By Nick Gerhardt
Another state tournament has arrived with great anticipation for the following three weekends. We saw a lot of variety with the Class B rankings throughout the season and the state tournament will likely provide some more surprises.
We asked our pollsters for their thoughts one last time after they had a minute or two to digest the state tournament bracket. We thank them again for another year of dedication to helping put together our rankings. It’s a tough job. Here’s what they see for the 2024 Class B state tournament.
Matt Marek — Champlin Park LoGators
The Class B tournament is upon us and much like last year, I feel like there are a good number of teams that can win it and make a run. If you look at the formula, you usually find a couple of commonalities with past champions. Some things I generally look for as predictors of tournament success include:
- Veteran Presence — You’re probably going to be hard-pressed to find a team that is made up of largely active college players. The scheduled Sunday-before-Labor Day title game limits those types of players’ availability, as college campuses start filling up. You don’t need a full lineup of 30 year olds, but you need some stabilizing force either on or off the field (Or a townball friendly college coach).
- Availability — This goes hand in hand with No. 1. The best ability in townball is availability. If you have a dugout of 20-plus guys, that really opens up the door to moves and possibilities.
- The Ace — State tournament history is littered with performances from ‘THE GUY’. Matt Meyer, Graham Laubscher, John Straka, Tyler Jendro, Caleb Strack are just a few from recent memory.
With that being said, here’s my thoughts on the bracket … In lieu of writing up half the teams from the bracket, I’ll just be giving my thoughts on the top half, and bottom half.
TOP BRACKET
The Favorite: Miesville Mudhens — I’ve heard from multiple people, and I would agree with the sentiment, that Miesville has one of the more favorable draws for the handful of perceived favorites in the field. Anything less than a final four appearance would be surprising, and to the Hens, disappointing. I’ve said it before, but I think their title chances rest on what they get from young hurlers Preston Ohm and Cooper Smith … or they could just score 12 runs a game and it won’t matter.
The Darkhorse: St. Louis Park Pirates — When you can’t post a score online anywhere, that’s about as dark as it gets … By design? Who knows, but I do know they aren’t that far removed from a state title, and they have two bona-fide aces in Andy Davis and Chris Odegaard, with Michael Bohlke to close games out. Townball journeyman Thomas Kinsella was added this year to an already solid lineup … No. 1 seed out of the Riverview sneaks them out of the complete darkhorse status, however.
The Upset: St. Michael Saints — A bit of an enigma in Metro Minny play, but when they’ve made the tourney in the past, they’ve made some noise. The St. Paul Mudhens were the No. 1 seed out of the St. Paul League (besting Air Freight for the regular season title), HOWEVER, 22 of their 25 playoff rostered players are 22 or under. St. Michael is a young team in its own right, but I think it will have the available arms that the Mudhens can’t match.
The Sleeper: Minneapolis Cobras — Tournament pedigree, recent title, running into what I imagine will be trendy pick in Elko in the first round … sounds pretty sleepy to me. A good club with a good veteran/youth mix — with a lot of those youth looking like they may be around for a run — has me bullish on the Cobras’ chances.
BOTTOM BRACKET
Good god, what a meat grinder. The last two B champs plus Cold Spring, plus Minnetonka, plus Stockmen’s, plus The Pub. If you’re coming out of this side on Labor Day weekend, you’ve earned it.
The Favorite — Stockmen’s Irish — I mean, take your pick from the teams mentioned above, but I really like how the Irish match up with all those teams from a pitching and hitting standpoint. The roster makeup is pretty solid too — young, but not too young. They will lose young stud Paul Jones II to school, but they have the depth to replace that. Ryan Duffy ain’t bad to have at the top of the rotation either.
The Darkhorse — Lyon’s Pub Warriors — It might be sacrilege to call a team that was ranked as high as No. 2 a darkhorse, but I imagine eyes will start to blur by the time you get to the Warriors name on the bracket line. Plus, a lot of regular season success in the past hasn’t translated to a title yet, which pushes them back in people’s minds as well. If J.D. Scholten is around, look out.
The Upset — Cold Spring Springers — One last ride in the “old” class B for the Springers, might as well go out by Femriting one of the pre-eminent programs in the state, right? The way this side of the bracket and first round matchups set up, the upset-meter seems to be one of either mild at best or extremely shocking. I’ll go with the one that lands somewhere in the middle.
The Sleeper — Burnsville Bobcats — I mean, what the hell is the difference between a darkhorse and a sleeper? Anyways, Burnsville may not really be sleeper-esque, but it just goes back to the fact that the top half of this half is absolutely loaded. Bona-fide No. 1 in Connor Hartley, young, but not too young roster, and a bunch of boys playing for their hometown. Seems to check most of the boxes for me.
Aldon Severson — Northfield Knights
Quad I: Champlin Park LoGators, St. Paul Hops, Minneapolis Cobras, Elko Express, St. Louis Park Pirates, Dundas Dukes, Chaska Cubs, St. Anthony Hogs
The Favorite — Elko Express; the Express can play until Labor Day without using any arm besides Jake Petricka, if they want. Best of luck to the opposing hitters.
The Darkhorse — SLP Pirates; I’m not sure a team with as many state titles as the Pirates can be considered a darkhorse, but these guys have virtually no online presence and might be overlooked compared to years past.
The Upset — Chaska over St. Anthony; both teams have loads of state tournament experience. This should be a good game on opening weekend.
Quad II: Sobieski Skis, Hopkins Berries, North St. Paul Snowmen, Victoria Vics, St.cPaul Mudhens, St. Michael Saints, Miesville Mudhens, Minneapolis MudCats
The Favorite — Miesville Mudhens; the Mudhens have been ranked near the top of the state all year. I don’t expect they’ll play a tight game until the final weekend.
The Darkhorse — Victoria Vics; the Vics had a strong season with wins against several of the state’s best teams. Don’t be surprised to see them make a deep run.
The Upset — North St. Paul over Victoria; I don’t know much about the Snowmen but I’ve heard they’re legit. Don’t be shocked if they have Victoria on the ropes.
Quad III: Rochester Royals, Minneapolis Angels, Air Freight Unlimited, Centennial Cougars, Cold Spring Springers, Minnetonka Monarchs, Stockmen’s Irish, Eagan Bandits
The Favorite — Air Freight Unlimited; if we learned one thing in 2023 it’s not to bet against Graham Laubscher. That said, this quad is absolutely loaded … not sure how this happened.
The Darkhorse — Rochester Royals; the Royals are the No. 1 seed coming out of Section 1B and have two aces on the mound. Combine that with a young lineup, they’re a tough matchup for anyone.
The Upset — Cold Spring over Minnetonka; the Springers are a perennial contender and should match up well against a Minnetonka squad that looks a bit different from year’s past.
Quad IV: Andover Aces, Highland Park Beavers, Lyon’s Pub Warriors, New Market Muskies, Baseball 365, Moorhead Mudcats, Burnsville Bobcats, Stillwater Loggers
The Favorite — Burnsville Bobcats; arguably the No. 1 overall seed coming into the tournament.
The Darkhorse — Lyon’s Pub; after a surprise ending to their 2023 season I expect the Warriors are playing with something to prove this year.
The Upset — New Market over Lyon’s Pub; I’m not betting on this upset but New Market is a young squad with tons of talent. Friday night in Jordan should be an exciting matchup!
Tom Kolar — Air Freight Unlimited
Quad I:
Favorite: Champlin Park LoGators — Back with a vengeance after getting upset in the first round last year, they dominated the Metro Minny to a tune of 13-1. This team can certainly hit, but it will come down to pitching, it doesn’t look like Riola threw a ton of innings this year so I would only expect him in a relief role. It doesn’t look like this team has a “true” ace, so the question becomes can the bats carry them?
Contenders: Minneapolis Cobras/Elko Express — Cobras came in second in a tough P-Nash. I believe they did lose Kozicky, which is a huge loss, but they seem to reload year over year with new guys. They have a tough road to the quarters though. Similar to the Cobras, Elko would need to get by Champlin (assuming they take care of business in round one), but if they do I think they are semi bound. I hear they have a stud pitcher, so it would be a great matchup vs the bats of Champlin if we got there.
Upset: Dundas Dukes — Fifth seed out of Section 1 got them a matchup with St. Louis Park in the first round. No disrespect to SLP here as this team has won two Class A titles recently and they won a tough Riverview League this year, but Dundas lost a tough three-game series to New Market, battled back in the redemption round to get here, and had their field get flooded this year, team is battle tested.
Sleeper: St Anthony Hogs — If the bats come alive, Bennet Wiggins is capable of taking this team on a deep run. They do the little things right and won’t beat themselves. I think this could be the year the Hogs finally make a run.
Prediction: Champlin over St. Anthony
Quad II:
Favorite: Miesville Mudhens — This is their section to lose, they have the bats, I’m sure they have the arms. There is no reason they shouldn’t be around Labor Day weekend.
Contenders: Sobieski Skis — Surprising winner of Section 2, this is probably their last year in this class, it just depends on which Hopkins team shows up on Saturday.
Upset: St Michael Saints — I am just going out on a limb here and making a wild prediction. Give me St Michael over the St Paul Mudhens. Personal vendettas aside, I just do not know the availability of the Mudhens team. I know most guys are in college, and they lack a true ace which seems to make them susceptible to an upset, the bats are solid though.
Sleeper: North St Paul Snowmen — Took Cold Spring to extras last year (I think), they are a young squad and could surprise some people.
Prediction: Miesville over Victoria
Quad III:
Favorite: Air Freight Unlimited/Minnetonka Monarchs — I am biased, and although we haven’t had a great regular season by our standards, I have faith in this group that we can make a deep run here. The offense hasn’t been great, but if the bats get hot and a certain pitcher on the mound makes it hard to not think that another run isn’t possible.
Outside of our team, I would say Minnetonka, although it has a new name and “technically” it is the first state appearance (see April’s Board minutes) this is pretty much the same roster from last year and they have a ton of experience. I would never count them out.
Contenders: Stockmen’s Irish — Great squad on paper, but have come up short recently. The Paulsen brothers lead a strong lineup, if Ryan Duffy gets hot they are dangerous.
Upset: Eagan Bandits — First state appearance in a while and I hear they have an ace. As we have seen these single elimination tournaments an ace can take you a long way.
Sleeper: Cold Spring Springers — Their first round matchup with Minnetonka is an easy contender for best of the first round. Semifinalists last year and they are a veteran squad. The winner of that game could very well go on to win the quad and maybe the whole thing.
Prediction: Air Freight over Minnetonka
Quad IV:
Favorite: Burnsville — They have been No. 1 in the rankings for portions during the year and this quad seems like a toss up. Seems to me like a reasonable pick for the favorite.
Contenders: Lyon’s Pub/New Market — Pub is always a good squad, but somehow only has one state tournament win since 2019. Is this the year they finally make a run? They have the depth to be a strong contender that final weekend, but the question is if they can get there. I hear New Market has a stud ace, they come out of arguably the best section in Class B, I am sure they can hit. They got a tough draw with Pub in the first round but I think the winner of that gets to the quarters.
Upset: Highland Park — Have to give respect to another STP league team, if they can scrape some runs across, they play good enough defense and throw strikes where they won’t beat themselves.
Sleeper: Baseball 365 – A No. 2 seed isn’t much of a sleeper I guess, but they seem like they are flying under the radar. I am not sure if Noah Danner is around, if he isn’t it seems like CJ Smith has tossed some good games for them this year. If Danner was around they would be in the contenders section.
Prediction: Burnsville over New Market
Final Four:
Miesville over Champlin
Air Freight over Burnsville
Nate Jackson — Lyon’s Pub Warriors
Upper Bracket
Favorite: Miesville Mudhens — Who else is supposed to win it all? Miesville is there in the end, year in and year out. The only thing getting in their way is … You guessed it … Miesville. Head Hen is ready to bring the title home.
Darkhorse: St. Louis Park — Little is known about the incognito Pirates. Unless you know a few guys on the team, you probably didn’t know they even existed this year. Under new leadership from Adam Seaman since Chris Duda stepped aside. Seaman stripped down the schedule to make sure this team was healthy and available for every game. The lineup can hit with the best of them. Andy Davis and Chris Odegaard can shove. Tough matchup for Dundas to start the tourney. Park was quiet all season but it’ll make some noise at state.
Sleeper: Minneapolis Mudcats — These boys can play. They’ll need to get past the Head Hen but if they do, no one will want to play them. Solfest and the pitching staff will need to deal for the Cats to move on to the final weekend.
Upset: Chaska Cubs — The Cubbies don’t stand out like many of the teams in the bracket but they’re playing well heading into state. In order for them to get to the final weekend, they’ll need to pass through some solid teams. They have what it takes to win and I think it will come down to their pitching.
Final weekend: St. Louis Park, Elko, Victoria and Miesville
Lower Bracket
Favorite: Burnsville Bobcats — They’re good in every aspect of the game. Hitting, fielding, pitching and post-game drinking. They lost a few games this year to understand what it’s like but I don’t expect them to lose a game over the next three weeks. They’re tough and everybody that’s played them knows it.
Darkhorse: New Market Muskies — Not much is known and who knows what lineup will show up. I heard they can “mash” the baseball with some pitching to boot. No. 4 out of one of the toughest sections in the state. If they get past Lyon’s Pub, they’re in a great position to make it to the final weekend.
Sleeper: Moorhead Mudcats — Not the Moorhead that we’re used to seeing. Brewerless state tourney means it’s time for the Muddies to step up. They’ll need a solid pitcher for the Baseball 365 lineup and bats to swing it against their hard-throwing lefties.
Upset: Eagan Bandits — Eagan has the potential to upset the entire bracket. It might not have enough pitching if the Bandits make it to the final weekend. Although, they’re in a position to send some teams to the golf course early.
Final weekend: Lyon’s Pub, Burnsville, Air Freight, Minnetonka Monarchs
Jordan Wiggins — St. Anthony Hogs
Quadrant I (Champlin Park, St. Paul Hops, Minneapolis Cobras, Elko, St. Louis Park, Dundas, Chaska, St. Anthony)
Favorite: St. Louis Park is enticing here — It’s coming in as the No. 1 seed from the Riverview which includes Minnetonka and Baseball 365. But I cannot guarantee these guys will be ready to roll for the breakfast shift on Sunday morning in Green Isle. They also have little information available as to how they’ve won all these games. For these reasons, I am going with the top seed out of the Metro Minny in the Champlin Park LoGators. Handful of good arms on this roster and Riola and Reichenborn are monsters at the top of this lineup. Elko will be a good test should both get to the second round.
Darkhorse: Elko Express is an interesting team. Based on previous rankings, these guys have floated around the bottom of the top-10 and it sounds like they have a good arm. Facing off a young, revamped Minneapolis Cobras team and then either the St. Paul Hops or Champlin Park, who came out flat in 2023, could set them up to be playing on Sunday the second weekend.
Upset: As someone who is a big whiteboard material guy, I typically like to pick against my own team here. But since that has come true in recent years and we now find ourselves as the lower seed in a first-round matchup, I’m going to pick my very own St. Anthony Hogs to upset the Chaska Cubs. Two fairly similar teams that have meshed youth with our core of veterans and we faced off earlier this year, resulting in the Cubs scoring two in the bottom of the ninth to walk us off.
Quad II: (Sobieski, Hopkins, North St. Paul, Victoria, St. Paul Mudhens, St. Michael, Miesville, Minneapolis Mudcats)
Favorite: Sobieski appears to be the top seed of this quadrant but I know little about them. Based on recent rankings, it also appears others around Class B are in the same boat. I think the Hopkins Berries are a tough first-round draw versus a No. 4-seed and North St. Paul or Victoria are a daunting matchup to start the second weekend should they make it there. Based on this, I’m going to call the Miesville Mudhens my favorite in this quadrant, though the potential second-round matchup versus the St. Paul Mudhens will be a difficult matchup of waterbirds.
Darkhorse: The North St. Paul Snowmen have picked up some steam and recognition by other leagues recently, but I’m not sure it’s enough. I’m also not sure if a two-seed necessarily deems them a “darkhorse”, but this is my pick. It’s difficult to manage the schedules of college-age guys who have already played 30-plus games in the spring before their summer begins, but the Snowmen have done it well. When their full roster is at the field, these guys have a stable of arms and explosive bats that can beat anyone. If their guys are in town and a difficult top half of this quadrant makes this a tough pick for me, but I know the potential is there. With this, keep an eye on the Hopkins Berries, who gave Baseball 365 a scare in the Riverview playoffs.
Upset: I’ll go with St. Michael over the St. Paul Mudhens. Mudhens are a talented group but St. Michael comes from the Metro Minny, which I have a ton of respect for, and will be battle tested for nine-inning street fights.
Quad III: (Rochester, Minneapolis Angels, Air Freight, Centennial, Cold Spring, Minnetonka, Stockmen’s Irish, Eagan)
Favorite: This is an insane quadrant. Rochester has come on hot, Air Freight and Cold Spring aren’t your typical two-seeds, Minnetonka isn’t your typical three-seed, and Stockmen’s has been here countless times. If the bottom half of this quadrant wasn’t filled with juggernauts, I could easily take one of those teams to come out of the quadrant but I am going to go with Air Freight as the favorite. Graham Laubscher proved he could basically put this team on his back last year but Duke Coborn is no joke as the No. 2 on this team. Their lineup also can put up plenty of runs even if these two guys give you their B or C level performances.
Darkhorse: I’m not going to pass up the chance to pick Minnetonka as my darkhorse — these guys haven’t been considered a “darkhorse” dating back maybe as far as their team has existed. Cold Spring is tough and Stockmen’s, should they get past Eagan, has beaten them before, but the Monarchs are still no joke.
Upset: Calling Minnetonka my “darkhorse” and then choosing them as my upset is a little boring, but I just don’t see any other upsets in this quadrant. So I’ll take the Monarchs to beat Cold Spring on Saturday in Shakopee.
Quad IV (Andover, Highland Park, Lyon’s Pub, New Market, Baseball 365, Moorhead Mudcats, Burnsville, Stillwater)
Favorite: Burnsville and Baseball 365 being in the same half of this quadrant immediately brings me to Lyon’s Pub. The Warriors have been toward the top of the Class B rankings all year and this might be their year to claw into that final weekend. This is a consistent group of ball players that has added some strength to their lineup and have a number of arms they can rely on.
Darkhorse: I like Baseball 365’s chances of a deep run but I’m not in the business of choosing another two-seed as a “darkhorse.” So I will take Highland Park as my darkhorse for quadrant IV. They’re only a few years off of a second-place finish in the old Class A and they’re not scared of anyone. They’ve matched up with the St. Paul Mudhens and Air Freight all year and will be ready for good teams being thrown at them.
Upset: Looking beyond round one here, give me Baseball 365 to beat Burnsville in round two. Burnsville has been the surprise of Class B in 2024 but Baseball 365 has survived not having Danner on the mound and will turn to Will Fazio and a lineup that can put up runs in bunches. The Walker brothers were a great addition for these guys and I think they have what it takes to come out of this quadrant. A third weekend matchup with their old league rival, Lyon’s Pub, would be a pretty good story line.
Jon Sands — Victoria Vics
Quad 1
Favorite: Champlin Park. What’s not to like about this squad? Look for them to make a deep run.
Darkhorse: Dundas Dukes. Seems strange calling a power a darkhorse but the Dukes are down a little bit but could still shock some teams.
Upset: St. Anthony over Chaska this could be a close game but I had to pick an upset.
Quad II
Favorite: Miesville Mudhens. The Mudhens are my favorite to win the whole thing.
Darkhorse: Victoria Vics. This team could make a run. They finished as the one seed in the regular season in Section 3 and the bats are coming around.
Upset: Hopkins over Sobieski.
Quad III
Favorite: Cold Spring Springers. Another team that people think could make a deep run.
Darkhorse: Minnetonka. New name for the Minnetonka club but this team could make a run along the way.
Upset: Eagan over Stockmen’s Irish
Quad IV
Favorite: Lyon’s Pub Warriors. What’s not to like about this Warriors club? Look for them to make a run this tournament
Darkhorse: Baseball 365. This club is one of those teams where if you let them hang around they will beat you and force you to make the mistake and take advantage of that.
Upset: Stillwater over Burnsville the only real upset that could happen, not that it will happen.
