Mitchell Kernels: Season Intro
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It is time to talk Kernel basketball! PHD is bringing you the Mitchell Team Preview in this piece. The Kernels took 2nd place at the State Tournament last season and PHD believes that Mithcell will be highly successful once again…
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Continue ReadingIt is time to talk Kernel basketball! PHD is bringing you the Mitchell Team Preview in this piece.
The Kernels took 2nd place at the State Tournament last season and PHD believes that Mithcell will be highly successful once again in the 2023-24 season. See below for a deep dive into the Kernels!
“We have had a great first week of practice starting with our “two a days”. We’ve been encouraged by the coachability of this group and it has been enjoyable to watch them learn how to play together and play to each other’s strengths. We continue to be more and more excited about the crew we have this year.” –Ryker Kreutzfeldt
Team: Mitchell
Mascot: Kernel
Head Coach: Ryker Kreutzfeldt
Class: AA
Returning Statistical Leaders
Colton Smith Colton Smith 6'5" | PF Mitchell | 2026 State SD – 9.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 67.1 FG%, 1.3 FTMPG, 44.1 FT%
Gavin Soukup Gavin Soukup 6'3" | SG Mitchell | 2024 State SD – 5.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 37.7 FG%, 1.5 3FGMPG, 34 3FG%, .4 FTMPG, 55.6 FT%
Markus Talley – 8.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 45.5 FG%, 1.8 3FGMPG, 45.1 3FG%, .7 FTMPG, 72.7 FT%
Player Comments from coach Kreutzfeldt
Gavin Soukup Gavin Soukup 6'3" | SG Mitchell | 2024 State SD – 6’3″, Senior
“Gavin has played a huge role for us the past two years and will be the leader of our team this year. He started some games for us last year. He is an elite shooter who has really improved his playmaking and finishing around the rim. We are excited to see what kind of jump he can make in his senior season.“
Markus Talley – 6’1″, Junior
“Markus might be the most skilled player that we have had in our program during the 6 years I have been here. He is a combo-guard player who is capable of running the point and playing off of the ball. Markus was a huge part of our State Tournament run last year shooting 61% from 3 in the State Tournament. We are excited to see Markus with our offense operating around him.“
Colton Smith Colton Smith 6'5" | PF Mitchell | 2026 State SD – 6’5″, Sophomore
“Colton is a really high-energy player. He has the ability to guard any position on the floor. As a freshman, Colton was our 3rd leading scorer last year. Colton spent a ton of time in the gym this summer improving his jump shot and is our 2nd member of our 10,000 Makes Club. Colton has the ability to play in the post, on the perimeter, and with the basketball as a playmaker.“
Q&A with coach Ryker Kreutzfeldt
Could you write a couple sentences summing up last season?
“We had a successful year in the 2022-23 season. We accomplished our goals of making it to the State Tournament and winning our 2nd consecutive ESD championship. We ended our year as runners-up in AA after losing to Yankton in the Championship.“
PHD: How did the offseason go for your team/program?
“We are lucky in Mitchell to have a lot of guys who love to play the game. We competed in our 4 team camps, one of which was at Kansas, and saw some success there. We have a lot of guys 9-12 who play summer basketball on AAU teams. We knew we needed to have a good summer and we feel like we did that.“
PHD: Who are a few of your top players to look out for?
“Mentioned above – Colton Smith Colton Smith 6'5" | PF Mitchell | 2026 State SD , Markus Talley, Gavin Soukup Gavin Soukup 6'3" | SG Mitchell | 2024 State SD .“
PHD: Who are a couple of up-and-comers to look out for?
Landen Soulek (jr) – “Landen is a shifty guard who is an above-average shooter and has the ability to set up teammates for easy shots with his quickness.“
Gavin Hinker (jr) – “Gavin is a strong post player who excels at rebounding the basketball he will be an important part of our team this season.“
Parker Mandel (jr) – “Parker is a lengthy wing and is one of those guys that just knows how to score. His size can create matchup problems for defenses.“
Sutton Thompson Sutton Thompson 6'0" | SG Mitchell | 2025 State SD (jr.) – “Sutton is a good defender who can keep defenses honest with his 3pt shot.“
PHD: What style of basketball will your team play?
“It feels like in high school basketball you always need to change your style of play to fit your personnel. This year it feels like we will be able to play a similar style to last year with good posts who are capable of scoring and dynamic guards. We will need to work hard early in the year at learning to play together and how to help our teammates be successful. We will need to take a big step forward defensively quickly if we want to get our season off to a good start.“
PHD: What are a couple of your team goals this year?
“Make the State Tournament, play on Friday night of the State Tournament, and win an ESD Championship.“
PHD: Who are some of the top teams in your AA?
“Everyone in the Metro Conference.“
Kernel Schedule
*Home games are played at Corn Palace
12/8 – at Huron
12/12 – home vs. Watertown
12/15 – home vs. Rapid City Stevens
12/16 – home vs. Rapid City Central
12/29 – home (Hoops City Classic) vs. Thunder Basin (WY)
12/30 – home (Hoops City Classic) vs. DelaSalle (MN)
1/2 – home vs. Harrisburg
1/5 – home vs. Yankton
1/9 – home vs. Huron
1/12 – at Brookings
1/18 – home vs. Sioux Falls Lincoln
1/30 – at Sioux Falls Jefferson
2/2 – at Sturgis Brown
2/3 – at Spearfish
2/6 – home vs. Aberdeen Central
2/13 – at Sioux Falls Washington
2/16 – at Pierre
2/17- at Sioux Falls Roosevelt
2/20 home vs. Brandon Valley
2/23 – at O’Gorman
Best of luck to the Kernels this season!