A little over two months after the Three Forks High School Basketball team wrapped up a spectacular season with a 24-4 record and third-place finish at the Class B State Tournament, two outstanding players from the squad signed letters of intent to continue their careers at the collegiate level.
At a special ceremony on May 22 at Three Forks High School, senior Dylan Swenson signed to play at Miles Community College, and senior Aaron DeFrance signed to play at Dawson Community College in Glendive.
Three Forks Basketball Head Coach Terry Hauser said Swenson, a three-year starter for one of the premier programs in Class B, improved every year not only with his skills but also as a teammate and leader.
“I really asked him to step up the last two years, especially becoming a leader, and that’s where he grew a lot and made his game a lot better,” said Hauser. “He’s just a great kid. Every time I went to the gym this year, he was there early, just smiling and saying hello to everybody. I’m going to miss that.”
Swenson is excited for the opportunity to play at the next level.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, and I’ve been waiting for this moment. For the time to be here, it feels really good,” he said.
Looking towards next season, Swenson said he will work as hard as he can to become a better player and see where that puts him.
After transferring from Harrison to play his last high school season in Three Forks, DeFrance helped lead the team to District Regular and Postseason Titles and third-place finishes at the Southern B Divisional and State Tournaments.
Hauser said it was clutch that DeFrance came to Three Forks and not only helped them in basketball but also helped the Wolves get a trophy at the State Golf Tournament.
Hauser praised DeFrance for staying even-keeled during the season.
“We were kind of a roller coaster at times. He kind of kept us together,” Hauser said.
DeFrance is eager to continue his basketball career.
“It’s been a dream my whole life to play college basketball, and now that it is coming together, I’m super excited, and I cannot wait,” he said.
DeFrance said he was nervous when he started with a new team for his senior year.
“Fortunately, the coaches and my teammates accepted me, and we fit in well together, played well together, and had a lot of success,” he said.
Regarding next year, DeFrance is hoping to get bigger and better and get some minutes for the team.
Hauser said he’s been lucky to have some kids sign letters of intent during his tenure as Head Coach.
“When you have two, that’s big time. It shows the year we had,” Hauser said.
