It'll mark the first time Watertown has hosted the tournament since 1991
WATERTOWN — Watertown is set to host the state Class A American Legion Baseball tournament for the first time in 34 years in the summer of 2025.
The South Dakota American Legion Athletic Commission decided Sunday to award the five-day, double-elimination tournament to Watertown.
Although official dates have not been finalized, Watertown Post 17 American Legion Baseball coach Ryan Neale said he expects the tourney to run July 29-Aug. 2 (2025) at Watertown Stadium. The state champion qualifies for the Central Plains Regional tournament, which is scheduled for Aug. 6-10 that year.
"I've had this idea in the back of my mind since 2004 when I was an assistant coach for Post 17 under Eric Knight," Neale said. "I knew one day I'd like to lead the charge to bring this back to Watertown. It's a fun environment and something unique."
How does the process work
Neale, who got the approval of the Watertown Baseball Association board to proceed with trying to apply to host the tournament, and Watertown American Legion Post 17 Commander Randy Winge worked together to fill out a form on the South Dakota American Legion web site.
There is no upfront financial commitment needed to apply to host the state tourney, but each host site knows up front there are certain costs with such a venture. Profits from the tournament are split up among the programs that qualify teams for state.
One of the benefits for Watertown is that the Post 17 squad will automatically qualify for state as the host team.
"If you're going to host something like this, you want to think theoretically that you're going to have a good team and be able to compete," Neale said. "This is just something we wanted to pursue and the WBA board was behind it. We all agreed it was the right time."
Post 17 2023 Season Recap: With a mix of veterans and young players, Post 17 compiled 32-32 record this summer
How long has it been for Watertown
As mentioned previously, Watertown last hosted the state tournament in the summer of 1991.
The stadium is owned by the Watertown School District and serves as the host venue for the Watertown High School football team as well as serving in the late spring and summer as home to a number of the WBA's summer teams, including Post 17.
There was a catch, however, with the state tournament of 1991. It lasted only one day in Watertown before having to be moved to Redfield. Some construction work was being done at the stadium and a temporary fence was put up behind to the plate to block the balls. Heavy rains created a mess, and possible safety issues, so the tournament was moved.
Neale, who made Watertown's presentation to host the tourney on Sunday in Pierre, is definitely excited that his goal of bringing the state tournament back to Watertown is becoming a reality.
There's really only one possible negative that he can see and that is an issue with scheduling since Post 17 will not have to play in a state-qualifying playoff series in 2025.
"You just don't want to go into hosting a state tournament and not having played in two weeks," Neale said. "We'll have to get creative and see what we can find so we're not off for quite so long."
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown chosen as host site for 20025 state A American Legion tourney
