Field dedications set for April 5 and 11
Jackrabbit baseball and softball fields have been newly renovated, and South Dakota State will dedicate them this April.
In recent months, the baseball field, Erv Huether Field, as well as the softball field, Jerald T Moriarty Field, were converted into synthetic turf from a natural grass playing surface. The South Dakota Board of Regents gave the project a green light last summer. Work on the conversion started a little before the fall semester and was completed earlier this month. Mid-America Sports Construction led the project with the goal of enhancing the playing and the viewer experience.
Jackrabbit Athletics invites SDSU fans, alumni and anyone in the Jackrabbit community to celebrate milestone projects like this one. The project represents one of the latest investments in SDSU facilities.
The Jackrabbits’ softball home opener on Saturday, April 5, marks the date the dedication for Jerald T. Moriarty Field is set to take place. Gates will open at 11 a.m., and fans will get to try softball-themed donuts before the event. The Jacks will take on USD with first pitch set at noon.
The softball renovations were made possible by a lead gift from Kevin, Cynthia and Michele Moriarty and donations from GeoTek Engineering and DeBoer Construction.
Ceremonies for Erv Huether Field are set for Friday, April 11, when SDSU hosts the Omaha Mavericks for a Summit League showdown. The ceremonies will take place shortly before first pitch at 3 p.m. Gates will open at 2 p.m., and fans can try baseball-themed cookies.
An anonymous donor provided the lead gift for the baseball renovations. Charles and Linda Elhoff and Jimmy and Amber May, two Jackrabbit student-athletes and their families, made additional donations to further assist the project.
Two Jackrabbits leave for transfer portal
South Dakota State’s Oscar Cluff and William Whorton have entered the transfer portal.
Cluff transferred to South Dakota State last season from Washington State. The Sunshine Coast, Australia native was a huge pull for the Jackrabbit in an offseason that lost both Zeke Mayo and William Kyle III.
The senior made a large impact on a fresh Jackrabbit roster featuring a redshirt and a true freshman starter in Owen Larson and Joe Sayler.
In the 2024-25 season, Cluff averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. The senior also notched 25 blocks and 15 steals through 32 games.
On3, a college and high school sports media network, scored Cluff a grade of 96.87, the seventh-highest-ranked athlete in the portal.
For Whorton, the redshirt freshman averaged three points and 2.9 rebounds a game. Whorton appeared in 21 games for the Jacks and started in two. The Wisconsin native scored a season-high of eight points in his start against Montana State on Dec. 4.
Equestrian set for conference tournament
The Jackrabbit equestrian team will compete against UM Crookston for the opening competition in the ECAC Equestrian Championship today at noon.
The conference tournament will take place at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex in Martin, Tennessee.
The winner of the No. 4 SDSU and No. 5 UM Crookston matchup will take on UT Martin who is seeded first in the ECAC Conference.
This season, the No. 4 Jackrabbits are 3-8 overall and 3-3 against ECAC foes. Two of South Dakota State’s three wins have been against UM Crookston.
Their only non-UM Crookston win was on Nov. 1 when SDSU beat conference opponent UC Davis 11-8 at the DeHaan Equestrian Center in Brookings.
The Golden Eagles hold an 0-11 record with their closest loss coming against No. 7 South Carolina in September. In the match, the No. 7 Gamecocks rode away with a 10-6 victory.
