January 22, 2025

IHSAA determines sites for state baseball

Class 1A, 2A stays in Carroll for foreseeable future

By Troy Hyde
Carson Maston

Lynnville-Sully junior Carson Maston fields a grounder at first base during the Hawks' state baseball win at Merchants Park this past summer. The Iowa High School Athletic Association announced Tuesday the Class 1A and 2A state site will remain in Carroll through at least 2028. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

BOONE — Locations for the next four years of the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s State Baseball Tournament are set following extensive planning for the upcoming 2025 postseason and beyond.

The split site tournament will head west this summer to Sioux City and Carroll, then return to Cedar Rapids and Carroll from 2026 through at least 2028.

“Thanks to a great team effort, our state baseball tournament will continue to be showcased at first-class facilities with outstanding hosts,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said.

Iowa High School Athletic Association

Sioux City’s Lewis & Clark Park will host Class 4A and 3A for the 2025 tournament (July 21-25). The 3,800-seat stadium is home to the minor league Sioux City Explorers and will host the IHSAA event on a one-year agreement.

Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids became a state baseball site in 2024 for the first time since the 1970s and will host 4A and 3A again as part of a three-year arrangement starting in 2026. MLB scheduling has the Cedar Rapids Kernels playing at home during the IHSAA tournament week in 2025.

Carroll will remain home for 2A and 1A as part of a four-year agreement, running from 2025-28. Merchants Park resumed hosting in 2021 and is spending this offseason upgrading lighting, dugouts, bleacher seating and the press box.

“Our sincere appreciation goes out to these communities and ballparks for hosting these tournaments,” IHSAA baseball administrator Andy Umthun said. “We’re excited state baseball will visit Sioux City for the first time, and we know returning to Carroll and Cedar Rapids also will provide great experiences for our schools and student-athletes.”

Iowa High School Athletic Association

The 2025 tournament will mark the first IHSAA team championship to ever be played in Sioux City.

The IHSAA’s Board of Control approved the four-year proposal in November, pending coordination with the American Rivers Conference to utilize their MiLB reserved dates in Cedar Rapids. The ARC Presidents Council confirmed the agreement Monday, shifting rights for the 2026 dates from the NCAA Division III conference to the IHSAA.

Tournament dates beyond 2025 pending Unified Calendar approval include: July 20-24, 2026; July 19-23, 2027; July 17-21, 2028.