SDBCA Hall of Shrine inductees & John Wooden Legacy Coaching Awards

Four longtime coaches, a referee and the founder and editor of a high school basketball publication are receiving special 2026 honors from the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association (SDBCA) & the National High School Basketball Coaches Association (NHSBCA).

Current Castlewood boys basketball coach Paul Raasch and former Hanson girls basketball coach Jim Bridge, the winningest coach in state girls basketball history, are set to be inducted into the SDBCA’s Hall of Shrine. They will be honored along Summit natives Richard “Dick” Hansen and Dave Anderson, who started the Hansen Anderson Basketball publication in the 1970s, and the late Milton Sorenson, a Wakonda native, one of the all-time leading scores in state boys basketball history who went on to become a referee.

Bridge and Sorenson will be honored at the state Class B girls basketball tournament in Brookings March 12-14. Raasch, as well as Hansen and Anderson, will be recognized March 19-21 during the state Class B boys basketball tournament at Aberdeen.

In addition, former coaches Lynn Frederick of Sioux Falls and the late Mark Senftner of Onida, are South Dakota’s recipients of the NHSBCA Wooden Legacy Coaching Award.

Here’s more on each of the honorees:

Raasch, a 1982 Castlewood High School and 1986 South Dakota State University graduate, has been a boys basketball coach in South Dakota for the past 40 years. He taught and coached for 10 years each in Alpena and Webster, 16 years at Langford and the past four in his hometown. He’s also coached girls basketball, football and track.

During his career, Raasch has guided 13 teams to the state Class B boys basketball tournaments including leading Castlewood to a state title in 2025 and Langford to runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2015. He also led Langford to two state Class 9B championship football games, winning in 2015 and finishing as the runner-up in 2016, and is one of only four coaches in state history with basketball and football state titles.

The longest active tenured boys basketball coach in South Dakota, he has compiled a career record of 641-264 and is currently third overall in boys basketball career wins in South Dakota. He also compiled a 106-63 record in eight years as a head girls basketball coach and an 85-49 record in 14 seasons as a football coach.

Raasch has been selected as the South Dakota High School Coaches Association’s Boys Basketball Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2025, South Dakota Sportswriters Association Prep Boys Coach of the Year in 2025, football and basketball Region Coach of the Year 11 times and a national finalist for NFHSCA Boys Basketball Coach of the Year in 2025.

In addition, he served as a South Dakota All-Star Games coach four times and served the SDBCA as a representative on the group’s advisory committee and as a region director. He was inducted into the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in xxx.

Hansen and Anderson developed their passion for South Dakota high school basketball at a young age. They attended their first state tournament in 1965 at Aberdeen and were instantly hooked. The lifelong friends moved to Minnesota after their graduations before Hansen returned to South Dakota and spent one year as a teacher and coach at Bristol High School.

Hansen kept up on sports all over the country, subscribing to several publications. In his reading, he came across a magazine that covered New York City high school basketball and the idea was born to cover his home state. He recruited his longtime friend Anderson to write the book. Together, they spent more than 30 years on a mission to cover South Dakota’s high school basketball, coaches and players.

The book morphed into something greater when Hansen ran several basketball camps before summer travel teams existed.

Hansen passed away in 2007 and Anderson retired from writing in 2021. Their pursuit of covering South Dakota prep teams lives on to this day as the book continues as a great reminder of where we have been while looking to the future of South Dakota hoops.

Bridge began his career in 1980 as a college student working in South Dakota schools as a coach at Springfield, Bon Homme, Wagner and Armour. His lengthy career in education included 10 years as a teacher and a combined 29 years as a principal and superintendent. Included in that span were 34 years as Hanson’s athletic director and 38 years as the school’s head girls basketball coach.

He has earned numerous educational honors including the 2006-07 South Dakota High School Principal of the Year, the Southeast Area Secondary Principals “Pyramid Award Winner” five times and a 2024 Distinguished Service Award recipient from the South Dakota School Superintendent Association.

With 636 wins, he is the state’s all-time winningest girls basketball coach. He is a six-time Region Girls Basketball Coach of the Year, three-time Region Athletic Director of the Year and a Region Assistant Boys Coach of the Year. He served as a South Dakota All-Star girls basketball coach coach in 1994 and 2020 and in 2000, he coached Team South Dakota to the Down Under Hoops Classic Championship on the GOLD Coast of Australia.

His teams won 27 regular season and 20 conference tourney championships, 11 district titles and made 13 state tourney appearances. He coached 64 all-conference and 23 all-state players including his daughter Jenny, who was named South Dakota’s Miss Basketball in 2003.

Jim and his wife Julie, who also has spent many years working in the Hanson School District, have two children Jamin (Meggie) and Jenny (Kyle) and five grandchildren.

Sorenson was born in 1935 at Wakonda and became one of the most prolific scorers in state boys basketball history with 2,480 points for Wakonda High School.

After high school and military service with the Army, he attended Southern State Teachers College. It was during this time that he became a referee. Due to his bald head, professional appearance and consistent by-the-book calls, the nickname “Mr. Clean” was earned. Notably, Sorenson refereed six state basketball tournaments in addition to a Harlem Globetrotters game. He also refereed for football, including the first-ever game played at the Dakota Dome, and umpired slowpitch softball.

Sorenson and his wife Katherine raised four children. He passed away in 2013. In 2022, Sorenson was posthumously inducted into the South Dakota High School Hall of Fame as well-deserved recognition for his achievements.

Frederick, a Stanley County High School and Dakota Wesleyan University graduate, started his coaching career as an assistant at Lyman before taking his first head-coaching job at Agar, where his teams qualified for two state tournaments.

Frederick finished his coaching career in Brookings where he served as the Bobcats’ head boys basketball coach from 1983 through 2002. He set a school record with 200 wins, won two Eastern South Dakota Conference championships and led the Bobcats to eight state tourney appearances including the 1987 state AA title. Lynn’s squads also finished second at state in 1986, third in 1984 and 1988 and fifth in 1999.

He also was the head girls basketball coach at Brookings from 1990-97 and 2005-18, winning two ESD titles and leading the Bobcats to five state-tourney appearances highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2005 and a third-place finish in 2006. He compiled 507 wins with the Bobcats.

His awards include the ESD Conference Award of Merit, SDHSAA Distinguished Service Award and induction to the SDBCA Hall of Shrine. Frederick also serves as Executive Director of the SDBCA.

Senftner graduated from McLaughlin High School in 1980 and Northern State University before beginning a memorable career teaching and coaching throughout South Dakota. He made stops in Roscoe, Gregory and Timber Lake before concluding his career at Sully Buttes prior to his passing in 2022 from brain cancer.

He guided girls basketball teams to 14 state B tourneys, three at Timber Lake and 11 at Sully Buttes, where the Chargers won state titles in 2007, 2008, 2016 and 2017 and added runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2015. His Sully Buttes Football teams were state runners up in 2015, 2017, and 2018. His teams won numerous district and regional title and he earned many Region Coach of the year honors in both football and basketball.

Other honors he received include South Dakota Sportswriters Association Prep Girls Coach of the Year (2007), SDHSCA Girls Basketball Coach of the Year (2007 and 2017), National Girls Basketball Coach of the Year nominee (2017), SDBCA Hall of Shrine (2022), South Dakota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2024) and the Sully Buttes-Onida High School Hall of Fame in 2022.

Mark and his wife Lynn raised two sons Tate (who passed in 2013) and Scott.