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Jun. 18—VERMILLION, S.D. — Nicole Seekamp and the 2015-16 University of South Dakota women's basketball team will be honored together as part of the USD Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2026.
The full class, which features seven individual inductees and one team, was announced on Wednesday, June 17, and will be formally inducted on Oct. 9, ahead of the Coyotes' football game against Southern Illinois on Oct. 10 at the DakotaDome.
Led on the floor by Seekamp and guided by head coach Amy Williams, the 2015-16 women's basketball squad produced a 32-6 overall record and a 15-1 mark in Summit League play. The season culminated with the program's first-ever Women's National Invitation Tournament championship, marked USD's first 30-win season since transitioning to Division I athletics and captured the Summit League regular-season title.
At the center of that run was Seekamp, whose impact on the program remains evident throughout the record book. The Australian guard earned Summit League player of the year honors in 2016 and was named the WNIT MVP after helping lead South Dakota to the tournament championship.
Seekamp also collected Summit League Tournament MVP honors twice in 2013 and 2015, while earning first-team all-conference recognition three times. She finished her career with 2,056 points, becoming one of only three Coyotes to surpass the 2,000-point milestone. Her scoring total ranked second in school history upon graduation and currently sits third all-time.
Seekamp remains second in USD history in both assists (628) and steals (265). Upon completing her collegiate career, she held the Summit League's all-time assists record, a mark that now ranks second in conference history. During her five seasons in Vermillion, the Coyote women captured two Summit League regular-season championships, a Summit League Tournament title and earned an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014.
The 2026 Hall of Fame class also features one of the most accomplished track and field athletes ever to wear a Coyote uniform.
A three-time NCAA national champion, pole vaulter Chris Nilsen remains one of only two Division I national champions produced by USD.
The two-time Olympian and Olympic silver medalist earned seven All-America honors during his collegiate career from 2016-20. Nilsen is the only Summit League athlete to win three individual NCAA national championships, a feat that also stands as a university record.
In 2020, the native of Kansas City, Missouri, was named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association indoor field athlete of the year. Nilsen earned Summit League indoor field athlete of the year honors three times and was recognized as the conference's outdoor field athlete of the year three times, as well.
He graduated holding school records in the indoor and outdoor pole vault, along with the DakotaDome record. His NCAA Outdoor Championships meet record in the pole vault remains intact.
Joining Nilsen in the Hall of Fame is fellow standout pole vaulter Emily Grove, whose six All-America honors rank among the most by any athlete in USD's Division I era.
Grove finished as the NCAA national runner-up in 2014 and qualified twice for the NCAA Indoor Championships and four times for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She earned Summit League outdoor field athlete of the year honors in both 2014 and 2016.
Following her collegiate career, Grove, of Pontiac, Illinois, continued competing professionally and represented the United States on the international stage, including a ninth-place finish at the 2025 Indoor World Championships.
The swimming and diving program will be represented by Greysen Hertting, one of the most decorated divers in school history.
Hertting, of Appleton, Wisconsin, became the first Summit League diver, male or female, to earn the conference's diver of the year award in three consecutive seasons. A three-time all-conference performer, she established school records in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events.
Her collegiate career concluded with a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in 2017, while she also claimed Women's Diving Championship MVP honors three straight years from 2014-16.
Former Coyote football standout Brooks Little earned a Hall of Fame selection after building one of the most productive receiving careers in program history.
A first-team all-North Central Conference selection in 2007, Little graduated as South Dakota's all-time leader in career receptions with 165. That record stood for more than 15 years and currently ranks second in school history. Little remains third all-time in career receiving yards with 2,386 and is one of only six players in program history to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards. The Castlewood product's 16 touchdown receptions remain tied for sixth all-time.
Volleyball great Audrey Reeg also joins the Hall of Fame after helping elevate the program during a landmark period of success.
The 2016 Summit League player of the year became just the fourth player in school history to record more than 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. A two-time all-conference selection, Reeg, who hailed from Dubuque, Iowa, helped lead the Coyotes to a then-school-record 25 victories and the program's first Summit League regular-season championship in 2016.
Rounding out the class is longtime athletic trainer Bruce Fischbach, who will be inducted as a special contributor. Fischbach served South Dakota athletics from 1984 through 2021, bridging both the Division II and Division I eras. For more than 25 years, he directed the university's sports medicine operations while working extensively with the football and men's basketball programs.
With the addition of the 2026 class, the USD Athletics Hall of Fame will grow to 356 members and 22 teams.
Continue reading...
The full class, which features seven individual inductees and one team, was announced on Wednesday, June 17, and will be formally inducted on Oct. 9, ahead of the Coyotes' football game against Southern Illinois on Oct. 10 at the DakotaDome.
Led on the floor by Seekamp and guided by head coach Amy Williams, the 2015-16 women's basketball squad produced a 32-6 overall record and a 15-1 mark in Summit League play. The season culminated with the program's first-ever Women's National Invitation Tournament championship, marked USD's first 30-win season since transitioning to Division I athletics and captured the Summit League regular-season title.
At the center of that run was Seekamp, whose impact on the program remains evident throughout the record book. The Australian guard earned Summit League player of the year honors in 2016 and was named the WNIT MVP after helping lead South Dakota to the tournament championship.
Seekamp also collected Summit League Tournament MVP honors twice in 2013 and 2015, while earning first-team all-conference recognition three times. She finished her career with 2,056 points, becoming one of only three Coyotes to surpass the 2,000-point milestone. Her scoring total ranked second in school history upon graduation and currently sits third all-time.
Seekamp remains second in USD history in both assists (628) and steals (265). Upon completing her collegiate career, she held the Summit League's all-time assists record, a mark that now ranks second in conference history. During her five seasons in Vermillion, the Coyote women captured two Summit League regular-season championships, a Summit League Tournament title and earned an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014.
The 2026 Hall of Fame class also features one of the most accomplished track and field athletes ever to wear a Coyote uniform.
A three-time NCAA national champion, pole vaulter Chris Nilsen remains one of only two Division I national champions produced by USD.
The two-time Olympian and Olympic silver medalist earned seven All-America honors during his collegiate career from 2016-20. Nilsen is the only Summit League athlete to win three individual NCAA national championships, a feat that also stands as a university record.
In 2020, the native of Kansas City, Missouri, was named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association indoor field athlete of the year. Nilsen earned Summit League indoor field athlete of the year honors three times and was recognized as the conference's outdoor field athlete of the year three times, as well.
He graduated holding school records in the indoor and outdoor pole vault, along with the DakotaDome record. His NCAA Outdoor Championships meet record in the pole vault remains intact.
Joining Nilsen in the Hall of Fame is fellow standout pole vaulter Emily Grove, whose six All-America honors rank among the most by any athlete in USD's Division I era.
Grove finished as the NCAA national runner-up in 2014 and qualified twice for the NCAA Indoor Championships and four times for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She earned Summit League outdoor field athlete of the year honors in both 2014 and 2016.
Following her collegiate career, Grove, of Pontiac, Illinois, continued competing professionally and represented the United States on the international stage, including a ninth-place finish at the 2025 Indoor World Championships.
The swimming and diving program will be represented by Greysen Hertting, one of the most decorated divers in school history.
Hertting, of Appleton, Wisconsin, became the first Summit League diver, male or female, to earn the conference's diver of the year award in three consecutive seasons. A three-time all-conference performer, she established school records in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events.
Her collegiate career concluded with a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in 2017, while she also claimed Women's Diving Championship MVP honors three straight years from 2014-16.
Former Coyote football standout Brooks Little earned a Hall of Fame selection after building one of the most productive receiving careers in program history.
A first-team all-North Central Conference selection in 2007, Little graduated as South Dakota's all-time leader in career receptions with 165. That record stood for more than 15 years and currently ranks second in school history. Little remains third all-time in career receiving yards with 2,386 and is one of only six players in program history to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards. The Castlewood product's 16 touchdown receptions remain tied for sixth all-time.
Volleyball great Audrey Reeg also joins the Hall of Fame after helping elevate the program during a landmark period of success.
The 2016 Summit League player of the year became just the fourth player in school history to record more than 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. A two-time all-conference selection, Reeg, who hailed from Dubuque, Iowa, helped lead the Coyotes to a then-school-record 25 victories and the program's first Summit League regular-season championship in 2016.
Rounding out the class is longtime athletic trainer Bruce Fischbach, who will be inducted as a special contributor. Fischbach served South Dakota athletics from 1984 through 2021, bridging both the Division II and Division I eras. For more than 25 years, he directed the university's sports medicine operations while working extensively with the football and men's basketball programs.
With the addition of the 2026 class, the USD Athletics Hall of Fame will grow to 356 members and 22 teams.
Continue reading...
