Dakota State (S.D.) men’s basketball head coach Darren Tighe has announced the hiring of Dalton Kleinschmidt as the new assistant coach.

Kleinschmidt spent the previous two seasons at Ridgewater College (Minn.) on Nate Thooft’s coaching staff. While at Ridgewater, the Warriors went 26-22 record, including an upset victory over No. 7 nationally ranked RCTC in 2023. Kleinschmidt coached three All-MCAC players (DJ Brown – 2022, Jaylyn Clardy – 2023, and Malik Westerfield – 2023).

Prior to his time at Ridgewater, Kleinschmidt spent three seasons at Mayville State (N.D.) under Tighe from 2018-21. During his first two seasons as an assistant coach, he was part of back-to-back North Star Athletic Association Tournament Championships teams and two NAIA National Tournament appearances. During the 2020-21 season, the Comets were crowned the NSAA regular-season champions for the first time in over a decade. Kleinschmidt coached three NAIA All-Americans (Gorg Alhag – 2019, Max Cooper – 2020, and Latrelle Franklin – 2021). MSU went to a combined 58-19 record during that time.

Before Mayville State, Kleinschmidt made his first coaching stint at his alma mater Bethany Lutheran (Minn.) for two seasons (2016-18) under Matt Fletcher. During his time with the Vikings, they went 37-18 record and earned the UMAC regular-season title and their first-ever UMAC conference championships in program history in 2018. The Vikings would also go on to win their first-ever NCAA Division III National Tournament game when they defeated St. John’s (Minn.) in the round of 64.

Kleinschmidt, who hails from Morgan, Minn., played collegiate basketball at Bethany Lutheran and graduated with a degree in psychology in 2016.