by By Dan Ninham
The Riverside Indian School, a residential boarding school at Anadarko, OK, continues to develop college level student athletes.
Seanna Boltz, 19, is Oglala Lakota and is from Rapid City and Pine Ridge, South Dakota. She also considers Anadarko, Oklahoma another home.
“I started playing basketball in the fourth grade for the YMCA team in Rapid City as well as the school team at General Beadle,” said Seanna. “I played basketball, volleyball, and ran track and cross country until I was in seventh grade at North Middle School in Rapid City. I did not play any sports eighth grade year after transferring to Pine Ridge Middle School.”
“I transferred to Riverside Indian School (RIS) in Anadarko, OK. I started playing just basketball again freshman year of high school. I graduated from RIS and continued to Cowley College in Arkansas City, KS, on a basketball scholarship, and I am now in my sophomore year there,” added Seanna.
Seanna is a pre-nursing major and has a 4.0 GPA.
“My main high school athletic accomplishments would be scoring my 1,000 points senior year, being an Oklahoma Native All-State Selection, Oklahoma All-Star Selection, All-West Silver Bracket SuAnne Big Crow MVP (2018) and Little Axe Tourney MVP.
“A few of my accomplishments from freshman year at Cowley College was breaking two records held there being most three point field goals made in a game with 11, most 3’s made in a season being 123, being a second team all-conference, leading the KJCAA in 3’s made, and leading majority of the season in NJCAA but finishing third with most 3’s made,” added Seanna.
“It’s an honor and privilege to come from the Oglala Lakota Tribe,” said Seanna. “Knowing I come from a place where there are more examples of what you don’t want to be like than there are people you look up to motivates me to push myself even further every single day. I want to be the example for native children that I wish I had growing up. I come from a long line of strong indigenous women that had made me who I am today and I am blessed for that.”
“One of the very first people who influenced me as a player was my big brother Jacob Martin,” said Seanna. “He was also the reason I started playing basketball. The reason I looked up to him so much was because he was the best player in my eyes growing up, and I wanted to be just like him.”
“Coach James Kelley was my coach from sophomore year to senior year of high school,” said Seanna. “He helped me grow as a player as well as in life in general. He became more of a big brother to me as time went on. He kept me in check on and off the court, made sure I was okay and never gave up on me no matter how many times we bumped heads in practice. If it wasn’t for him, I’m not too sure I would be at Cowley College but he definitely made it possible for me. I would consider him my mentor.”
“Seanna has shown potential since her freshman year in junior high,” said James Kelley, head girls’ varsity basketball coach at RIS. “She has the purest shot I’ve ever coached, boys or girls.”
“Each year she played at Riverside she showed potential to be a college level player. The only question was going to be how much effort she was going to put in to improving her game. Her freshman season she scored 30 points in a game and is rare. That showed me her potential. Her sophomore year she was a starter. She has a knack for getting on a roll. If she hits one, you can just about net the next one is going to fall like clockwork,” added James.
“During a playoff game she had a juco coach come out of the stands looking to recruit her after she hit 23 in an overtime game in which she hit dagger threes off the break to put us over the top,” said James.
“The coach was shocked and disappointed that she was just a sophomore. Obviously at that point a college coach had seen what he needed to see in order for her to be able to contribute to a college program. For whatever reason her senior season he failed to recruit her and she lit them up last season,” added James.
“Seanna’s junior and senior seasons had some ups and downs but she continued to play huge in playoff games,” said James. “At one point during a five game stretch she was hitting 80% from three point range off a penetrate and kick situation. Coaches tried to shut her down but couldn’t because of her quick release. Those ups and downs she went through proved to help her grow some mental toughness.”
“She hit another 30 point game with nine three’s her senior season and also hit the 1,000 point mark,” said James. “Many college coaches thought she was a bit small for shooting guard and passed her up. She made a lot of them believers when she played those same coaches last season and shot the way she did. She garnered a lot of respect from those and they now face guard her and she still hits 20 or more in those games.”
“I told her she was going to get that kind of attention as a shooter,” said James. “She has done exactly what she needs to continue to be successful on the college level and I only see her going to a higher next level. Hitting 41 in a college game in the highly touted Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and setting records as a freshman is no easy task.”
“Kudos to her for listening, being coachable, and being mentally tough enough to push through all she has gone through,” said James. “She is a trailblazer and a role model and doesn’t realize it. She just keeps pushing for herself, her family, and natives all over.”
“Most importantly she pushes for her friend Whisper Cottier who was tragically lost this past year. She is an overcomer to say the least and I’m proud of her,” added James.
“What she brought to our program and the success she has today has caused girls to want to transfer to Riverside to be a part of what is being built out here,” said James.
“Coach RG Harris was my coach freshman year and then my assistant coach junior year,” said Seanna. “He helped me fall back in love with the game freshman year. One thing I will never forget him saying to me was ‘It says Lady Braves across your jersey, that is who you are playing for, that is the team you rep. That jersey does NOT have your name on it anywhere. Be a team player Seanna!!’ He was a very hard coach on me but it was something I needed and he recognized it before I did.”
Cowley College head coach Clark and assistant coach Thrasher Coach make sure I am in good hands since I have been at Cowley,” said Seanna. “They push me to my best of ability almost every single day and help me believe in myself more than I had ever been.”
“My very first close friend at college, Ottis Peeler, has been an inspiration to me and encouraged my growth on the basketball court,” said Seanna. “He tells me the things that I don’t want to hear but motivates me to persevere through personal struggles. I watched him become an NJCAA National Champion in wrestling and that has motivated me to work harder to achieve my personal goals.”
College close friend Ottis Peeler said: “I think Seanna is a natural leader. I didn’t see too much of a transition, she was always talented on the court and when she’s off the court she’s such a good, caring person and it’s easy to just gravitate to her and want to be around her. I knew she was special before I got to see her hoop and when I did finally see her ball I knew she was more than just a talented basketball player. She reminds me of myself a lot and she has goals that stem way further than the court. I’m just glad to be apart of her journey and can only try to motivate her more than she already is.”
“Lastly, my family and friends,” said Seanna. “They have been my biggest support system and stood behind me on every decision I had made.”
“After losing my best friend back in April in the middle of a pandemic, it was very hard for me to push through with sports emotionally,” said Seanna. “I kept going for her.”
“One thing that helped me was working out and shooting on the basketball goal in front of my house because there were no gyms open during that time. Mentally, it was hard for me to stay on track but I knew there were tons of youth in the native community that looked up to me, and it motivated me to keep pushing forward,” added Seanna.
“Throughout this tough time, I keep a positive mindset and in the back of my head,” said Seanna. “I keep telling myself we will have a season and I’ll be back at Cowley in no time.”
Photo Credits: Teressa Harris and Abby Morris
Seanna’s college profiles are located here: https://www.kjccc.org/sports/wbkb/2019-20/div1/players/seannaboltz20iv
So inspiring!!!
Congratulations you are a inspiration to all Natives. The struggles are real. Keep pushing yourself it will pay off in the end. Stay Native strong.