Tribune Notebook: Titans making the trek to nationals
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 14---- A youth team under the Willmar NFL Flag Football League is on its way to nationals.
Who?
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It is the 10-and-under Titans of the Kandiyohi Roughnecks regional program, which serves roughly 80 youth athletes from Willmar and the surrounding communities throughout west central Minnesota.
Based out of the Kandiyohi County Area Family YMCA, the Roughnecks also had their 12u Chargers and 10u Bills finish as regional runners-up.
"These young athletes will have the opportunity to represent not only Willmar and Kandiyohi County, but the entire state of Minnesota on a national state," head coach Tre Scott said.
They went undefeated in the Green Bay Packers NFL Flag Regional Tournament to earn their berth into the 3rd Annual NFL Flag Championships.
Nationals take place from July 23-26 at the Droplight Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana.
More than 350 boys and girls teams are expected to participate, according to NFL Flag.
There will be boys, girls and international divisions, which will have representation from 12 countries.
"Regional champions representing all 32 NFL clubs will compete on a national stage in front of thousands of spectators," Scott said. "Games will be streamed nationwide, many of which will featured on ESPN and other Disney and NFL platforms."
This summer marked the fourth time the Titans competed in the NFL Flag Regional.
They previously finished 0-4, 0-3 and 1-2 in regional play over the last three years.
"Through losses, setbacks and years of development, they stayed committed to one another and continued to work toward their goal," Scott said. "Instead of quitting when success did not come immediately, they built a brotherhood, trusted the process and ultimately became champions.
"Their story represents everything youth sports should be about: commitment, growth, teamwork and resilience."
Nine former Willmar Stingers were selected in the 2026 Major League First-Year Player Draft last week.
The Stingers tied the Madison Mallards for the most players selected from their respective Northwoods League franchise.
Ninety-seven players out of the Northwoods League, former or past, were taken in the 27-round draft.
Vahn Lackey, a junior catcher from Georgia Institute of Technology, was the Northwoods League's highest pick. The Minnesota Twins selected Lackey, who played for the Traverse City Pit Spitters, with the third overall pick.
Isaac Morton, a University of Minnesota junior right-handed pitcher from Blaine, was the first Stinger off the draft board.
It was the Chicago Cubs who drafted Morton with the 188th pick in the sixth round.
Morton had a 2-1 record and a 7.11 ERA in 6-1/3 innings pitched with the Stingers in 2025.
Kansas City selected Hunter Possehl, a left-handed pitcher and redshirt sophomore at Florida Gulf Coast University who played in Willmar in 2024 and 2025, with the 239th pick in the eighth round. Ryan Tayman, a California Polytechnic State University junior who was a Stinger in 2025, got selected by the New York Yankees with the 270th pick in the ninth round.
Morton's teammates Jack Spanier and Will Whelan, who each played in Willmar in 2023 and 2024, were drafted back-to-back in the 13th round.
Arizona selected Spanier, a junior infielder, with pick 386. Texas took Whelan, a junior left-handed pitcher, with pick 387.
Georgia Institute of Technology junior right-handed pitcher Porter Buursema (Miami — 16, 475), University of Southern California redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Adam Troy (Philadelphia — 17, 519), Bowling Green State University redshirt senior left-handed pitcher Ethan Stade (Atlanta — 18, 532) and University of Illinois junior left-handed pitcher Zach Bates (Los Angeles Dodgers — 20, 613) rounded out Willmar's draftees.
Willmar soon-to-be senior wrestler Caiden Kassel announced his commitment to the Division III Augsburg University on July 6 via Instagram.
Kassel, who won a 2024 state title in Washington at 113 pounds, placed third at 114 pounds (2025) and fourth at 127 pounds (2026) in the Class AAA state championships at Grand Casino Area in St. Paul.
He is projected to wrestle at 125/133 pounds this season, according to MNwrestle on X/Twitter.
Last season, Augsburg finished third in the NCAA Division III National Championships and had five All-Americans. The Auggies have won 15 national titles, including back-to-back team championships in 2023 and '24.