BROOKINGS Basketball season is upon us as the South Dakota State womens basketball team played Augustana in an exhibition game on Wednesday night. The Jackrabbits will officially begin the season on Monday at Creighton and SDSU is looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time.
The Jacks are coming off of a season when they went 30-4, which was the most wins in a season in school history. SDSU beat Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and then lost to eventual National Champion UConn in the second round.
The rotation will look different from last years as SDSU lost two of its top three scorers in Paige Meyer and Haleigh Timmer. Paige Meyer graduated and Timmer transferred to Oklahoma State.
SDSUs roster for 2025-26 is highlighted by three seniors in Brooklyn Meyer, Madison Mathiowetz and Ellie Colbeck. Sophomore Katie Vasecka and Emilee Fox return after strong freshmen seasons and the rest of the roster are players who have not yet played for the Yellow and Blue.
SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said the Jacks used the summer and preseason practices to figure out the new roles for a lot of players on the team.
This year we have a lot of new faces that will play bigger roles. I dont like to say that were young, because were not necessarily young. We have players that have been here, but are going to be new in their roles.
Some years you kind of know going into it, this what theyre going to be and this what were going to be, last year was one of those because we had so much experience. This year, its more of, heres what I think we can be and how are we going to go out and prove it?
Center Brooklyn Meyer is the top returner for the Jacks as she averaged 17 points and six rebounds while shooting 59% from the field last season. Meyer won the Summit League Player of the Year Award in 2023-24 and was a Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award Top 10 Finalist in 2024-25.
Meyer said in the offseason she worked on continuing to improve her playmaking.
I worked on the basic things. Post moves, shooting, the usual things. But I also think in practice [Ive worked on] reading defenses and figuring out where my teammates are going to be and how I can get them the ball. Having all these new pieces, I feel like theres a learning curve with knowing where were going to be at and I think our coaches do a great job of putting people in the right spot to make each other successful, Meyer said.
Vasecka was named to the Summit League Freshman Team last season and averaged 8.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. She shot 47.3% from the field and 42.9% from three.
With Paige Meyer and Timmer gone, Johnston believes Vasecka will have a bigger role this year and wants her to be more aggressive in her sophomore season.
Katie Vasecka is someone that has to step up and make more plays and shes very capable of that. I think [the aggressiveness] is coming. I would say Im still encouraging her every day [to make more plays]. She continues to hear that from our staff. We think she has the ability to be an all-time great [at SDSU], but its hard to be an all-time great if you dont look at yourself that way, Johnston said.
The only addition the Jackrabbits made out of the transfer portal was junior Maggie Hartwig from Evansville. Last season she started all 31 games for the Aces and averaged 16.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. She missed out on being on one of the three All-Missouri Valley Conference teams despite being the only player in the conference to finish in the top 10 in scoring and top five in rebounds.
Johnston said Hartwig was the perfect final piece for the Jacks roster.
Maggie has been great. Shes a forward, so she plays the four, maybe a little bit of five, but more of a four. She shoots it incredibly well, shes good at getting to the basket. Shes just a really talented player. Shell add to some physicality inside with her rebounding and how she can defend. Shes fit in perfectly with who we graduated last year and how shell compliment the team, Johnston said.
SDSU will face another challenging non-conference schedule. The Jacks season-opening opponent, Creighton, received votes in the AP Top 25. SDSU will play No. 11 ranked North Carolina in the Cancun Challenge on Nov. 27. The Jacks will also play Columbia, who received votes in the top 25, and Kansas State in Cancun.
The two biggest games of the non-conference schedule come in a span of four days. The Jacks will travel to Durham, N.C., on Dec. 18 to play No. 7 ranked Duke and then will host No. 4 ranked Texas on Dec. 21. They will also play Montana in Rapid City on Nov. 15 and Gonzaga in Sioux Falls on Nov. 20. SDSUs other non-conference home games include Rice (Nov. 7), Murray State (Nov. 11), Weber State (Dec. 3) and Ball State (Dec. 14).
Last season the Jacks went 10-3 in the non-conference and lost to both Duke and Texas. They had wins over Oregon and Ball State, who were both receiving votes in the Top 25 at the time but those wins did not hold enough weight at the end of the season as SDSU was a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Johnston said the non-conference is very important for a program like SDSU because it gives the Jacks a lot of exposure and chances to get NCAA Tournament resume building wins, which is something they do not get in conference play.
I think its been fun. Its everything. It helps us build a program because it helps with recruiting. Kids want to play against great competition. It helps us build our fanbase. When you can bring Duke or Texas to First Bank & Trust Arena, that means something. It also helps us build our roster. What do we need to do to compete on a national level and what do we need to do to compete in that national tournament, Johnston said.
Mondays game against Creighton will tip off at 6 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+ or you can listen to the game on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.
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