Football standout signs with Black Hills State

Green River High School football standout Kyler Bartlett will be taking his skills to South Dakota. The senior recently signed his letter of intent to play football as an offensive guard for Black Hills State University. 

"I'm super thrilled," Bartlett said. 

Playing college football has been a dream of Bartlett's since he was young. As he fulfills that dream with the BHSU Yellow Jackets, he'll be in familiar territory. Bartlett will be playing the same position he did in high school, as well as playing at a school he's already come to love. 

"It's full circle because I would always go to a camp at Black Hills State every summer, and so to be able to play there, that's really cool for me," he explained. 

Having gone to multiple camps, Bartlett already feels comfortable with the school.

"Going up there all those times, I really got to get a feel for the area," he said. "I know the town of Spearfish really well, I know the campus really well. So that definitely played a huge part. The area's beautiful, the campus is beautiful. The coaching staff and the faculty also are really awesome. So those were all huge factors."

While he's excited for his next steps, Bartlett won't forget where he got his start. 

"I wouldn't trade my career at Green River High School for the world," Bartlett said. "The relationships and bonds I've created with coaches and players and my teammates, I wouldn't trade it at all."

Thinking back over the highs and lows, Bartlett specifically recalled the high point of beating Jackson on senior night - a 33-17 victory last October. 

"There weren't too many low points just because we all stuck together," Bartlett said. "When the times did get tough we found a way to get out of it. It was good to have a band of brothers like that to where when things did get low they wouldn't stay low for very long because we'd find a way out of it." 

While at BHSU, Bartlett plans to study history education. He envisions himself one day being a high school history teacher and coaching high school sports. But for now, Bartlett is excited to make new friends among his teammates and experience college life as a whole. 

Bartlett also has a lot of support and encouragement from his coaches, team members, and family as he starts his next adventure.

"I'm super excited and proud that he has this opportunity," Bartlett's mom, Jenissa Meredith, said. "I know he'll make the most of it and work really hard. And we're going to have a hard time having him so far away, but we know we'll be there cheering him on and excited for all the opportunities that he has in front of him."

Meredith also knows that playing football is exactly where her son belongs. 

"He enjoys it," she said. "It's his true passion. It's been a lot of fun watching the joy that it brings."