You can add NCAA Divison I football recruits Grant Wilkinson of De Smet and Mitchell Guthmiller of Sioux Valley and Watertown wrestler Shea Richter to the list of area high school standouts heading to compete in college.
Wilkinson and Guthmiller were among 33 recruits announced by South Dakota State football coach Dan Jackson on National Signing Day for NCAA Division I football on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I'm fired up about this group. I think we really hit a home run at all positions by adding some big-time talent, but also some depth," said Jackson, who is completing his first season as head coach. "These are some young men who really love South Dakota State football, who know what it's all about and they want to be the ones to take it further."
Richter, a state champion wrestler last winter for Watertown, is part of a 10-member signing class announced in November by Augustana University wrestling coach Jason Reitmeier.
Here's more on the area signees:
De Smet captains Blake Jennings (12), Brody Halverson (10), Slayten Wilkinson (20) and Grant Wilkinson (80) head to midfield for the pre-game coin toss prior to a high school football game against Great Plains Lutheran on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Allen Mitchell Athletic Complex in Watertown. De Smet won 36-0.Damon Wilkinson, De Smet
The 6-foot-9, 305-pound Wilkinson repeated as an offensive lineman on the South Dakota Football Coaches Association's Class 9AA all-state for the second-straight year. He also received honorable mention on the Class 9B all-state team as a sophomore in 2023.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe three-time All-Dakota Valley Conference football selection als has excelled in basketball and track at De Smet. He's played on De Smet boys basketball teams that won a state B title in 2023 and took second in 2024. Last winter, he earned first-team Class B all-state basketball honors. He's also a two-time state medalist in the Class B boys' shot put (seventh in 2025 and fourth in 2024) as well as a two-time state qualifier in the discus.
Grant's father Dan played football for SDSU and his older brother Damon is currently a member of the Jackrabbit men's basketball team. His mother Brittani played basketball at Augustana University is a member of the school's athletic hall of fame.]
Mitchell Guthmiller
Jackson announced that Guthmiller is one of six prep standouts who have been accepted for admission to SDSU and plan to further their educations and football careers starting in the fall of 2026.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGuthmiller earned Class 11B all-state football honors as a linebacker (77 tackles) this fall for Sioux Valley. He also rushed for 1,033 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 15 passes for 358 yards and three more TDs. Guthmiller was a key player on the Cossacks' state Class 11B runner-up team in 2024.
Last spring, Guthmiller ran on the Class A champion 3,200-meter relay team and runner-up 1,600-meter relay team for the Cossacks at the state track meet.
Shea Richter
Richter is already a three-time state Class A place winner heading into his senior season as captain for Watertown's wrestling team. After recording fifth-place finishes at 106 pounds in 2023 and 2024, while wrestling for Rapid City Stevens, Richter moved to Watertown and went 38-2 on the way to capturing the 120-pound state championship.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe also earned All-Eastern South Dakota Conference honors last winter while helping the Arrows qualify for the state Class A dual team tournament and leading the squad to a third-place finish in the state Class A individual tourney.
Richter also was a Premier National League Fall Championship finalist at 126 pounds this summer and a Fargo (ND) Freestyle All-American as a sophomore.
"We're really excited to have Shea coming in. He wrestles for one of the most successful high school and club programs in the state," Reitmeier said. "Shea is exceptional in all wrestling positions and isn't afraid to test himself against the best competition in the nation. He's going to be fun to watch in an Augustana singlet."
Other 2025-26 Area Commits/Signees
Black Hills State Women's Basketball — Blake Thompson, Mobridge-Pollock.
Dakota State University Baseball — Braden Danzeisen, Sioux Valley.
North Dakota State Men's Basketball — Chance Schoenfeld, Deubrook Area.
North Iowa Area Community College Baseball — Markus Pitkin, Watertown.
Northern State Men's Basketball — Travis Wadsworth, Hamlin.
2025 AREA ALL-STATE FOOTBALL PLAYERS: Hamlin's Jackson Wadsworth, Elkton-Lake Benton's Colt Beck & Warner's Jesiah Baum share P.O. Player of the Year honor
Northern State Women's Basketball — Addison Neuendorf, Hamlin.
Sioux Falls Women's Golf — Molly Halverson, Lac qui Parle Valley (MN).
Southwest Minnesota State Baseball — Jackson McClemans, Watertown.
Valley City (N.D.) State Baseball — Watson Grantham, Hamlin.
Jamestown (N.D.) University Women's Basketball — Isabelle Freidt, Oakes (N.D.).
Watertown's Shea Richter notched an 11-2 win over Brody Gossen of West Central during their 120-pound championship in the Region 1A wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Hartford.College Recruits
This list will be updated through the 2025-26 school year with new signees and other recruitment details. Please email us ([email protected]) with information on any signings or commitments.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Recent area high school college signees
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