Al Amdahl

Albany High School 

Al graduated from Atwater-Grove City in 1987 and from GustavusAdolphus College in 1991.  Al was a four-sport performer in high school, participating in football, basketball, baseball and track.  He was all-conference in football and was captain of the baseball team.  He played both football and baseball at Gustavus, serving as baseball captain in his senior season.  Al’s first and only head coaching position was at Albany High School, retiring after the 2022 season.  In 30 years as a head coach, Al compiled a record of 418 -245.  Al’s teams went to the State Tournament three times, 2005, 2008 and 2021 when his team won the Consolation title.  Al is a past president of the MSHSBCA and was the MSHSBCA Craig Anderson Ethics in Coaching Award recipient in 2015.  Al was the NHSBCA Region 5 Coach of the Year in 2020.  Al also coached football for over 30 years, 25 at the varsity level and was honored with the prestigious Butch Nash Award in 2008.  Al has coached Babe Ruth baseball in Albany for nearly 30 years and his teams have participated in the Babe Ruth World Series three times, finishing third in 2018 and 2019 and sixth in 2022.  Al was elected to the Minnesota Babe Ruth Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.  He has also coached VFW and American Legion baseball for many years.  Al has also excelled in the academic area.  He was named MCSS Social Studies Teacher of the Year in 2013 and the MCEE Economics Teacher of the Year in 2015.  He has coached seven state championship teams and five runner-up teams in Economics Challenge as well as one Personal Finance Championship and one runner-up.  He also coached two Mock Trial teams to the State Tournament in the MSBA Mock Trial Program, producing six attorneys and still counting.

Randy Hockinson

Kenyon-Wanamingo High School

Randy graduated from Coon Rapids High School in 1974 and from St. Cloud State University in 1981.  Unlike a lot of coaches who were star athletes in high school and college, Randy never played high school sports. Yet, because of his love for the game, he went on to a great career as a coach. He credits Hall of Fame coaches Craig Anderson and Frank Aunanfor mentoring him on how to run a baseball program.  He credits his long-time assistant/pitching coach, Mark Strandemo, for being instrumental in his success and enjoyment of the game.  His first job was at Kenyon-Wanamingo and he never left.  Randy taught Social Studies for 30 years.  He was the head baseball coach for 29 years, 1989-2017, winning 319 games.  He took his team to the State Tournament in 2007 and 2016.  In addition, Randy was the head football coach for eight years after being an assistant for 28 years. He was also an assistant basketball coach for four years.  In proving his versatility, Randy directed school plays and musicals for 21 years.  In addition, he ran the summer recreation program and coached junior high summer baseball for 16 years.  Currently he is in his 12th year as the Activities Director at Kenyon-Wanamingo.

Tom Schleper

Shakopee High School

Tom graduated from Shakopee High School in 1984 and from Southwest Minnesota State University in 1989. In high school he played football, basketball and baseball, earning all-conference honors in all three sports.  He was the MVP of both the football and baseball teams and captain of the baseball and basketball teams.  He was an all-section baseball player and participated in the 1984 High School All-Star Series.  In college, Tom played baseball for four years and football for two years.  In baseball, he was All-Conference, All-District three times, and Defensive Player of the Year twice.  His first job was at Shakopee teaching 8th Grade English.  Tom took over as Head Baseball Coach in 1994 and still serves in that position, winning 322 games and still counting.  His teams won conference championships in 1996, 2013 and 2015 and finished as Section Runner-Up in 1995, 2013, 2017, and 2022. Tom has been a Conference Coach-of-the-Year four times.  Twice, 1998 and 2022, he coached in the High School All-Star Series.  He was an assistant football coach for 30 years. He has been the intramural basketball coordinator at the high school and has also been an announcer for varsity football and basketball.  Over the years he has coached Legion, Junior Legion, summer travel and in-house teams and run camps in Shakopee since 1989.  One of the major highlights of his coaching career was to coach three sons in his program where all three were captains and all-conferenceplayers.

 

Paul Schumm

St. Michael-Albertville High School

Paul graduated from St. Michael-Albertville High School in 1990, from Bethany Lutheran in 1992 and Minnesota State University in 1995.  Paul played football and baseball and wrestled in high school and played baseball at Bethany Lutheran.  He was a captain of all three sports in high school and in baseball at Bethany Lutheran.  After graduation, Paul immediately started teaching and coaching in his hometown and has been the head coach for the past 27.  He is still in that position and has compiled an excellent record of 442 wins while losing 195 for a winning percentage of .688.  His teams have won 11 conference championships and been to the State Tournament five times, winning State Championships in 2000 and 2009.  That earned Paul MSHSBCA Coach-of-the-Year Awards.  St. Michael-Albertville finished third in 2018 and fourth in 2008.  They also participated in the 2015 tournament.  Paul has coached in the High School All-Star Series twice, in 2001 and 2010.

Troy Urdahl

St. Anthony Village

Troy graduated from Litchfield High School in 1996.  His post-high school education is quite extensive.  A Bachelor’s Degree from Hamline University in 2001, a Master’s Degree from St. Thomas University in 2004, and a Doctorate Degree from Bethel University in 2015.  Troy’s athletic prowess was also quite decorated.  In high school he was an all-conference player in football, hockey and baseball.  In his senior year he was an All-Area quarterback, was on the All-Tournament team in the state hockey tournament and was the Litchfield Top Senior Male Athlete.  In college, he again played football, hockey and baseball, earning all-conference in both hockey and baseball.  He became the head baseball coach in his first year at St. Anthony Village, 2002, and is still in that position after 21 years.  His record to date is 335-152, a winning percentage of .688.  His teams have won five conference championships and five section titles, winning state championships in 2006 and 2008, the first championships in any sport at St. Anthony Village.  They were consolation champs in 2010 and fourth place in 2002.  They also participated in the State Tournament in 2011. Troy was Minnesota High School Baseball Class AA Coach of the Year in 2008 and was section coach of the year in 2010 and 2011.  Troy has coached the St. Anthony VFW team since 2002, winning the state championship in 2006.  He co-founded the St. Anthony Hogs Class A amateur team in 2004.  He has coached every age level of youth baseball and youth hockey.  He led the movement to renovate Palm Field, one of the nicest facilities in the area.  He is also a member of the Litchfield High School Hall of Fame.

Mike Wenninger

Luverne High School

Mike graduated from New Ulm High School in 1991 and from South Dakota State University in 1996.  In high school, Mike played football, basketball and baseball. He was a captain in all three sports was an all-conference and academic all-conference performer.  In college, Mike played football for one year and baseball for four years where he was also a captain and all-conference player.  He was the Brookings, SD, High School head coach in 1996 before starting his teaching and coaching career at Luverne.  He was the head coach at Luverne from 1997-2021, compiling a record of 377-166 for a winning percentage of .694.  His teams won 11 conference championships and went to the State Tournament four times, 2001, 2003, 2009 and 2013, finishing as runner-up in 2001, sixth in 2009 and fifth in 2013.  His teams made it to the section championship nine times and he was section Coach-of-the-Year four times. Mike was an assistant football coach for 20 years as the defensive coordinator.  Mike did a lot of summer coaching, including the Brookings and New Ulm Legion teams before moving to Luverne.  He also coached the New Ulm VFW team for two years and the Luverne VFW/Junior Legion teams for 24 years.

Tracey Wensloff

Roseau High School

Tracey graduated from Roseau High School in 1981 and from Bemidji State University in 1986.  He played football, hockey and baseball in high school, and two years of football and four years of baseball in college.  In college, his Bemidji State team participated in the NAIA College World Series and in 1985 he was named to the Area 4 All-Tournament team.  His first teaching position was in Thief River Falls where he was named head baseball coach in his first year.  After seven years in Thief River Falls, he moved to Roseau where he was head coach for the next 20 seasons before retiring after the 2020 season.  In his 27 years as a head coach his teams compiled a record of 339-205, winning many conference championships.  He took two teams to the State Tournament.  In 2006, Roseau won the consolation championship.  They finished that season with a 25-1 record.  They also participated in the 2012 State Tournament.  He was a Dick Siebert Award recipient, and earned numerous conference coach-of-the-year awards.  He coached in the High School All-Star Series in 2008.  Tracey also coached hockey and football and received the prestigious Butch Nash Assistant Football Coach-of-the Year Award.  He did a lot of coaching in the summers for youth teams at the Cal Ripken, Babe Ruth and summer rec level teams where he had the pleasure of coaching his son throughout his playing career from youth level through high school.  Tracey is also a member of the Bemidji State University Hall of Fame.