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Dakota Wesleyan football signs 27 prospects in 2024 recruiting class

the daily republic, mitchell, s.d.
·3 min read

Feb. 7—MITCHELL — The Dakota Wesleyan University football team announced its 2024 recruiting class on Wednesday, with a class of 27 recruits.

"The 2024 recruiting class has big shoes to fill after graduating 24 seniors this last fall," DWU football coach Ross Cimpl said in an announcement. "Our coaches have been working tirelessly since last summer identifying the best prospects to add to our program. We have a tremendous new group of players and families that we are very excited to add to the Tiger Family. We are looking to build on the success of last season and this class is going to be a critical piece to our future success."

Twelve players are joining the team from South Dakota, including three from Rapid City with wide receiver Daniel Jacobs from Rapid City Christian and defensive lineman Parker Barnes and linebacker Kaleb Krien joining from Stevens High School. Chamberlain defensive lineman Peyton Hora was also among the Mitchell-area additions to the roster.

The class includes four offensive linemen, including a couple of all-state linemen from South Dakota, including West Central's Gavin Pischke, who powered the Trojans offense to the Class 11A championship game and Faulkton Area's Carson Leonhardt, who was an all-state selection in Class 9B for the Trojans. Defense was a focus, with 15 defensive players added, including eight linebackers.

Breaking the class down by state, DWU added five players from Nebraska and one each from Arizona, California, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.

The Tigers finished last season 6-5 and were 5-5 in Great Plains Athletic Conference play.

2024 DWU football signing class

Listed by name, height, weight, position, hometown (school, if applicable)

High school signees:

Brandon Bailiff, 6-2, 240, DL, Grimes, Iowa (Dallas Center)

Parker Barnes, 5-10, 210, DL, Rapid City (Stevens)

Triston Butler, 5-9, 190, LB, Lennox

Drue Davis, 6-1, 215, DE/LB, Wayne, Neb.

Gavin DeBeer, 6-3, 200, WR, Luverne, Minn.

Sean Deblieck, 5-7, 155, WR, Lakewood, Wash. (Lakes)

Dominic DeBoer, 5-11, 205, LB, Lennox

Jack Driskill, 6-0, 170, QB, Moscow, Idaho (Logos School)

Kaden Froehlich, 5-9, 170, RB, Pierce, Neb.

David Hondel Jr., 5-11, 150, DB, Cheyenne, Wyo. (Cheyenne East)

Peyton Hora, 6-0, 250, DL, Oacoma (Chamberlain)

Daniel Jacobs, 5-10, 170, WR, Rapid City (Rapid City Christian)

Rodney King, 5-10, 165, LB, Houston, Texas

Kaleb Krien, 5-11, 185, LB, Rapid City (Stevens)

Gavin Kucera, 6-3, 270, OL, Sioux Falls (Washington)

Carson Leonhardt, 5-7, 235, OL, Cresbard (Faulkton Area)

Chase McGillivary, 6-3, 225, TE, Rockham (Redfield)

Trey Mittelstedt, 6-0, 220, DL, Omaha, Neb. (Millard West)

Angel Perez, 5-8, 180, DB, Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler)

Gavin Pischke, 6-3, 290, OL, Hartford (West Central)

Trey Skoglund, 5-11, 185, LB, Oakes, N.D.

Trevor Sladky, 5-9, 165, DB, Wahoo, Neb. (Bishop Neumann)

Wesley Smith, 6-2, 220, LB, Liberty, N.C. (Southern Alamance)

Dayne Toney, 5-10, 195, LB, Billings, Mont. (Skyview)

Braylon Vancura, 6-1, 175, QB, Columbus, Neb.

Truman Vail, 5-11, 275, OL, Brandon (Brandon Valley)

Transfers:

Blake Peterson, 6-2, 195, WR, Granite Bay, Calif. (formerly Nebraska baseball)