After a dominant 2023, Red River's Jocelyn Schiller is Herald's Sportsperson of the Year
Dec. 28—GRAND FORKS — Jocelyn Schiller was playing travel basketball in fifth grade for the Grand Forks Sparks, coached by her aunt Jenny Stauss.
The Sparks were playing for third place at a tournament against a team they'd never beat before.
"When it got to the end and you needed a basket, she was always, as she is now, ready to take it into her own hands," Stauss said. "(The game) got to the end, and Jocie did her Jocie-like thing and grabbed a steal and drove for a layup. We ended up beating a team we hadn't before."
That was one of the earliest instances of Schiller taking control of the game and using her competitiveness to lead her team to a win.
It's something Schiller did constantly in 2023 — a dominant year for her across three sports, leading her to be named the Herald's 2023 Sportsperson of the Year, an award the Herald has selected annually since 1996.
Grand Forks Red River beat Bismarck Century 61-48 March 11, 2023, to win the Class A girls basketball state championship. Schiller scored 34 points in the game, a North Dakota Class A championship game scoring record. She was also named the state tournament MVP.
Two months later, on May 26 and 27, Schiller won state track titles in the 400 meters, 4x400 relay and 4x800 relay. She was the anchor leg of both relays.
Then, on Oct. 28, Schiller became the first Red River girls cross country runner to win the individual state championship.
The accolades are meaningful to the senior, and Schiller's success hasn't surprised anyone close to her.
"It's obviously awesome that all of this has happened for her," Schiller's mom, Katie, said. "But she works so hard, and the hard work just pays off."
Schiller has always been driven and ambitious, a quality she's had in all of her sports, which range from gymnastics, dance and skating to soccer, tennis, volleyball and softball.
"From board games to everything that she's ever done," Schiller's dad, Jason, said, "she just has always wanted to win no matter what."
Schiller became Red River's all-time leading scorer in girls basketball on Feb. 21. She has 1,708 career points through Dec. 26, putting her at No. 13 on the North Dakota Class A all-time leading scorers list.
When Schiller started playing basketball as a third grader, her parents thought her love of the game stemmed from the excitement of playing with friends.
But, after joining the Sparks in fourth grade, the Schillers realized how good Jocelyn could be at basketball.
"My wife came home," Jason Schiller said, "and she's like, 'You probably want to start coming to the games, because Jocie's really pretty good.'"
That began a successful career for Schiller on the court, despite playing just one season of AAU basketball in high school.
Schiller played travel basketball through seventh grade. She and her parents calculated the travel days and agreed that dedicating her summers to working on fundamentals instead of jetting to other states for tournaments would be the most beneficial.
"If you're good enough, you're going to be one of the top in the state and people are going to recognize you," Jason Schiller said.
After her eighth and ninth grade seasons at Red River, that's what she did. She spent hours practicing at the gym with her parents, who never played basketball but learned the game in order to help Schiller.
She played one year with Impact basketball, an AAU team, after her sophomore season to help her with visibility. The effort was all in pursuit of Schiller's individual goal, one she's had since sixth grade: to play college basketball.
"We made this list of six things," Jason Schiller said. "It's really hard to have all six, but I said, 'I believe you have all six of these qualities. You're your own enemy now for how far you want to go.' That's all I told her, and I think she just took it and ran."
To cap her year, Schiller signed a national letter of intent to play women's basketball at UND next season on Nov. 8.
She'll join her brother, Tanner, a member of the track team, as student-athletes at UND.
The Schiller family is excited for Jocelyn to play for the Hawks. Some family members have already purchased season tickets, and it won't be abnormal for 20 people to attend a game to watch Jocelyn.
Jason, for one, thinks Jocelyn is just getting started.
"I still think her best basketball is ahead of her," he said. "I feel like people haven't seen everything that she can do yet."
The list is compiled by Hoopster
1. Sarah Jacobson, Fargo Shanley, 2,371
2. Adie Wagner, Fargo South, 2,227
3. Tylee Irwin, Wahpeton, 2,195
4. Durene Heisler, Devils Lake, 2,120
5. Reile Payne, Fargo Shanley, 2,071
6. Angie Welle, Fargo Shanley, 2,013
7. Marlee Finley, New Town/Four Winds/Mandan, 1,889
8. Brittany Geffre, Fargo Shanley, 1,873
9. Megan Zander, Mandan, 1,846
10. Miriley Simon, West Fargo, 1,746
11. Meghan Roehrich, Fargo South, 1,745
12. Mary Perrizo, Mandan, 1,735
13. Jocelyn Schiller, GF Red River, 1,708 (as of Dec. 26)
2022 — Rick Smith, Four Winds-Minnewaukan basketball
2021 — Dr. William Mann
2020 — Jordan Kawaguchi, UND hockey
2019 — Cole Hanson, GF Central hockey/golf
2018 — Thompson athletics
2017 — Quinton Hooker, UND basketball
2016 — Drake Caggiula, UND hockey
2015 — Dave Hakstol, UND hockey
2014 — Madi Buck, UND women's basketball
2013 — Brian Idalski, UND women's hockey
2012 — Gene Roebuck, UND basketball
2011 — Mark Dobmeier, racing
2010 — Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, hockey
2009 — Mark Kauk, superfan
2008 —Tim and Tom Wynne, local tennis
2007 — Ryan Duncan, UND hockey
2006 — Mark Kroulik, Stephen-Argyle
2005 — Mike Berg, Grand Forks Central
2004 — Nick Mertens, East Grand Forks Senior High
2003 — Jerome Beasley, UND basketball
2002 — Kelly Roysland, Fosston
2001 — Dale Lennon, UND football
2000 — Briona Reynolds, Grand Forks Red River
1999 — Kinsey Coles, Hillsboro
1998 — Jenny Crouse, UND women's basketball
1997 — Dean Blais, UND hockey
1996 — Shane McMenamy, Grand Forks Red River
