Wagner’s Ashlyn Koupal and Huron’s Blake Ellwein are the 2026 South Dakota Miss and Mr. Basketball award recipients.
Koupal is the second Wagner Red Raider to receive the honor, joining her aunt Mandy Koupal (1999).
Koupal, one of South Dakota’s most decorated girls basketball players, was a four-time Class A all-state first-team selection. Koupal was part of four state tournament teams, including a runner-up finish in 2023.
A 6-foot-3 do-it-all guard/forward, Koupal averaged 28.3 points, 14 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game this past season, while blocking 82 shots. Koupal racked up 2,610 points, 1,210 rebounds, 463 assists, 383 blocks and 253 steals in her career. Her point total is the fifth most in South Dakota girls basketball history.
She was the first-ever South Dakota girls basketball player selected to play in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game. She will play college basketball at Division I Nebraska.
Other finalists included: Alyvia Padgett of Brandon Valley HS, Ashlan Carlow-Blount of Mahpiya Luta, Sydney Terveen of O’Gorman and Addison Neuendorf of Hamlin.
Ellwein is the third Huron Tiger to receive the Mr. Basketball honor, along with Eric Hall (2004) and Rod Merriam (1980).
Ellwein is a three-time all-stater for the Tigers, leading Huron to a 20-4 record and the 2026 Class AA state championship.
Ellwein, a 6-foot-10 guard/forward, averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season.
He ended his career as Huron’s all-time leading scorer with the eighth most career points in Class AA boys basketball history (1,535).
Ellwein will play college basketball at South Dakota State University next season.
Other finalists included: Samuel DeGroot of Sioux Falls Lincoln, Marvin Richard III of Pine
Ridge, Jackson Wadsworth of Hamlin and Will Kuhl of West Central.