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- Title
- Associate Head Coach
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- Michael.Jewett@sdstate.edu
Veteran collegiate coach Mike Jewett is in his eighth season as associate head coach and his ninthseason overall with the South Dakota State University women’s basketball coaching staff.
SDSU continued its Summit League dominance during the 2012-13 season, repeating as both Summit League regular-season and tournament champions. The Jackrabbits posted a 14-2 mark in league play and rallied for a 56-53 victory over in-state rival South Dakota in the championship game. In 2013-14, Jewett helped leadthe Jackrabbits to a 26-10 overall record, including a 13-1 mark in The Summit League. SDSU won its fifth Summit League regular-season crown but lost in the league tournament for the first time. The Jacks accepted the program’s third Women’s NIT bid and made history by winning a school-record four postseason games while beating a pair of Big Ten and Big East foes en route to the Women’s NIT semifinals in El Paso, Texas. South Dakota State ended its season with a 66-63 loss to UTEP. SDSU also became just the fourth team in school history to go undefeated in Frost Arena during the 2013-14 regular season, posting a 14-0 record through the regular season and an 18-0 mark after the WNIT. The Jacks entered the 2014-15 season on a 21-game home win streak. The Jackrabbits returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2014-15, winning The Summit League tournament title with a commanding 72-57 win over South Dakota. The program’s sixth Division I NCAA Tournament appearance pitted SDSU vs. No. 3 seed and 10th-ranked Oregon State. The Jacks finished the season 24-9 and with a 10-game home-winning streak. Described as a “special season,” the 2015-16 Jacks won their seventh Summit League Tournament title and became just the second team in program history to win a NCAA Tournament game. SDSU upset fifth-seeded and 19th-ranked Miami in the first round. The Jackrabbits were again on the verge on reaching the Sweet 16 before falling in the final seconds to fourth-seeded and 13th-ranked Stanford, 66-65. In 2016-17, Jewett assisted the Jackrabbits to a 23-9 overall record, including a 12-4 mark in The Summit League. SDSU finished third in the regular season, but lost in the semifinals of conference tournament. The Jacks accepted the program’s fourth Women’s NIT bid as an at-large team. The Jackrabbits won their seventh WNIT game in Frost Arena, defeating Northern Illinois, but then dropped an 81-75 overtime game to Colorado out of the Pac-12 Conference. State finished the 2019-20 season 23-10 overall. SDSU topped nationally ranked South Florida and earned its 1,000thprogram win over Notre Dame at the Cancun Challenge. The squad went 13-3 in Summit League action and finished runners-up in the Summit League Tournament. Tori Nelson was named Summit League Freshman of the Year and earned a place on the All-Newcomer team. Paiton Burckhard and Tagyn Larson were both selected to All-Summit League teams. Following the Summit League Tournament, all post-season tournaments were canceled due to COVID-19.
Jewett oversees the team’s recruiting and is responsible for opponent scouting and team defense.
SDSU returned to the NCAA Tournament during the 2017-18 season, avenging a pair of regular season losses to archrival South Dakota with a 65-50 in the Summit League Tournament championship game. The eighth-seeded Jackrabbits overcame a late deficit to force overtime against No. 9 Villanova, but fell in first-round action, 81-74, in South Bend, Indiana.
With several key players returning in 2018-19, the Jackrabbits were poised for another big season. With Summit League career scoring leader Macy Miller and the top three-point shooter in program and league history, Madison Guebert, leading the backcourt, SDSU cruised to the Summit League regular season title with a 15-1 record. The Jackrabbits also came out victorious in the league tournament for the ninth time in 11 tries, again defeating their in-state rival South Dakota, 83-71, in the title tilt.
SDSU went into the 2019 NCAA Tournament with their highest-ever seed at No. 6. Traveling to Syracuse, New York, the Jackrabbits opened tournament play with a 76-65 win over No. 11 Quinnipiac. Two nights later, the Jackrabbits recovered from an early double-digit deficit to get past host and third-seeded Syracuse, 75-64, to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time.
The Jackrabbits then headed west for a matchup against second-seeded Oregon in the Portland Regional. The two squads met at Frost Arena during the regular season and, much like the first meeting, the Ducks held the upper hand in the closing minutes to end SDSU’s season with a 28-7 record by handing the Jackrabbits a 63-53 defeat.
A Flandreau, S.D. native, he has coached at the collegiate level throughout the Midwest for 20 years. Prior to coaching the Jackrabbits, Jewett served as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State from 2006-10. The Mustangs improved their win total each of his four seasons on the bench, compiling a 15-12 record his final season.
His career record as a head coach stands at 110-85, including a three-year run at Franklin College (Ind.). At Franklin, Jewett guided the Grizzlies to the 2004 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and a trip to the Division III National Tournament.
Jewett began his coaching career as a student and volunteer assistant at Augustana (S.D.) from 1992-97 where he helped the Vikings to four appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament and the NCAA regional in 1992. He was elevated to a full-time assistant in 1997 before moving to Franklin in 2001. Jewett returned to the North Central Conference as an assistant coach at St. Cloud State (Minn.), where he helped guide the Huskies to back-to-back NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances in 2005 and 2006.
Jewett also served as head girls’ basketball coach at Brandon Valley High School from 1994-97 and was an English teacher at Marshall (Minn.) High School for two years before returning to collegiate coaching.
He and his wife, Michelle, are the parents of three children: Michaela, Kaden and Kate.