Early SD AAU Team Rankings & Coaching Recognitions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The South Dakota AAU season is in its early stages but Prep Hoops Dakotas wanted to give out an update on some of the top AAU teams by ranking them in tiers and also to put together some coaching awards and recognitions. For the awards we'll nominate those in the 17U, 16U, and 15U divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h1 class="wp-block-heading">Early season AAU coaching awards/recognitions</h1> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">MVP Coach </h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shane Warwick — [program_tooltip program_id='2228190' first='TEAM' last='Warwick'] 15U-1 — [program_tooltip program_id='2228190' first='TEAM' last='Warwick'] 15U-1 happens to have the best and most complete roster and it doesn't hurt that they also have one of the top coaches in the region. That makes for them to be a tough team to beat. Shane's teams are well-oiled machines that are disciplined and play well together.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Rising Star Coach</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jackson Lee — [program_tooltip program_id='2832803' first='Impact' last='Basketball'] 17U-1 — Jackson has the Impact 17U-1 team reeling and playing high-end team basketball. The way they are coached and play together is very rare in AAU basketball. Very unselfish play and it's easy to see he is respected by his players and everyone else is starting to take notice of how well he can get a team to perform as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Most knowledgeable/experienced </h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nate Kaeding — [program_tooltip program_id='2222672' first='Sanford' last='Sports Academy SF'] 17U-Black — Nate has D1/D2 coaching experience and he runs a well-organized operation and his players respect his knowledge and high-level experience.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dave Hollenbeck — [program_tooltip program_id='2228190' first='TEAM' last='Warwick'] 15U-Hollenbeck — Dave began coaching for St. Thomas More High School in 1996 and just won his 500th career game this past season and has led them to 4 state championships. One of the most decorated South Dakota high school coaching careers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ryker Kreutzfeldt — [program_tooltip program_id='2250291' first='Hoop' last='City South Dakota'] 17U — Ryker has had recent success at Mitchell High School. He led the Kernels to a state championship in 2024 and a 2nd place finish this past season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Most Passionate/teacher/leader</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anthony Cordova — [program_tooltip program_id='2250291' first='Hoop' last='City South Dakota'] Elite Basketball — Cordova played for D1 South Dakota State University and he truly cares about his player's progress in all aspects. He promotes, leads, and teachers them for them to reach their goals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Best Player Promoter</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tate Martin - [program_tooltip program_id='2250291' first='Hoop' last='City South Dakota'] 16U coach and program director — Tate will relentlessly go to bat for his players and it pays dividends. His players get offers because of his approach.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Biggest Hype/Energy coach</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dylan Kvaale — [program_tooltip program_id='2228190' first='TEAM' last='Warwick'] 17U — Dylan gets hyped and excited for his team and players and it's quite clear. He'll get off the ground some and shows excitement. The players get behind it and it ignites them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2872059,"width":"698px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media","align":"center"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_4411.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_4411.jpeg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-2872059" style="width:698px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h1 class="wp-block-heading">17U Tiers</h1> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2228190' first='TEAM' last='Warwick'] 17U Kvaale - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2250291' first='Hoop' last='City South Dakota'] 17U Ryker - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2250291' first='Hoop' last='City South Dakota'] Elite Basketball</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2222672' first='Sanford' last='Sports Academy SF'] 17U Black</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2832803' first='Impact' last='Basketball'] 17U-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 2</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2444909' first='Heiser' last='Skills Academy'] 17U </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2832803' first='Impact' last='Basketball'] 17U-Holmes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h1 class="wp-block-heading">16U Tiers</h1> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 1 </h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2250291' first='Hoop' last='City South Dakota'] 16U-Martin</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 2 </h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2444909' first='Heiser' last='Skills Academy'] 16U</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2228190' first='TEAM' last='Warwick'] 16U-Warner</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2075302' first='Sacred' last='Hoops'] 16U </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 3</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2222672' first='Sanford' last='Sports Academy SF'] 16U-Black</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2832803' first='Impact' last='Basketball'] 16U-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2250291' first='Hoop' last='City South Dakota'] 16U Joey - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h1 class="wp-block-heading">15U Tiers</h1> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2228190' first='TEAM' last='Warwick'] 15U-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 2 </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2222672' first='Sanford' last='Sports Academy SF'] 15U Black </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2337876' first='James' last='Valley Thunder'] 15U-Weber</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 3</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2228190' first='TEAM' last='Warwick'] 15U-Hollenbeck</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->