By Nick Gerhardt
Our group of experts has expanded for Class A and they came in with the hottest takes of the year, fitting for state tournament time. We thank them once again for their dedication and astute analysis of the scene. This is a lengthy read, so we’ll leave the rest up to them. Here’s your insight into the beast of the Class A state tournament.
Michael Davis — Minnetonka Monarchs
Quad I
Favorite — Elko Express
They’ve been good all year, they’ve played a strong schedule and they get the benefit of a first-round bye. Champlin Park and Shakopee are going to have to play what could be a really physical first-round game, burn pitching and then turn around and face an Elko team that’s been waiting for them. When we played we learned they’re not going to beat themselves, and they have solid pitching for 1 game a weekend format.
That’s why they’re my favorite here.
Dark Horse — Champlin Park
Their record doesn’t tell the whole story. Champlin Park has a ton of talent on that roster and was a team people expected to be near the top of Class A before the season. Now you just have to be good for nine innings. If Champlin gets through Shakopee, I think Elko is going to have its hands full.
Upset — Shakopee over Champlin Park
Shakopee might have the most misleading record in this tournament. They’ve already beaten Chaska and St. Patrick. When you’ve already shown that your best baseball is good enough to beat some of the top teams in the state, nobody should be surprised if you do it again. I’m taking Shakopee as the upset possibility in this quadrant.
Sleeper — Northwest Orioles
Northwest is another team where I wouldn’t spend much time looking at the overall record.
I know what they can do because we’ve seen it ourselves. They’ve beat us twice and beat Baseball365 as they can score runs in a hurry. If Northwest gets the right pitching performances, they could absolutely find themselves playing deep into the tournament.
My Quad I Pick: Elko
Quad II
There aren’t many comfortable draws anywhere in Class A, but this one is ridiculous.
Favorite — Miesville Mudhens
I’m not overthinking this. Until somebody knocks Miesville out, they’re the favorite. They’ve been in every situation this tournament can throw at you. That’s worth something. But I’m also not sure Miesville could have received a much more difficult draw.
Dark Horse — Baseball 365
They beat us twice and then they put up 16 against Mac’s. They have three strong arms with Danner, Odegaard, and strong lefty bullpen guys. I don’t care who you’re playing — when you’re putting those kinds of numbers up you’re dangerous going forward. And their bracket position is really interesting. Miesville and the Hops have to eliminate one another before 365 even plays. That’s a great spot.
Upset — St. Paul Hops over Miesville
Hops have already beaten them. That’s what makes this game fascinating. The Hops aren’t walking into state wondering if they can beat them. They already know they can.
I’m still taking Miesville as the quadrant favorite, but this is probably the opening-round upset I would circle first.
Sleeper — Air Freight
State Tournament Express Lane
In the opening round, they won Game 1 of a best-of-three and their opponent apparently decided that was enough baseball for one summer, forfeiting the rest of the series. Then came Round 2, where Air Freight had Graham on the mound, lost 1-0, and looked like they might actually be in danger of being eliminated. Not so fast. Their opponent used an ineligible player, the series was forfeited, and Air Freight was suddenly headed to state anyway. So while teams are grinding through elimination games, Air Freight advanced by a few emails and a board decision. At this point, their playoff MVP is the rule book. In all seriousness the state tournament set up perfect for them to continue doing what’s worked for years now. Start Graham Laubscher and score first.
My Quad II Pick: Miesville
Quad III
Favorite — St. Paul Mudhens
If I’m looking at this objectively, St. Paul gets the slight nod because of the bye. They’re talented, athletic and they’ve been one of the top teams in Class A all season. New Ulm and Minnetonka have to eliminate one another before St. Paul has to play. That’s a huge advantage. So if you’re asking me who the favorite is on paper, it’s St. Paul.
Dark Horse — Burnsville Bobcats
Burnsville is dangerous. They have pitching depth. And assuming they handle Elk River, they’re going into the Mac’s game already knowing they’ve beaten them this year. There’s something to be said for that. They’re a team I could see people overlooking because of how their regular season finished.
Upset — Burnsville over Mac’s
This one has already happened. Burnsville beat Mac’s 4-3 earlier this year. So if those two teams meet again, I don’t really look at it as some massive hypothetical upset. Burnsville has already proven it can win that matchup. Mac’s is still Mac’s — they pitch, defend and play tournament-style baseball better than almost anyone. But Burnsville is a bad second-round matchup.
Sleeper — New Ulm Brewers
This might be the most interesting team in the quadrant. New Ulm comes in with an outstanding record and hasn’t received the attention that the Twin Cities Class A teams get. That’s dangerous. Our guys understand exactly what kind of game we’re walking into. They’re not going to be intimidated by anybody; they’ve been scoring a ton of runs and they’ve been playing good baseball down the stretch. If anyone views New Ulm as an easy first-round opponent, that’s probably a mistake.
Quad III Pick — Minnetonka
We have multiple arms we trust to start meaningful games and a lineup that I know can put pressure on anybody. I feel the best way to win it all is pitching depth late in the tournament. Pitching is our biggest strength — Marsh, Benny, Skoro and Colin Mitchell shut down a lot of good teams this summer. If we can make it to the final weekend that is our biggest advantage. We lose some of our guys back to college, however, we are going to have a strong lineup made up of vets who have been here before, plus youth that delivers speed and tough outs. Defense will have to show up or it could be a short state run. We have to beat New Ulm first. If we do that, we’ve got St. Paul, the road will not be easy.
Quad IV
Favorite — St. Patrick Irish
St. Patrick has probably the cleanest argument as the favorite in any quadrant outside of Miesville. They’ve been one of the best teams in Class A all season. They can really hit and they’ve beaten good teams. Everything points toward St. Patrick being the team to beat here.
Dark Horse — Stockmen’s Irish
Stockmen’s is a team I think people are sleeping on a little bit. They’ve won 20 games and they’ve already put together some impressive results against quality Class A teams. They still must get through Rochester. But if they do … Stockmen’s versus St. Patrick becomes an interesting baseball game.
Upset — Minneapolis Cobras over Forest Lake
I’ve played against the Cobras enough to know they can beat anyone. Their best version can beat really good teams and they’ve already beaten us this season. They’ve played Mac’s tight. They’re experienced. Forest Lake may seem like the better team on paper, but if the Cobras throw it well and get an early lead, this game could get uncomfortable quickly.
Sleeper — Sartell Muskies
Sartell is sitting in a really interesting position. They’ve been scoring runs and they don’t have the same statewide name recognition. That’s exactly what a sleeper should look like. If they get their offense going, I could see Sartell being one of the teams everyone is suddenly talking about after the first two weekends.
My Quad IV Pick: St. Patrick
Matt Marek — Champlin Park LoGators
Christmas in August (and September) is upon us! Time to fire up those NSPN subscriptions and lock in for a month of playoff baseball weekends.
From the Champlin Park LoGators manager’s seat, I’m hoping to miss my wife’s birthday and our anniversary for the sixth time in the last seven years. It certainly won’t be easy, though, as I feel like the Class A bracket is as evenly matched as it has ever been.
I’ll break ’er down by quad, as is tradition. I’m not going to make too many definitive picks in my analysis because I’m a chicken-shit and don’t want to put any more bulletin-board material out into the interwebs. Apparently, you make one joke about running from your section and you get the masses fired up.
Oh well. On to the bracket.
Quad I
Elko, St. Anthony byes
I was texting with [Gary Schleper] Schlep on Sunday night and told him I didn’t think there was any way we’d get them on a Friday night, but here we are.
I think our game and the subsequent winner vs. Elko, will be two really great, competitive games.
In the other first-round matchup, we have Riverview champion(!) Northwest Orioles taking on Hibbing for the right to play St. Anthony. Hagen, Wiggins-es and the boys are liking the draw, I assume — and I do for them, too.
St. Anthony to Labor Day weekend vs. any one of us, Shakopee or Elko in the quarterfinals. Should be a fun one.
Quad II
Baseball 365, Coon Rapids byes
Holy balls, what a set of storylines and games in this part of the bracket.
I’ll start by saying I think this is, by far, the toughest section of the bracket.
I feel like everybody outside of the barstool occupiers at King’s and Dan’s is rooting against the Hens’ three-peat chances and they draw a St. Paul Hops team in the first round that beat them earlier this season.
Now, early season results don’t mean a ton, but waiting for the Hens should they win is a Baseball 365 lineup that is one of the few in the state capable of slugging it out with them.
OH, and if they get past that, they’re looking at either Chaska — who also beat them two weeks ago — or one of the best two arms in the state in Nick Herold from Coon Rapids and Air Freight’s Graham Laubscher.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Miesville Magic will find a way to prevail yet again, however.
And don’t forget to shake through the complete line at the end of the worst loss of your life, or [Deryk] Marks’ burner will come after you.
Quad III
Macs Industrial, St. Paul Mudhens byes
It doesn’t have the heavy-hitter storylines of the previous quad, but man, do I think all of these games are going to be dogfights.
In Game 1, you have the pedigree of New Ulm and Minnetonka, two teams that seem to be in the tournament year in and year out. Just don’t tell Kevin Hoy the Monarchs have pedigree, because they’re pretty new.
I’ll also shout out Mike Davis for Tonka for keeping things rolling. He’s one of my favorite people in townball, even though I seem to miss our annual matchup more often than not.
I have two competing biases in the Burnsville-Elk River game, as Connor Hartley is family, while Elk River qualified as a No. 9 seed in our league. Congrats, by the way, to Ben Poidinger on making his first state appearance after 20 years in townball.
It’s a super interesting matchup because Elk River has two REALLY good shutdown arms in Sam Stockman and Max Loven. This might be one of those games decided by who can scratch across two or three runs.
Pedigree means a lot this time of year, so I’ll go with Burnsville — and family.
I feel like the St. Paul Mudhens are still a bit of a mystery, but with their results and runs the last couple of years, it might just be their time.
I’d forfeit my free entry to watch a Mudhens-Lyons [Mac’s Industrial] quarterfinal, because “Macs” has to break through one of these years, right?
Quad IV
Sartell Muskies, St. Patrick Irish byes
Leading off, you have the Fighting Reinharts vs. the Fighting Gallatins in the first-round matchup.
Forest Lake has been good all season, while the Cobras have been a little more up and down. Based on Mason’s tweet about adjusting rosters after sections — which I happen to agree with, especially for Class A with no draft — I’ll take the Brewers in this one because I’m a Metro Minny homer.
In the other first-round game, we have two of my other favorite opponents in Stockmen’s and Rochester.
I thought we would be getting one of these two teams, but with Rochester’s roster largely remade from its title team a few years ago — combined with my general affinity for all things Todd Klingsporn and South St. Paul — I like Stockmen’s here.
From the byes, I just don’t know if [Randy] Beckstrom, [John] Schumer, and the boys have enough to get past the Brewers or the Cobras.
St. Patrick has been really good all year, and I have a ton of respect for those guys, but if Stockmen’s can make the Battle of the Irish happen, I don’t know that St. Patrick has the arms to shut them down.
Also, [Kal] Brohmer sucks.
Kal Brohmer — St. Patrick Irish
Quad I
The Favorite: Elko Express — I don’t think this section has a clear favorite, but if I have to pick one I think it’s Elko. Hard to bet against Jake Petricka and Easton Richter. The lineup has a great mix of veterans and young guys. I think this team has the pitching to make a deep run in this tournament and I expect to see them on Labor day weekend.
The Dark Horse: Champlain Park LoGators — Good team with studs up and down the lineup. Sam Riola and the Puder boys make this team a scary sight to run into for anyone in this tournament. Also their arms are pretty deep to my knowledge, which is a huge benefit the later they go in the tournament. I expect them to run into Elko in the second weekend of the tournament which should line up to be a phenomenal game.
I also am a big fan of Matt Marek but I am sure he will say something snobby about me or my team which will be rich coming from a guy who got my name carved into a bat and said it made him “not suck”
The Upset: I don’t have an upset that I can see in this quad. I think everyone has a shot. I just wanted to say the St. Anthony Hogs are a force to be reckoned with on and off the field.
The Sleeper: Shakopee Indians — It’s weird calling the Shakopee Guardians a sleeper just because it produces such good players. Not too many years ago they made a Cinderella run and took second in the state tournament. Veteran lineup and can take games from you if you let them hang around. Joe Roder is known as a playoff riser as you saw in their series against Waconia.
Quad II
This is definitely the most loaded quad in the tournament. Every game is gonna be must-watch baseball.
The Favorite: Miesville Mudhens — until proven otherwise.
The Dark Horse: Coon Rapids Redbirds — They have a couple elite arms including Nick Herold, who I have heard is un-hittable, that can definitely give them a shot in this absolutely loaded quad.
The Upset: Chaska Cubs — I think the Cubs can take down the mighty Air Freight in game one if you even consider it an upset. Hard to bet against Graham Laubscher in the first round of state, but I think Chaska has the talent and postseason presence to get it done.
The Sleeper: St. Paul Hops — They have a shot to make some serious noise in a loaded quad. They have a solid roster and have beat Miesville before. I feel like the odds are stacked against them, but it would be fun to see the Hops go on a run and they definitely have the talent for it.
Quad III
The Favorite: St. Paul Mudhens — Have had an impressive regular season and roster. I think they will make some noise in this tournament. Scrappy lineup that can score runs on you fast, paired with enough pitching to go the distance. I think we will be seeing this team on Labor Day weekend.
The Darkhorse: Minnetonka Monarchs — Weird calling them a dark horse as it’s hard for them not to be a favorite. I respect this team a lot and they know how to win when it matters. I don’t know if they will ever not be good with how many studs Minnetonka produces. I also still haven’t recovered from playing them in 2023…[Tonka won 16-0 in eight innings over St. Patrick]
The Upset: New Ulm Brewers — I think New Ulm has a chance to beat a giant round one. They are the No. 3 seed coming out of a challenging Section 1A and are battle tested.
The Sleeper: Burnsville Bobcats — Good team with a plethora of college guys that play the game the right way. Have been in the tournament consistently and have an offense that if they are hot can beat anyone.
Quad IV
The Favorite: St. Patrick Irish — Sweet fan base that powers them to play better and can be hard to play against. They are starting to gain the reputation as being regular season merchants when it comes to Class A. They have the arms this year to make a run with strong bats to follow them up. I expect to see some fire from this squad after missing the tournament that last two years.
The Dark Horse: Forest Lake Brewers — CAM KLINE is back enough said.
The Upset: Rochester Royals — Have the chance to surprise Stockmen’s in game one of this quad. You never know what lineup you will get out of Rochester, but their roster is impressive and once again has the talent to make a run in this tournament.
The Sleeper: Minneapolis Cobras — A well-run team that I think can get past the first round have a shot at making a run.
Jordan Wiggins —St. Anthony Hogs
Quad I
Champlin Park vs. Shakopee Indians (winner plays Elko Express)
Hibbing Miners vs. Northwest Orioles (winner plays St. Anthony Hogs)
Favorite: Coming in at 21-7 and a big win in the seeding round over Miesville to claim the No. 1 seed out of Section 1, the Elko Express are my favorite to come out of the top quadrant. [Jake] Petricka is a great arm, who can throw both games to get them out of this quadrant. I’m not sure if Easton Richter is still around, but they have plenty of bats to keep them in any game. The win over Miesville was a sign the Express are trending in the right direction right now and I think the balance of veterans with talented youth is a great recipe in the tournament.
Upset: Champlin Park has been in a curious situation all season, coming in at only three games over .500 and an 11-7 record in the Metro Minny. They lost Logan Jordan and Brayden Hellum, along with Tyler Reichenborn to an injury in last year’s tournament, but they have a trio of Puders, Trent Palmer and Sam Riola, and a roster full of other good players. I think they’ve dusted off the early season hangover from their 2025 run, finally have everyone showing up, and are ready to run it back. I think they will outslug Shakopee and give Elko everything it can handle.
Dark Horse: I know nothing about the Northwest Orioles, but they won the Riverview regular season title amongst the likes of Minnetonka and Baseball 365. I don’t think they play many games but I think their draw as a No. 2 seed is fairly favorable. If their guys show up, they could turn a few heads and have a shot to come out of this quadrant.
Quad II
Miesville Mudhens vs. St. Paul Hops (winner plays Baseball 365)
Chaska Cubs vs. Air Freight (winner plays Coon Rapids)
Favorite: This quadrant is loaded and I think is the strongest (maybe by far) top to bottom group of teams in the tournament. You’re going to need to know how to play tough games and potentially come back from a deficit if you want to emerge from this group. That’s why I’m giving the nod to Miesville. If they hadn’t lost the seeding game to Elko, everyone would have the Mudhens as the favorite to win again this year. The number of games they’ve lost this year can be counted on one hand and we all know how loaded this roster is. Maybe a loss before the tournament will prove to be beneficial before they enter potentially five do-or-die games.
Upset: Air Freight is the No. 4 seed out of Section 6, but the tournament format will allow them to run Graham Laubscher until his wing flies off. Give me Air Freight over Chaska, giving us Graham vs. Nick Herold in round two. I give this edge to Freight if Herold can’t get through nine innings, since Graham has proven he will throw 160+ pitches if needed.
Dark Horse: The only team that feels like a dark horse here is the St. Paul Hops. I mean that with no disrespect to the Hops, because they beat our butts back in May and Jack Johnson has assembled a good baseball team over the last couple of years. Finally, these guys have a mix of vets and youth and they will be a really tough No. 3-seed matchup (No. 5 seed out of Section 6) for Miesville and 365, should the Hops get there.
Quad III
Burnsville Bobcats vs. Elk River (winner plays Mac’s Industrial Warriors)
New Ulm Brewers vs. Minnetonka (winner plays St. Paul Mudhens)
Favorite: I’ll always call them “Pub” but Mac’s Industrial Warriors have been a top five team all year and always seem to know how to get it done in the tournament. They also added Wyatt Ulrich to an already potent offense. For those who don’t know him, Google him. 24-7 regular season, another undefeated league season, and losing to a red-hot Baseball 365 in the Section 6 final. Should Burnsville meet them in round two, that will be a great matchup. If they continue scoring runs and their pitching depth holds up, the Warriors should be playing deep into that final weekend.
Upset/Dark Horse: I am combining these two for this quadrant. For those who have been around townball for 10, 15, 20-plus years, take everything we’ve learned about the Minnetonka town team over the last 20 years and immediately throw it in the trash. Puck Davis is now at the helm, he’s reformed this team, and has them absolutely rolling. Coming from a Hog, “rolling” is a great sign of respect in our culture. Two narrow losses to 365 and Mac’s Industrial Warriors (Pub) in their section tournament shows they’re ready to compete with the best. I have them upsetting New Ulm and St. Paul Mudhens and being ready for a rematch with Pub in the quarter finals.
Author’s Note: Mudhens are elite but they’re literally full of college guys. I have no clue who will be around for the tournament. If they’re all there, this changes my tune a bit. But recency bias shows, the best way to beat the Hens is to play them in state.
Quad IV
Forest Lake Brewers vs. Minneapolis Cobras (Winner plays Sartell Muskies)
Stockmen’s Irish vs. Rochester (Winner plays St. Patrick)
Favorites: We went down and played St. Patrick last week. They are a good baseball team, have beautiful field and were fantastic hosts — our newest friends. With that, should we get a battle of the Irish in round two, let it be known I will be in Todd Klingsporn’s corner until the day I die — our oldest friends. That being said, St. Patrick has a bye, has an insane Nos. 1 through 9, and a plethora of arms from high levels of baseball. They’ve come into Class A and run to the top of the rankings a little fast for my liking, but it’s hard not to respect this team.
Upset: Forest Lake is my nine-innings of hell team. They show up every game and you have to grind them down for 27 outs. Davis Bryan and Cam Kline are fantastic on the mound, Cam and [Alec] Abercrombie are studs at the dish, and [Joe] Rydel and [Michael] Schultz are the veteran leaders any team needs. I see them beating the Minneapolis Cobras, out dueling Sartell, and giving whoever they meet in the quarterfinals an absolute run for their money.
Dark Horse: Here comes my Stockmen’s Irish love. They didn’t play a game until late May and I think that caused a bit of a slow start to their league season. Otherwise, I think they would have been the No. 1 seed out of the Skyline. The Irish of South St. Paul are back in the tournament this year after a one-year vacation and have plenty of talent to make a long run. Ryan Duffy, Luke Siegel, and Andy Davis (2022 Class A MVP) are all tough to beat on the mound, they’ve added Donnie Blunt to their batting order to pair with Brody Paulson, and they can run and defend with the best of ‘em. Todd will have the guys ready to go.
Final Four: Elko Express, Miesville Mudhens, Mac’s Industrial Warriors, St. Patrick Irish
Finals: Miesville Mudhens vs. St. Patrick Irish
Champion: St. Patrick Irish
Jeff Amann — Sartell Stone Poneys
Quad I
Favorite: St. Anthony Hogs
Dark Horse: Champlin Park LoGators
Sleeper: Hibbing Miners
Upset: Champlin Park over Elko
Quad II
Favorite: Miesville Mudhens
Dark Horse: Chaska Cubs
Sleeper: Baseball 365
Upset: Baseball 365 over Miesville
Quad III — The Quad of Doom
Favorite: Mac’s Industrial Warriors
Dark Horse: St. Paul Mudhens
Sleeper: Minnetonka Monarchs
Upset: Minnetonka over St. Paul
Quad IV
Favorite: St. Patrick Irish
Dark Horse: Forest Lake Brewers
Sleeper: Stockmen’s Irish
Upset: Sartell Muskies over Forest Lake
Final Four
St. Anthony Hogs
Baseball 365
Mac’s Industrial Warriors
St. Patrick Irish
Championship Prediction
Mac’s Industrial Warriors over St. Anthony Hogs
John Sands — Victoria Vics
Top Half
Favorite: Miesville. Hard not to put them as the favorite here. The Hens are back and looking to win it again. You’re the champs until you get beat.
Dark Horse: Shakopee. The Indians have a tough draw with getting Champlin Park then the winner plays Elko. The benefit Shakopee has is that it’s at the Joe, this team could go on a run.
The Sleeper: Hibbing. The Miners are my sleeper team here just because they don’t come down to the metro a lot so not much is known about this team.
The Upset: Air Freight Over Chaska. In what could be a great pitching matchup. For this upset to happen Air Freight needs to play solid defense and avoid giving Chaska a big inning.
Bottom Half
Favorite: St. Patrick. The Irish have been one of the best teams all year. They have the depth at pitching and they also have the bats to go along with it. The Irish will make a deep run.
Dark Horse: I have two teams here: New Ulm and the Cobras. Both of these teams haven’t been talked about much and they both have a tough draw the first weekend but watch out for them if they can get that tournament magic going.
Upset: New Ulm Over Minnetonka. This half is hard to pick any upsets. But I do think New Ulm has the best chance because the fans travel and pack the stadium wherever New Ulm plays so that could play a big role in this game.
State Champion: St. Patrick Irish. I have to say the Irish are one of the most complete teams in the state. Good depth pitching also has the bats that’s what can win a championship.
