Latest South Dakota polls released on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026

There's no change at the top in each of the seven in the latest South Dakota Prep Media Football Poll released on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026.

The Class 11AAA, 11AA and 11A teams remain unchanged from the preseason because their seasons won't start until later this week.

Elk Point-Jefferson (Class 11B), Parkston (Class 9AA), Freeman (Class 9A) and Dell Rapids St. Mary (Class 9B) remain No. 1 in the other classes after winning their opening games last week.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS:

SF Lincoln (16) 95

Brandon Valley (3) 69

SF Jefferson (1) 67

Harrisburg 42

O’Gorman 23

Receiving votes: SF Washington 4.

CLASS 11AA

1. Pierre (19) 97
2. Huron 62
3. Yankton 59
4. Tea Area 37
5. Sturgis (1) 24

Receiving votes: Watertown 12 and Spearfish 9.

CLASS 11A

1. SF Christian (20) 100
2. Lennox 72
3. Dell Rapids 60
4. West Central 38
5. Madison 19

Receiving votes: Dakota Valley 9, Canton 1 and Tri-Valley 1.

CLASS 11B

1. Elk Point-Jefferson (10) 1-0 83 1
2. St. Thomas More (8) 1-0 82 2
3. Winner (1) 1-0 41 3
4. Deuel 1-0 39 4
5. Sioux Valley 1-0 23 5

Receiving votes: Clark-Willow Lake 17.

CLASS 9AA

1. Parkston (19) 1-0 99 1
2. Bon Homme 1-0 73 3
3. Platte-Geddes 1-0 54 4
4. Viborg-Hurley 1-0 27 RV
5. Hamlin 0-1 16 2

Receiving votes: Britton-Hecla 13, Hanson 4 and Garretson 3.

CLASS 9A

1. Freeman (14) 1-0 84 1
2. Howard (4) 1-0 76 2
3. Castlewood (1) 1-0 46 5
4. Elkton-Lake Benton 1-0 41 3
5. Kimball-White Lake 1-0 30 4

Receiving votes: Lyman 4, Alcester-Hudson 3 and Philip 1.

CLASS 9B

1. Dell Rapids St. Mary (14) 1-0 89 1
2. Wall (5) 1-0 75 2
3. Warner 1-0 60 3
4. Avon 1-0 40 4
5. Colman-Egan 1-0 16 5

Receiving votes: Herreid-Selby Area 5.

WEEK 1 PREP FOOTBALL: VolleyballFour-time defending state Class AA champion Harrisburg and three-time defending state Class B champion Chester each hold down No. 1 rankings in the South Dakota Prep Media preseason poll.

Dell Rapids, which lost in the state championship to Dakota Valley after winning in 2024, is the No. 1-rated team in Class A.

High School Volleyball

Here is the South Dakota Media preseason volleyball poll, released on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Teams are listed with first place votes in parenthesis, final 2025 records, points and final 2025 poll ranking.

CLASS AA

1. Harrisburg (6) 35-2 30 1

2. O'Gorman 26-5 21 2

3. Brandon Valley 27-4 20 3

4. SF Lincoln 21-6 8 4

5. SF Washington 18-9 7 5

Receiving Votes: Watertown (22-11) 3; and SF Jefferson (13-14) 1.

CLASS A

1. Dell Rapids (3) 29-7 26 2

2. SF Christian (1) 27-11 24 3

3. Dakota Valley (2) 34-3 22 1

4. Clark-Willow Lake 27-2 8 4

5. St. Thomas More 30-11 7 NR

Receiving Votes: Hamlin (22-6) 2; and Wagner (24-10) 1.

CLASS B

1. Chester Area (4) 33-1 28 1

2. Warner (2) 33-7 26 3

3. Northwestern 37-3 14 2

4. Bennett County 37-7 13 RV

5. Parkston 31-8 4 RV

Receiving Votes: Colman-Egan (22-7) 3; Gayville-Volin (32-5) 1; and Harding County (28-6) 1.

Soccer

The four No. 1-rated teams held their ground in the latest South Dakota High School Soccer Coaches Association high school poll.

Sioux Falls Lincoln (boys) and Harrisburg (girls) continue to lead the Class AA divisions with James Valley Christian's boys and Sioux Falls Christian's girls still on top in Class AA.

Watertown, Aberdeen Central and Sioux Falls Jefferson each moved into a tie for No. 2 in Class AA boys. Yankton moved up to No. 2 in Class AA girls.

High School Soccer

Here is the South Dakota High School Soccer Coaches Association poll for Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. The SDHSSCA poll is released bi-weekly throughout the season.

CLASS AA BOYS

1. Sioux Falls Lincoln

2. Aberdeen Central

2. Sioux Falls Jefferson

2. Watertown (All 3 teams tied for second)

5. SF Washington

Receiving Votes: Spearfish, RC Stevens, SF Roosevelt, O'Gorman, Harrisburg and Tea Area.

CLASS AA GIRLS

1. Harrisburg

2. Yankton

3. RC Stevens

4. Pierre

5. O'Gorman

Receiving Votes: Aberdeen Central, Brookings, Spearfish, Watertown, Mitchell and SF Jefferson.

CLASS A BOYS

1. James Valley Christian

2. Vermillion

3. St. Thomas More-Rapid City Christian

4. Freeman-Marion/Parker/Viborg-Hurley

5. Groton Area

Receiving Votes: Hot Springs, Belle Fourche, West Central, Dakota Valley and Custer.

CLASS A GIRLS

1. SF Christian

2. Dakota Valley

3. St. Thomas More

4. West Central

5. Groton Area

Receiving Votes: Garretson and Belle Fourche.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: