Erika Sage enters her fourth season on staff in 2024-25. This is her first season as an assistant coach and second as the Jackrabbits' director of player development. She oversees the team's video operations and assists with perimeter player development, coordinating team travel, recruiting and summer camps.Â
Sage, a Fremont, South Dakota native, began her career at SDSU as a graduate assistant for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.Â
In Sage's three seasons at SDSU the Jackrabbits are 85-21 overall and have won three Summit League regular season titles and two Summit League postseason trophies. The Jackrabbits won the WNIT in 2021-22 and went to the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23 and 2023-24.Â
South Dakota State repeated as Summit League regular-season and postseason champions in 2023-24. The Jacks became the first Summit League team in history to go unbeaten in back-to-back seasons, finishing the year with a 16-0 conference record. They entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed for the fifth time in the last six seasons and won their 11th Summit League tournament title with three double-digit wins. The Jackrabbits were a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament and fell to No. 5 Utah in the First Round in Spokane, Washington, ending the year with a 27-6 overall record.
Brooklyn Meyer was honored as the Summit League Player of the Year in 2024, the first sophomore to earn the award since 2011. She was also the Summit League Defensive Player of the Year. Paige Meyer joined Brooklyn Meyer on the Summit League First Team while Madison Mathiowetz deemed honorable mention. Tori Nelson picked up all-defensive team honors and Jenna Hopp landed on the all-freshman team.
With Sage on staff, the Jackrabbits went 29-6 overall in 2022-23 and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history. The No. 8-seed Jackrabbits opened the tournament with a thrilling 62-57 overtime victory over No. 9 USC before falling to No. 1 Virginia Tech on the Hokies’ home court in the second round.
During the non-conference slate, South Dakota State knocked off a pair of ranked opponents in No. 10 Louisville (65-55) at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas and No. 24 Kansas State (82-78) at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. The Jacks went 18-0 in the Summit League regular season to win their third straight conference title and dominated the Summit League Tournament to return to the national stage. Myah Selland was named the Summit League Player of the Year for the second time and was joined in all-league team recognition by Paiton Burckhard (second team), Paige Meyer (second team) and Haleigh Timmer (second team). Kallie Theisen was named the Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year and Dru Gylten was an all-newcomer team honoree.
SDSU finished the 2021-22 season with a 29-9 overall mark and once again won a Summit League crown, compiling a 17-1 mark for the program's seventh regular season title. The Jackrabbits finished runner-up in the Summit League Tournament and accepted an invitation to the WNIT for the fifth time in program history.
The Jacks rattled off six straight WNIT wins at Frost Arena en route to the program's first WNIT championship, including an 82-50 victory over Seton Hall in the title tilt. Myah Selland (MVP) and Haleigh Timmer were named to the WNIT all-tournament team. SDSU opened the tournament with a trio of dominant wins, beating Ohio 87-57, Minnesota 78-57 and Drake 84-66. In the quarterfinal game, the Jacks held off Alabama 78-73 and then did the same with UCLA, winning 62-59 in the semifinal matchup. State opened up a 25-7 lead over Seton Hall during the first quarter of the championship contest and never looked back, cruising to the 32-point win and setting a new championship game record for margin of victory.Â
Prior to her arrival at SDSU, she was a member of the Northwestern College women's basketball varsity team from 2017-20 before serving as a student assistant coach as a senior in 2020-21. As a student assistant coach, Sage assisted the coaching staff with day-to-day operations while serving as a team representative and bridge between the staff and players.
Â
Sage graduated from Northwestern College in May 2021 with a bachelor's degree in sport management-coaching/athletic administration. She completed her master's degree in sport and recreation administration at South Dakota State in May 2023.Â