Iowa high school state softball tournament: Predicting the champions in each class

It's put up or shut up time, folks.

The state softball tournament will be held July 22-26 in Fort Dodge, where five champions will be crowned. Ankeny Centennial (5A), Winterset (4A), Williamsburg (3A), Regina Catholic (2A) and North Linn (1A) walked away with titles last year.

In our predictions, we have zero of these teams repeating in the 2024 state tournament, with five new champions claiming the top spot on the podium. In fact, Williamsburg is the only returning state champion from last year's crop.

Here's why we think we will see some new faces in 2024:

Class 5A: Valley

This class, without a doubt, will be the most competitive of the five. However, the Tigers may be separating themselves from the pack.

Valley has won 23 consecutive games coming into the state tournament, pushing the Tigers to a 36-4 record. In that time, they have beaten other state title contenders in Waukee Northwest, North Scott and Norwalk along with strong teams like Ankeny and Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

The Tigers are led by juniors Marin Heller and Mackenzie Mohler, as well as senior Claire Long, who have combined for 30 home runs, 151 RBIs and a .375 batting average or better between the three of them. Valley's top four pitchers in starts all have an ERA at 3.00 or better. Senior Alexa Stevermer is one of the state's best at 19-1 with a 1.51 ERA and 78 strikeouts.

There's a lot of competition for the Tigers, but the talent they have combined with their level of play for the last month and a half is going to be a tough out for anyone.

Contenders: Pleasant Valley and Waukee Northwest

Class 4A: North Polk

The Comets have not lost to a single team within their class on their way to a 36-4 ledger.

Junior Ava Husak is the primary reason that North Polk is where it is at the moment. Not only leading the team in batting average (.505), home runs (12), RBIs (45), walks (29) and on-base percentage (.594), she's also an outstanding pitcher. Husak has started 32 games, tallying a 28-4 record, a 0.94 ERA and nearly 10 strikeouts per game.

This team will go as far as Husak can take them. Nobody in the class has been able to stop her as of yet.

Contenders: Dallas Center-Grimes, North Scott and Norwalk

Class 3A: Wahlert Catholic

Wahlert Catholic of Dubuque has yet to drop a game to a team in its class, with 10 losses in 39 games coming from teams in larger classes.

Wahlert Catholic does not have a single senior on its roster. In fact, the Golden Eagles have only one junior in Ana Roling on the roster. The bulk of their batting production comes from a quartet of sophomores in Julia Roth, Ruth Tauber, Addison Klein and Kylie Sieverding, all of who are in the top five of batting average and home runs for the team. Roth leads the team in games pitched, ERA and strikeouts.

Will the lack of experienced veterans bite the Golden Eagles? Or is this the start of a generational run for Wahlert Catholic? We're going with the latter.

Contenders: Benton, Estherville Lincoln Central and Williamsburg

Class 2A: Van Meter

Since May 25, the Bulldogs are unbeaten. At 40-1, they have as good a claim as anybody of being the state's best team.

Senior Maddie Waldorf leads the way for Van Meter, recording nine home runs, 56 RBIs and a .527 batting average. She the team's star pitcher as well, with a 0.73 ERA and 8.4 strikeouts per outing. Juniors Fenley Netten (10 home runs, 30 RBI's and .391 batting average) and Bianca Prickett (1.65 ERA, 12-0 record) also star alongside her.

It would require an upset of some magnitude to knock off Van Meter.

Contenders: Alburnett, East Marshall and Northeast

Class 1A: Remsen St. Mary's

Remsen St. Mary's is 23-0 and the only undefeated squad left in high school softball. Even more impressive is that 10 of those games were won by 10 or more runs. Of their 10 batters who have started 15 or more games, seven are batting above .300.

The team's pitchers, senior Marina Cronin and sophomore Josie Schwickeratch, both hold ERAs below 1.00. Between the two, they have given up 64 hits in 489 official at-bats for an opponents' batting average of .131.

The schedule has been fairly light, and time will tell if their dominance can hold.

Contenders: Martensdale St. Marys and Southeast Warren

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23