Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus No. 1 North Dakota State on March 8, 2026 , Win , 64, to, 51
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FINAL
Women's Basketball
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vs No. 1 North Dakota State
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South Dakota State University Athletics
Photo by: Evan Patzwald
JOHNSTON NAMED FINALIST FOR MID-MAJOR COACH OF THE YEAR
3/12/2026 10:05:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOPEWELL, N.J. - South Dakota State women's basketball head coach Aaron Johnston was named a finalist for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Thursday by Her Hoop Stats.
Johnston, in his 26th full season as the Jackrabbits' head coach, has guided SDSU to a 27-4 overall record and 25-3 mark against other mid-majors this year with notable wins over Kansas State, North Dakota State (twice), Gonzaga and Ball State. The Jackrabbits finished second in the Summit League regular season race, then won the Summit League Tournament as the No. 2 seed this past weekend in Sioux Falls. Senior Brooklyn Meyer, a finalist for mid-major player of the year, was named Tournament MVP. SDSU is on a 10-game win streak dating back to the beginning of February.
Under Johnston, SDSU has won 13 Summit League Tournament titles and will make the program's 14th NCAA Division I Tournament appearance in 18 seasons of eligibility. The Jackrabbits are 44-5 all-time at the Summit League Tournament and have won six NCAA Tournament games in 13 trips.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, players from Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible this year. Interim head coaches are eligible, though total games coached were taken into consideration.
The 20-person preseason watch list was announced in October, and the midseason watch list was released in January. The winner will be announced on April 2. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.
About Kathy Delaney-Smith
Delaney-Smith's Harvard teams compiled a record of 630-434 (.592) in her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith's 630 wins at the Division I level rank 33rd all-time.
Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, plus three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She coached nine Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and the first 22 of Harvard's 1,000-point scorers in the program's NCAA Division I history.
Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
A native of Newton, Mass., Delaney-Smith is also among the most accomplished high school players and coaches in the state's history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points while at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 across 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.
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