Black Hills State University Athletics

Ryan Thompson was named head coach of the Black Hills State men's basketball program in July 2018, and over the past eight seasons has elevated the Yellow Jackets to a national contender. Out of 303 NCAA Division II teams, only six have made multiple Elite Eight appearances over the past five seasons. Additionally, BHSU is one of just two programs to reach the NCAA DII Elite Eight on three occasions over the past five years (2022, 2023, & 2026). 

During Thompson’s tenure, the Yellow Jackets have won three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Regular Season Championships (2020, 2022, & 2026), two RMAC Tournament Championships (2022 & 2026), three South Central Regional Championships (2022, 2023, & 2026) and two NCAA DII Final Four appearances (2022 & 2023).  Thompson has been named the RMAC Coach of the Year three times (2020, 2022 & 2026).  The Yellow Jackets have been a model of consistency during Thompson’s time in Spearfish as BHSU is the only RMAC program to have finished in the top four of the conference standings in each of the past eight seasons.  

The 2025-26 Yellow Jacket team was ranked in the top-25 of the national polls for the entire season, and finished the season ranked No. 10 in the nation. They matched a program record of 30 wins on the year on their way to winning the RMAC Regular Season title and RMAC Tournament title before advancing to the NCAA DII Elite Eight. Cam Lowe was named RMAC Player of the Year as well as First Team All-American and First Team Academic All-American. Jaeton Hackley was named First Team All-RMAC and Second Team All-South Central Region. Blake Volmer won the NCAA DII Elite Scholar Athlete Award which is given to the athlete with the highest GPA at the national championship.

In 2023-24, Matthew Ragsdale was named First Team All-RMAC, First Team All-South Central Region and Honorable Mention All-American. Ragsdale finished the season second in program history for scoring average and third in made three-point field goals. 

In 2022-23, BHSU was ranked in the top-25 of the national polls for the entire season, being ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation. For the second straight year they advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four. Black Hills State was second in the nation in home game attendance with an average of over 2,200 fans per game. For the second straight year, Joel Scott was named RMAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-American, while also being named the 2023 D2CCA National Player of the Year. Scott was named First Team All-RMAC for the fourth consecutive year, and he finished his outstanding BHSU career as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,457 points scored.

BHSU had a historic 2021-22 season winning the RMAC Regular Season title and the RMAC Tournament title. In their first ever NCAA DII National Tournament appearance, Black Hills State made it all the way to the Final Four. They defeated the number one ranked team in the nation, Nova Southeastern (FL) by double digits in the Elite Eight before falling to the eventual national champions, Northwest Missouri State in the national semifinal. In addition to the on-court success, the team won the 2022 Brechler award given to the highest team GPA in the RMAC. BHSU carried a 3.58 team GPA. Tommy Donovan won the NCAA DII Elite Scholar Athlete Award.

In 2019-20, the Yellow Jackets won the RMAC Regular Season Championship. This was the first RMAC title for BHSU in any sport. The Yellow Jackets ended the regular season in dramatic fashion as they erased a 14-point halftime deficit on the road against archrival South Dakota Mines to win in the final seconds. Tyler Oliver and Joel Scott were both named First Team All-RMAC.

Prior to coaching at Black Hills State, Thompson spent two years as an assistant coach at the University of Jamestown (ND) where he helped the Jimmies compile a 41-20 (.670) record and an appearance in the NAIA Division II National Tournament. During his time at Jamestown, Thompson assisted in developing three NAIA All-Americans. He also served as the Jimmies head men’s and women’s golf coach. In Thompson’s two seasons as the golf coach the men’s team improved from last to second, and the women’s team improved from last to third in the Dakota Athletic Conference. Thompson also spent four years as the head boys’ basketball coach at Hazen High School in Renton, Washington. In his final two seasons, Thompson guided Hazen to a 34-11 (.760) overall record. Six student-athletes went on to receive college basketball scholarships, and the team’s GPA improved from 2.5 to 3.1. Prior to coaching, Thompson was a 4-year starter at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and the University of Jamestown. At UWRF, Thompson averaged 13 points per game and led the conference in assists in 2005-06. After transferring to Jamestown, Thompson helped the Jimmies win a DAC Regular Season Championship in 2007-08, while he finished the year ranked eighth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage and 13th in the nation in assists. A native of Viroqua, Wisconsin, Thompson received his undergraduate degree from the University of Jamestown in mathematics and math education. He received his master’s degree the American College of Education. Ryan and his wife, Kate, reside in Spearfish and have three children, Jay (11), Paige (8) and Mya (6).

HEAD COACHING RECORD