Mankato East’s Kylinn Stangl, shown during last season's state tournament run to the Class 3A championship, is headed to the Gophers next. (Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

MANKATO – This is a Minnesota sports haven that includes the high school softball teams that had won the past three Class 3A titles — Mankato West in 2022 and Mankato East in 2023 and 2024.

Kylinn Stangl is the senior pitching ace for the East Cougars. She was a strong contender to be the Star Tribune’s Minnesota player of the year, although that honor went to Carter Raymond from Randolph, a defending state champion in Class 2A.

Stangl and Raymond are both committed to the Gophers — Kylinn way back in the summer of 2023 and Raymond last fall. Coach Piper Ritter and the Gophers have fallen on hard times: 5-17 in the Big Ten and 17th place with the West Coast expansion. So they could use a boost.

For more on Stangl and the Cougars' run in this year's state tournament, click here to read this story on startribune.com.