Girls softball in MN will now play their state championship games at the University of Minnesota’s Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. For the last 30 years the Minnesota State Softball Tournament has been held in the same location, North Mankato at Caswell Park. Folks have enjoyed their time there and the community has enjoyed hosting it for the last three decades.

Last week at the Minnesota State High School League’s (MSHSL) Board of Director’s meeting, the board voted on moving the championship games to a more premier location. This decision came after several months of the MSHSL discussing with the Minnesota Softball Coaches Association around potential changes.

While there were few complaints about North Mankato as a whole, the concern comes from the fact that no other Minnesota state tournaments are held outside of the twin cities. Not to mention, most other state tournaments are held at professional venues like Football at US Bank Stadium and Baseball at Target Field. It was simply time for softball teams in MN to get that same premier treatment with the opportunity to play at the most premier venue that Minnesota can offer for the sport, the U of M. Nearly 70% of the softball coaches association agreed.

As far as the logistics for the coming state tournament in 2025, the quarterfinals and semi-final matchups will remain in North Mankato at Caswell. The tourney will be extended from 2 to 3 days to give some time to rest/travel, and the championship matchups will be held at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium at the U of M.