Rudy Soderquist - Inducted 2024

Rudolph “Rudy” Soderquist, a 1937 graduate of Rapid City Central and a 1942 graduate of the University of Iowa, was a standout in both high school and college athletics. In his senior year, he led Iowa to its best season since 1926, finishing the 1942 season tied for second in the Big Ten with an 11-4 conference record and a 12-8 overall mark. Notable victories included an upset over defending champion Wisconsin and a comeback win against Ohio State, where Soderquist scored 15 points. He also helped Iowa defeat the 1942 Big Ten champion Illinois in the season’s final game. Soderquist, a co-captain that year, earned All-Big Ten honorable mention and finished his college career with 267 points as a two-year starter.

After college, Soderquist joined the Navy and played basketball for the Great Lakes Navy Training Station team. He later played semi-pro basketball in Ohio, taught and coached in Iowa, and returned to Rapid City, where he led the Cobblers from 1947 to 1952, achieving a 65-40 record and winning two Black Hills Conference titles. Soderquist was a three-sport star in high school, earning 10 letters in football, basketball, and track & field. He was an all-state basketball player who led Rapid City to a 16-1 season in 1935-36, scoring 22 of his team’s 23 points in a narrow 24-23 semifinal loss to eventual state champion Huron. Soderquist was the first athlete inducted into the Rapid City Area Sports Hall of Fame and is also a South Dakota High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Shrine member.