Longtime Minneapolis basketball coach Larry McKenzie was pleasantly surprised to learn of the 2022 History Makers Award bestowed on the Minnesota Black Basketball Coaches Association, a group that celebrated one year of existence in October.
McKenzie, coach of the North Polars boys' team, said the recognition from the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights and Minneapolis Black Employee Network owes to great strides in a short time.
"Since the beginning of this association, we've become a respected voice for Black high school coaches," McKenzie said. "It makes you feel good that you've come so far this quickly."
The Minnesota Black Basketball Coaches Association presented a pair of recent tournaments honoring George Floyd and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the latter featuring a breakfast for all teams and a viewing of King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
"We wanted to do more than take advantage of a day off and just trying to get more people in the stands," said McKenzie, who will accept the 2022 History Makers Award on behalf of the Minnesota Black Basketball Coaches Association at a ceremony Feb. 17.
Opportunity arrives
Kat Sturman got what she was striving for, but she's still not sure how it happened.
Sturman, a sophomore catcher for the Wayzata softball team, has long had her eye on a collegiate softball career. That ambition paid dividends recently when she was tabbed to play with an all-star team made up of American high schoolers in an international, Olympic-style tournament in July in Barcelona.
Sturman was an All-Lake Conference honorable-mention selection as a freshman last season, blessed with a rifle for an arm, pop in her bat and an innate sense of the game. She hit .391 with a .432 on-base percentage and a .565 slugging percentage.
She and her family, who live in Minnetonka, have taken multiple steps in the recent past to get Kat's name in front of college recruiters. Their persistence appears to have paid off.
Her mother, Heidi Berry, received a text message from an unknown source stating that Kat was one of 12 players from around the country selected to play with America's Softball Team, an collection of the top high school-age players in the nation with college intentions that is partnered with the American Council for International Studies (ACIS).
"At first I thought it was some sort of joke, but … I called the number and got an invitation to a Zoom meeting, where they gave additional info," Heidi said. "We'll be leaving on July 11 for a six-game, nine-day tour."
She said she doesn't know the rest of the roster, with a few exceptions, but believes that Kat was the only Minnesotan selected. "It sounds like they identified her through a regional recruiting event and her college recruiting profile," Berry said.
Kat plays club softball with the North Country Riptide, a club based out of Carlsbad, Calif., with connections to the Minnesota Vortex, her former club, and former University of St. Thomas coach Brad Horstman. She confirmed she's thrilled by the opportunity.
"I'm very excited," said Kat, who believes she stood out because she's a lefthanded catcher. "I think they noticed me because of the uniqueness of my position. This is my opportunity to make friendships and develop the sisterships that are a part of softball. And I've never traveled out of the country for softball before."
Wrestling tenure is showing
Three Minnesota wrestling coaches recently reached 400 career victories, becoming the 39th, 40th and 41st coaches in state history to do so.
Ross Jurgenson of Dawson-Boyd/Lac qui Parle Valley/Montevideo got his 400th on Jan. 20, Todd Springer of Anoka on Jan. 27 and Tom Youngblom of Mora on Jan. 29
That makes 11 active wrestling coaches in Minnesota with 400 or more victories.
The winningest coach in state history is Scot Davis, who made coaching stops in Iowa, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota along with four different programs in Minnesota, most notably Owatonna, in his 42 -year career. He is coaching the St. Cloud co-op program and began this season credited with 1,183 dual-meet victories. Former Apple Valley and Shakopee coach Jim Jackson is the winningest coach strictly in Minnesota, with 871 victories and 54 losses in 26 years.
Hoops by the numbers
Ja'Sean Glover scored a school-record 60 points in Madelia's 88-50 boys' basketball victory over Cleveland on Monday at Madelia, Minn. Glover, a senior, broke his own record of 51 points, which he set last season. His point total is a high for boys' basketball in the state this season.
Three Minnesota high school players surpassed 2,000 points for their careers on Saturday. Hibbing senior Ayden McDonald, one of eight boys' players in state history with 1,000 assists, scored 24 points in Hibbing's loss to Orono to go over 2,000 points for his career. Central Minnesota Christian senior Coco Duininck scored 17 points in a 63-27 victory over Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg to reach the milestone. Rochester John Marshall senior Lilly Meister had 29 points in the Rockets' overtime loss to Hastings to surpass 2,000 points. Meister, who has more than 1,000 rebounds in her career, had 20 rebounds on Saturday.
On Monday, Chanhassen senior guard Callin Hake reached 2,000 career points.
A pair of junior guards surpassed 1,000 points: Virginia Johnson of Minneapolis Southwest and Aalayah Wilson of Osseo. And a pair of Waconia teammates, Ava Stier and Audrey Swanson, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark a week apart.
Maple Grove girls' basketball coach Mark Cook took career victory No. 300.
Heights in hockey
In girls' hockey, two top South Suburban Conference players added to their resumes. Eastview senior defender Nora Stepan recorded her 100th career point. Rosemount senior forward Whitney Tuttle joined the 200-career-points club. She is committed to Minnesota State Mankato.
Staff writers Ron Haggstrom, David La Vaque, Jim Paulsen and Joel Rippel contributed to this report.
