Messenger file photo: St. Edmond senior Lauren Gibb and her Gaels are at state in their own backyard for a third consecutive season.

State softball week has officially arrived for the 56th consecutive season at Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.

Players, coaches and fans from 40 of Iowa’s top high school programs begin arriving on Monday morning. The traffic into town will be steady for the next five days at the ballpark, as well as Iowa Central Community College — where nearly every team stays for a unique, camp-like environment away from typical tournament distractions.

Our stores, restaurants and entertainment venues will be filled to the brim over the next five days to extend a tradition that began in 1970. This partnership has never rested on its laurels or stayed strictly loyal to the past, though; big changes are on the horizon for 2026, when the tournament adopts a double-elimination format and Rogers Park unveils another round of facility upgrades to accommodate the move.

Let’s get down to brass tacks first and take a look at what’s in store for us this week, though.

St. Edmond serves as the de facto home team for the third consecutive summer. Head coach Bill Shirbroun’s Gaels are flying a little under the radar as the sixth seed in Class 1A, but their offense is nothing short of a juggernaut, ranking in the Top-10 among all classes in steals (1st), on-base percentage (3rd), fewest strikeouts (3rd), on-base plus slugging percentage (4th), doubles (7th), batting average (8th), runs (8th) and run differential (8th).

An experienced squad — led by senior University of Iowa recruit Mariah Myers, classmate Lauren Gibb, junior Faith Shirbroun and three other experienced seniors — should be a very tough out. Myers is arguably the best overall hitter in the state, batting .620 with 11 home runs, 35 RBI, 54 runs, 53 walks, 42 stolen bases and a gaudy OBP of .787 — No. 1 in all of Iowa. She is a nightmare for opposing coaches to either pitch to or around, given Gibb (.551, 43 RBI, 32 steals), Shirbroun (.434, 48 runs, 35 SB), sophomore Sophia Schlienz (.370), senior Ansley Oswald (.352) and freshman Toryn Helle (.347) are all waiting in the wings batting above .340 for St. Edmond.

The Gaels first square off with Wapsie Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday in a 1A quarterfinal matchup.

One other Messenger-area squad, Newell-Fonda, has advanced in 1A as well. Head coach Coutney (Vaughn) Darrow, a 2008 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate, has the Mustangs in Fort Dodge after a brief two-year hiatus and for the 15th time overall. Newell-Fonda is the seven-time defending Twin Lakes Conference champion. In Darrow’s seven seasons at the helm, Newell-Fonda has four state berths — including a title in 2021.

The fifth-seeded Mustangs play at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday against Riverside.

Our coverage won’t be exclusive to area programs. The Messenger remains devoted to keeping the 500-plus players and nearly 20,000 fans fully invested and informed all week long. We will have game stories, pictures, brackets, features and social media updates from the first pitch through the last.

We will have a page on our website dedicated strictly to our coverage. Visit the “State Softball” tab at www.messengernews.net. A 32-page tournament preview edition, included in Monday’s Messenger, introduces the field and gets the ball rolling as well.

You are all a part of our story this week. Staff members Chris Johnson, Dana Becker, John McBride and Britt Kudla will make sure of it. Between the five of us, we’ve been doing this for over 130 years combined and have covered more state softball games than we can even begin to count.

This tournament just means that much more to so many of us. Iowa Central. Businesses. Workers. Volunteers. Local media. We roll out the red carpet and partner with the IGHSAU to make this your home away from home.

If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, please let us know. We’re here for you. The aggregate attendance total for state softball in Fort Dodge stands at 963,619, meaning a well-attended tourney this week could potentially set us up for a seven-figure celebration at the end of next season. This is an exciting time to be involved in Iowa high school softball — maybe more so than ever before.

Let’s have a memorable experience together!

Eric Pratt is Sports Editor at The Messenger. Contact him via email at sports@messengernews.net, or on Twitter @ByEricPratt