Brenden Begeman, South Dakota's all-time prep rushing leader, commits to South Dakota State

Herreid/Selby Area's Brenden Begeman (20) carries the football during the Class 9B state championship game against Hitchcock-Tulare on Nov. 10, 2022, at the DakotaDome, in Vermillion.

By Landon Dierks

November 16, 2022 02:21 PM

BROOKINGS — South Dakota's new all-time leading prep rusher is staying in-state to play college football.

Herreid/Selby Area's Brenden Begeman took to Twitter to announce his commitment to the South Dakota State football program on Tuesday, less than a week after breaking the state's career and single-season rushing records in the Class 9B championship game on Nov. 10.

Super excited to announce my commitment to @GoJacksFB #GoJacks 🐰 @CoachCrenshaw @HolyNutmeg @CoachLujan @FootballHsa pic.twitter.com/q14DxHW9tn
— Brenden Begeman (@BrendenBegeman) November 15, 2022

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound back rushed for 189 yards in his final prep game to bring his career total to 6,807 yards, with a 21-yard carry on the game's final play pushing him past the former record held by Howard's Luke Loudenburg by a single yard. For the season, Begeman accumulated 2,976 yards on the ground, which also broke the former record of 2,930 yards set by Wolsey-Wessington's Hunter Johnson.

Begeman will join fellow recent South Dakota nine-man standouts currently on SDSU's roster including Kimball/White Lake's Bo Donald, Howard's Jace Sifore, Timber Lake's Tucker Kraft and Viborg-Hurley's Chase Mason and Angel Johnson, with the added connection of head coach John Stiegelmeier hailing from Selby.

By Landon Dierks

Dierks covers prep and collegiate athletics across the Mitchell Republic's coverage region area, focusing on Mitchell High School football and boys basketball and area high school football, volleyball and basketball, as well as Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball. He was also the lead on the Mitchell Republic Gridiron Spotlight, producing video and providing live play-by-play for the traveling weekly prep football broadcast during its first season in the fall of 2021. Dierks is a Mitchell native who graduated from South Dakota State University with his bachelor's degree in journalism in May 2020. He joined the Mitchell Republic sports staff in August 2021. He can be reached at ldierks@mitchellrepublic.com and found on Twitter at @LDierksy.

Brenden Begeman, South Dakota's all-time prep rushing leader, commits to South Dakota State

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound back from Herreid/Selby Area broke the state's career and single-season rushing records in last week's Class 9B title game and has announced he'll continue his football career as a Jackrabbit.