton Lacher, a sophomore long snapper from Watertown and Jacob MacDonell, a sophomore wide receiver from Lake Norden.

Others: Grayson Madsen, a freshman from Rosholt (men's cross country).

• Dakota Wesleyan — Football: Adam DeJong, a redshirt senior defensive back from Watertown; Layton Eide, a redshirt sophomore linebacker from Clear Lake (Deuel); Hunter Cordell, a redshirt senior defensive back from Watertown; Kale Stevenson, a redshirt sophomore defensive back from Watertown; Ethan McCune, a junior defensive lineman from De Smet; Cody Cavanaugh, a sophomore defensive back from De Smet; Aiden Brower, a freshman offensive lineman from Volga (Sioux Valley) and Cole Holden, a sophomore wide receiver from Watertown.

Others: Kaylee Johnson, a junior and former Estelline-Hendricks athlete (women's golf).

• Mount Marty, Yankton — Football: Davin Quail, a sophomore kicker from Waverly-South Shore; Payton Gassman, a junior linebacker from Henry; and Charlie Kelly, a redshirt sophomore tight end from Henry.

Others: Kelsey Heath, a junior from Sisseton (women’s golf and competitive dance); Carson Pedersen, a sophomore and former Hamlin High School athlete (men's golf); Emma Koch, a sophomore middle hitter from Watertown (volleyball); and Tague Tvedt, a sophomore from Clear Lake and former Deuel athlete (men's cross country).

Others: Kaylee Johnson, a junior and former Estelline-Hendricks athlete (women's golf).

• Black Hills State — Kendra Palmlund, a freshman from De Smet (cheerleading).

• Morningside, Iowa — Emerson Smith, a junior outside hitter from Watertown (volleyball).

• Valley City State, N.D. — Micah Olson, a sophomore defensive back from Dawson, Minn. (football); Levi Olson, a freshman linebacker from Dawson, Minn. (football); Owen Quail, a freshman running back from Clear Lake and former Deuel athlete (football); BoDell Davidson, a freshman linebacker from Britton (football) and Mason Brehmer, a sophomore from Madison, Minn. (men's cross country).

• Southwest Minnesota State — Hannah Walburg, a sophomore midfielder from Watertown (women's soccer); and Madelynne Storm, a freshman from Watertown (women's swimming and diving).

2022-23 Winter: Still competing: More than 80 area athletes on winter college sports teams

• Wayne State, Neb. — Lane VanderWal, a junior freshman wide receiver from Volga (football).

• Minnesota State Moorhead — Tyson Powell, a senior running back from Ortonville, Minn. (football).

• Northwestern (Iowa) — Sarah Weisbrod, a junior from Clark (competitive dance).

• Minnesota State Mankato — Sophie Tietz, a senior right side hitter from Watertown (women's volleyball) and Jake Wagner, a junior from Gary (men's golf)

• Minnesota Crookston — Delainey Lancaster,  a senior from Watertown (Equestrian-Jumping Seat).

• Jamestown, N.D.—  Dawson Schmidt, a sophomore wide receiver from Watertown (football); Levi Greseth, a sophomore linebacker from Sisseton (football); Tyler Dean, a sophomore defensive lineman from Watertown (football) and Owen Kerkvliet, a sophomore defensive lineman from Bryant and former De Smet player (football); and Emma Pickrel, a junior from Watertown (women's swimming and diving).

• Dordt, Iowa — Sophie Johnson, a junior defensive specialist-setter and former Estelline-Hendricks athlete (women's volleyball).

• Minnesota Morris — Andrew Purcell, a sophomore offensive lineman and former Tri-State athlete (football) and Kierra Silk, a sophomore from Sisseton (women's golf).

• Martin Luther, Minn. — Sam Hansen, a sophomore from Roscoe and former Great Plains Lutheran athlete (men’s golf); R.J. Perry, a freshman from Bruce and former GPL athlete (football) and Joseph Dahlberg, a freshman from Sioux Falls and former GPL athlete (football).

• Concordia, Minn. — Anna Hacker, a senior from Madison, Minn. (women's tennis).

Spring 2023: Here's a list of the area athletes who are members of college sports teams this spring

• Midland, Neb. — Carter Hoffman, a junior from Clear Lake; Carter Trowbridge, a junior from Hayti; and Dominic Constant, a freshman from Clear Lake and former Deuel athlete (powerlifting).

• Trinity Bible College, N.D. — Volleyball: Layce Kooima, a senior setter from Castlewood and Jocelyn Steffensen, a sophomore setter-right side hitter from Arlington.

• Gustavus Adolphus College, Minn. — Riley Zebroski, a freshman from Watertown (women's golf) and Rachael Harding, a sophomore setter from Canby, Minn. (volleyball).

• College of St. Scholastica, Minn. — Nathan Neu, a junior from Ortonville, Minn. (men's cross country).

• Waldorf (Iowa) — Charlotte Wright, a senior middle blocker from Porter, Minn. and former Canby athlete (volleyball).

• Wisconsin-Eau Claire — Kaden Zink, a freshman from Watertown (men's swimming and diving).

• Briar Cliff, Iowa — Olivia Corey, a junior setter from Watertown (volleyball).

• Nebraska Wesleyan University — Burke Lauseng, a sophomore from Watertown (men's swimming and diving).

• Peru State (Neb.) — Kennadee Bissonette, former Tiospa Zina standout and a freshman outside/right-side hitter from Sisseton (volleyball).

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: A list of the area athletes that are playing college sports