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Jun. 10—The 2026 baseball state tournaments kick off this week at locations across the state. Two teams from the Post Bulletin's coverage area will be looking to capture their program's first-ever state championship title: Cannon Falls and Winona Cotter.
Both the Ramblers and Bombers — the winners of the Section 1, Class 2A and Section 2, Class 2A titles, respectively — will compete in the Class 2A bracket and will meet in the quarterfinals.
The Class 2A state quarterfinals and semifinals are set for Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12 at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.
Cannon Falls drew the No. 4 seed in Class 2A and will face off with No. 5 Cotter in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
The state championship games for all four classes will take place Monday, June 15, at Target Field in Minneapolis, with the Class 2A game scheduled for 1 p.m.
Here are five storylines to follow:
Winona Cotter is on its sixth state run overall, with appearances in 1980, 2006 and 2008, and runner-up finishes in 1981 and 1984. It has yet to win a state title, but that could change this year. The fifth-seeded Ramblers are a strong defensive team with multiple weapons on the mound in senior Dane Guzzo, a St. John's University (Minn.) commit and junior Vince Frisch.
Offensively, Cotter (24-3) outscored its opponents 37-11 in the Section 1, Class 2A tournament, which included an 11-5 victory over Lourdes in the section championship game. The Ramblers have just three losses on the season to Holy Family, Aquinas (Wis.) and Lake City. The loss to the Tigers came early in the spring on April 11. Cotter eventually got another shot at Lake City and won 5-3 in the section semifinal game. Holy Family finished the season 10-14 and went 2-2 in the Section 5, Class 2A tournament.
Like the Ramblers, the fourth-seeded Bombers are still searching for their first state baseball championship. This is Cannon Falls' fourth state tournament appearance in school history and the first since 2023. The Bombers earned state berths before that in 2012 and 1997.
CF (20-6) is one of the most well-rounded teams in its bracket with a combined batting average of .297, an OBP of .383 and an ERA of 2.72. The Bombers' starting pitchers and bullpen, including future University of Minnesota Gopher Ryan Hjellming, helped them out of the elimination bracket and carried them through a two-game marathon to claim the Section 2, Class 2A title over Le Sueur-Henderson 6-3 and 9-1 on Thursday, June 4.
There are three state title winners from last season returning to the tournament: Cretin-Derham Hall (Class 4A), Mahtomedi (Class 3A) and Red Lake County (Class 1A). C-DH enters its 21st state tournament in program history with a 19-8 record. The Raiders won their 12th state title in 2025.
This is Mahtomedi's 11th state tournament appearance after winning its third championship a year ago. The Zephyrs, out of Section 4, are 21-5 overall.
RLC won its first baseball state championship last year and is back at state for the eighth time. The Rebels (24-1) of Section 8 have just one loss on the season to Section 7, Class 1A champion South Ridge.
The 2025 Class 2A winner, Pine Island, did not advance to the state tournament this season, so a new champion will be crowned.
There are three teams, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, Ogilvie and Prior Lake making their MSHSL baseball state tournament debut in 2026. J-W-P (17-6) took down New Richland-HEG to win the Section 1, Class 1A championship and advance to state for the first time.
It took two games, but Ogilvie (19-6) claimed the Section 5, Class 1A title over West Lutheran for its first state berth.
The Section 2, Class 4A champion, Prior Lake (13-14) lost Game 1 on June 5 to Chaska but turned around and won the second game of the night to secure the title and its first trip to state.
Cannon Falls' Ryan Hjellming is one of several players competing in this tournament who will continue their careers at the next level. The senior pitcher/shortstop is committed to the University of Minnesota.
Cretin-Derham Hall's Davis Fleming, a first baseman/outfielder, joins Hjellming as a future Gopher. Mahtomedi lefty pitcher Connor Finn is heading to Texas Tech University, and Andover's outfielder/pitcher Danny Scheller is committed to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in Edwardsville, Ill. Farmington senior Ethan Hagman will play for New Mexico State University, while his teammate, junior Matthew Hennen, is committed to Illinois State University.
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Both the Ramblers and Bombers — the winners of the Section 1, Class 2A and Section 2, Class 2A titles, respectively — will compete in the Class 2A bracket and will meet in the quarterfinals.
The Class 2A state quarterfinals and semifinals are set for Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12 at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.
Cannon Falls drew the No. 4 seed in Class 2A and will face off with No. 5 Cotter in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
The state championship games for all four classes will take place Monday, June 15, at Target Field in Minneapolis, with the Class 2A game scheduled for 1 p.m.
Here are five storylines to follow:
Winona Cotter is on its sixth state run overall, with appearances in 1980, 2006 and 2008, and runner-up finishes in 1981 and 1984. It has yet to win a state title, but that could change this year. The fifth-seeded Ramblers are a strong defensive team with multiple weapons on the mound in senior Dane Guzzo, a St. John's University (Minn.) commit and junior Vince Frisch.
Offensively, Cotter (24-3) outscored its opponents 37-11 in the Section 1, Class 2A tournament, which included an 11-5 victory over Lourdes in the section championship game. The Ramblers have just three losses on the season to Holy Family, Aquinas (Wis.) and Lake City. The loss to the Tigers came early in the spring on April 11. Cotter eventually got another shot at Lake City and won 5-3 in the section semifinal game. Holy Family finished the season 10-14 and went 2-2 in the Section 5, Class 2A tournament.
Like the Ramblers, the fourth-seeded Bombers are still searching for their first state baseball championship. This is Cannon Falls' fourth state tournament appearance in school history and the first since 2023. The Bombers earned state berths before that in 2012 and 1997.
CF (20-6) is one of the most well-rounded teams in its bracket with a combined batting average of .297, an OBP of .383 and an ERA of 2.72. The Bombers' starting pitchers and bullpen, including future University of Minnesota Gopher Ryan Hjellming, helped them out of the elimination bracket and carried them through a two-game marathon to claim the Section 2, Class 2A title over Le Sueur-Henderson 6-3 and 9-1 on Thursday, June 4.
There are three state title winners from last season returning to the tournament: Cretin-Derham Hall (Class 4A), Mahtomedi (Class 3A) and Red Lake County (Class 1A). C-DH enters its 21st state tournament in program history with a 19-8 record. The Raiders won their 12th state title in 2025.
This is Mahtomedi's 11th state tournament appearance after winning its third championship a year ago. The Zephyrs, out of Section 4, are 21-5 overall.
RLC won its first baseball state championship last year and is back at state for the eighth time. The Rebels (24-1) of Section 8 have just one loss on the season to Section 7, Class 1A champion South Ridge.
The 2025 Class 2A winner, Pine Island, did not advance to the state tournament this season, so a new champion will be crowned.
There are three teams, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, Ogilvie and Prior Lake making their MSHSL baseball state tournament debut in 2026. J-W-P (17-6) took down New Richland-HEG to win the Section 1, Class 1A championship and advance to state for the first time.
It took two games, but Ogilvie (19-6) claimed the Section 5, Class 1A title over West Lutheran for its first state berth.
The Section 2, Class 4A champion, Prior Lake (13-14) lost Game 1 on June 5 to Chaska but turned around and won the second game of the night to secure the title and its first trip to state.
Cannon Falls' Ryan Hjellming is one of several players competing in this tournament who will continue their careers at the next level. The senior pitcher/shortstop is committed to the University of Minnesota.
Cretin-Derham Hall's Davis Fleming, a first baseman/outfielder, joins Hjellming as a future Gopher. Mahtomedi lefty pitcher Connor Finn is heading to Texas Tech University, and Andover's outfielder/pitcher Danny Scheller is committed to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in Edwardsville, Ill. Farmington senior Ethan Hagman will play for New Mexico State University, while his teammate, junior Matthew Hennen, is committed to Illinois State University.
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