NAIA honors DWU standouts Lizzie Tyler, Emma Yost as top student-athletes
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 10—MITCHELL — Between schoolwork, sports and work in the community, both Lizzie Tyler and Emma Yost have busy schedules at Dakota Wesleyan University.
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But the time was carved out on Friday for the NAIA to honor the Tiger standouts as two of the nation's top scholar-athletes. Tyler was bestowed the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award, while Yost was the national winner of the Emil Liston Award. Both Tyler and Yost were recognized at the DWU School of Business, Innovation and Leadership building held during DWU's Blue and White Days homecoming weekend.
Betsy Calmer, the NAIA's senior marketing manager for brand activation, was on hand to recognize the athletes for their efforts and as prestigious award winners. Dakota Wesleyan University President Dan Kittle said both Tyler and Yost said that it was the community and the people at DWU that brought them to campus.
"What I want them to know is that they've been leaders in helping to shape and sustain that community," he said. "That's what we celebrate today. ... What makes this special is they share these honors with the community."
Together, Tyler and Yost make five NAIA national award winners for Dakota Wesleyan in six academic years. Tyler is the fourth Tiger to win the Duer Award, joining former men's basketball player Jeff Schuch in 2021, volleyball standout Ady Dwight in 2023 and Landon Ruesink in 2025. Yost is DWU's first national women's Liston Award winner since Kelly Musick in 1998.
Tyler and Yost have known each other for a long time. They are cousins to each other and were once flower girls in the same wedding together. When they got to DWU, they were roommates for their freshman year and got to know each other well.
"It's just so special. It's an amazing honor for both of us," Yost said.
In September, DWU leaders gathered the volleyball team in the Christen Family Athletic Center to talk to the players. Tyler said she thought it might have been an announcement about getting air conditioning in the gym.
"But when the words 'A.O. Duer' came out, we were all pretty shocked," she said. "I was just so thankful to experience it with my teammates because the way they gathered around me and the joy they shared with me. It was a very surreal moment."
Tyler, a Mitchell High School alumna, is a double major in elementary education and special education. Tyler is a two-time NAIA scholar-athlete, and on the court, she was a third-team All-American and GPAC co-defender of the year in 2025, and a three-time all-GPAC honoree. She set the DWU all-time career digs record earlier this season. Off the court, Tyler has taken mission trips to Uganda and Peru and has been closely involved with campus ministry and developing a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at DWU.
Tyler is currently a full-time elementary student teacher in the Mitchell School District, which occupies her day from 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., but said that her coaches, professors and staff are all understanding and flexible.
"The people here, they buy into you with their whole hearts and they just create so many opportunities," Tyler said. "If you have a dream, they will do whatever they can to make that a reality, and I think that's just a testament to the faculty and staff and just the people that we recruit to come here."
Yost said more than anything, she has felt immense gratitude for the efforts that the individuals at DWU who put her up for the award.
"I think it just means a lot for our community and for our campus," Yost said. "Just showing that those four pillars — learning, leadership, faith and service — are living out on campus is pretty special for us."
Yost, a native of Wagner, is majoring in nursing while at DWU. A two-time All-American on the court and a two-time NAIA scholar-athlete, three-time all-GPAC selection and GPAC freshman of the year in 2024, Yost helped DWU to a semifinal appearance in the 2026 NAIA tournament. She has scored 1,553 points in her career, which ranks No. 9 in DWU history with her senior season still ahead.
Off the court, Yost has been involved with volunteering with the American Legion, South Dakota Special Olympics, reading to elementary students, and with the DWU Student Nurses Association and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and has also worked at the Wagner Community Hospital as a patient care technician in pursuit of her nursing career.
Yost says she usually gets up at 6:30 a.m. to lift weights early in the morning, will go to class in the morning and then get a basketball workout in at noon and work on homework until practice. Some days, she has clinical nursing work for six hours in the morning before an afternoon practice.
"I came here to get a good education and to play basketball but I've gotten a lot more," Yost said. I've taken on a lot of leadership roles throughout my time here and then just finding my best friends here. That's been a big part of my path here."