Jim Koltes, longtime Maple Grove softball coach, wants it known that he and other coaches within the Softball State Coaches Association have no beef with Mankato.
Specifically North Mankato, the location of Caswell Park, where the MSHSL holds the softball state tournament each year.
“Caswell has been great to us,” Koltes said.
But several influential coaches on a committee are hoping to give the state tournament championship games a more esteemed location and a higher profile. They want the four finals held at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium, the home field of the Gophers, where Minnesota softball is played at its pinnacle.
“We want something that shouts, ‘State tournament,’” Koltes said. “Every other state tournament is played at a bigger site. That’s what we want.”
A recommendation from the Softball State Coaches Association made note that all other team state tournaments have their championships in the Twin Cities. The coaches say softball would benefit from increased media coverage and a likely bump in attendance.
They also say it would bring the state tournament in line with similar state tournaments, writing, “In Wisconsin, they play their entire high school state tournament at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. We feel that for our Minnesota state tournament, we can at least do the same for our softball girls.”
Koltes, who is on the committee with Farmington coach Paul Harrington, Rosemount coach Tiffany Rose and former Stillwater and current club softball coach Bob Beedle, said the initial proposal was met with indifference from members of the MSHSL. Now the committee is raising issues involving gender equity.
