Recruiting Areas: South Dakota, Nebraska
Kelly Scholten enters his 13th season at Augustana, his Alma Mater, as the special teams coordinator and the defensive line.
In 2024, Scholten was apart of a second consecutive outright NSIC title. His unit had three All-NSIC nods, including first teamer Will Davis and second teamers in Gradee Sherman and Myles Taylor.
Scholten was a part of a staff that won a 2023 outright NSIC title with a defense that was among one of the best in the country. Will Davis totaled eight tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and four hurries on his way to All-NSIC First Team honors and Jack Wilson made the second team after recording five tackles for loss and two pass breakups at the line.
The 2022 season saw Grayson Diepenbrock enter Augustana’s record book enroute to a Second Team AFCA All-America honor. Diepenbrock broke the school record for sacks in a season and career, accounting for 10.5 and 26, respectively. Diepenbrock returned to First Team All-NSIC form for the second-straight season while also seeing his name on the D2CCA All-Super Region 4 team.
After the canceled 2020 season, Scholten was instrumental in the 2021 NSIC Championship. His defensive line led the nation in rushing defense as it allowed just 41.8 yards per game. In addition, Logan Swanson earned AFCA Second Team All-America honors while Grayson Diepenbrock earned First Team All-NSIC accolades.
He oversaw a special teams unit in 2019 that featured kicker Luis Guarita who ranked fourth in the nation for field goal percentage after connecting on a school-record 16 field goals. On the defensive line, Logan Swanson earned first-team all-NSIC honors after tying the school record with eight sacks and totaled 15 tackles for a loss. Both players earned Don Hansen All-Super Region honors.
The Vikings tallied a 9-3 record in 2019, the second-most wins in a season in program history. Head coach Jerry Olszewski was named the NSIC Coach of the Year as the Vikings finished the year with a 6-0 mark inside Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
The 2018 season saw Scholten coach defensive lineman Joey Newman to first-team All-NSIC South Division honors. Newman also earned an honorable mention to the Don Hansen All-America team after ranking fourth in the NSIC with 16 tackles for a loss.
In 2017, Newman garnered second-team all-NSIC honors for the south division, posting 34 tackles, with nine marked for a loss.
Augustana finished the 2016 season ranked fifth in the high-scoring NSIC, holding opponents to 26.5 points per game. The Vikings forced 14 turnovers and recorded 26 sacks in 2016, marking the second straight season with 20-plus sacks.
Bryson Hamilton was named All-NSIC First Team for the second-straight season and went on to earn Don Hansen First Team All-Region and All-America honors. Hamilton was also one of two Vikings in 2016 to be named CoSIDA Academic All-America, becoming one of 14 players in school history to earn the prestigious honor. Hamilton finished one sack shy of tying the single-season record at Augustana.
Augustana's special teams saw continued success in 2016 under Scholten's guidance. The Vikings ranked second in the country in net punting (39.3 net yards per punt) and ninth blocking three punts. Augustana blocked five kicks in 2016, the fourth-most in the NSIC.
In 2015, Jamal Samaha and Hamilton both were named All-NSIC First Team. Samaha was later named to the Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Super Region Three and All-America teams. Samaha recorded a career-high 34 tackles in 2015 and tied the single-season record with 8.0 quarterback sacks. He also set a single-game record with three sacks against Southwest Minnesota State on Oct. 3.
Hamilton ranked sixth on the team with 58 total tackles in 2015, registering 27 solo tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Augustana recorded over 20 sacks as a team for the second time in Scholten’s three seasons, finishing with 24 in 2015 which ranked seventh in the NSIC. Augustana forced 23 turnovers in 2015 and ranked seventh in the NSIC allowing just 146.8 rushing yards per game.
As special teams coordinator, Scholten guided some of the top units in all of Division II in 2015. Augustana ranked second in the country averaging 28.4 yards per kick return and senior Justin Greenway ranked second nationally averaging 35.2 yards per return. Greenway returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in 2015, which led all players in NCAA Division II. Augustana ranked seventh in the nation allowing just 3.3 yards per punt return while ranking 11th nationally with a net punt average of 37.2.
In 2014, Scholten guided an All-NSIC selection for the second straight season in Jake Lee. Lee recorded 34 tackles in 2014, including 5.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Bryson Hamilton had a breakout sophomore campaign at defensive end in 2014 starting all 11 games and recording 42 tackles (13 solo). Hamilton also recorded 5.5 tackles for loss and half a quarterback sack.
Scholten led Lee to all-region and all-conference honors in 2013. Lee was named to the All-NSIC First Team and the Don Hansen All-Super Region Three Third Team after setting career-highs in tackles (44), tackles for loss (11.0) and sacks (4.0).
The Viking defense recorded 27 sacks in 2013, marking the most at Augustana since the 2010 team posted 27. The defensive line accounted for 19 of the 27 sacks last season, led by Joel Slinden who recorded five. Tanner Foth, who spent four seasons as a quarterback at Augustana, recorded 4.5 sacks and a team-high 11.5 tackles for loss in 2013.
Scholten, who received All-North Central Conference recognition as an offensive lineman with the Vikings in 1995, rejoined the football coaching staff in 2013 after serving in operations management with Furniture Mart USA for 12 years.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Augustana in 1997. He was an assistant coach at Minnesota State from 1998-2002, where his duties included offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. He was a student assistant at Augustana in 1996 and was back with the Vikings for the 2002 season as recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach.
In 2003 he began assisting with the varsity football program at Brandon Valley High School. In 2012, the Lynx won the Eastern South Dakota Conference championship and posted an 11-1 record. The only loss was to Sioux Falls Washington in the state Class 11AA championship game.
A native of Valley Springs, South Dakota, Scholten was a three-sport standout at Brandon Valley High School.
Scholten and his wife, Stacy, are the parents of three sons: Zachary, Thomas, and Samuel. Stacy graduated from Augustana in 1996. She is the daughter of former Viking head coach, Jim Heinitz. Zachary is a former member of the Augustana men’s basketball team while Thomas and Samuel are on the Viking football team.
