Perhaps no softball player in the United States has more star power than Ni'Jaree Cannady, the first $1 million softball player who led her Texas Tech team to the Women’s College World Series final. Cannady herself played in the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series in 2021 and 2022, and it’s possible the next softball megastar will be at Grand Park this month when Alliance brings its entire championship series to Hamilton County.
Softball’s best summer circuit will have its championships in Indiana for the fourth straight year, but this time there’s a new twist. While the AFCS has traditionally split its age groups between multiple sites, this July all of the softball championships will come to Westfield. That’s 360+ teams from 10U through 18U. Not to mention the AFCS All-Star game, set for broadcast on ESPN+.
Jami Lobpries is the CEO of AFCS and was in the founding group in 2020. In 2021 and 2022, Grand Park hosted the first and second national championships, respectively, for different age groups. Lobpries said that after some feedback from stakeholders across the softball industry, players, parents, and coaches, the consensus came in:
Why not have the entire thing in Indiana?
“It became a very popular conversation, ‘why not move all the teams there?’ Lobpries said. “Indiana has been great for our teams and families, and great for all of the college coaches. Teams from all over were all-in because of what these facilities provide.”
Originally, AFCS played between California, Florida, and Oklahoma City. After factoring in weather and location, Indiana and California emerged as the top performers. Recently, AFCS has divided its age groups, with half playing at Grand Park and the other half across Southern California.
“The original vision was to rotate because there’s just so much powerhouse talent in California,” Lobpries said. “But it just made sense to have everything all in one place. We have 350+ college coaches coming in, and they were battling California traffic and summer rain in Florida. And it’s such an important piece having all of the fields so close together.”
But once the top teams on both coasts experienced playing at Hamilton County’s Grand Park, it became the one-and-done location for travel softball’s top event. In fact, Lobries herself will be in Hamilton County for 21 days.
“The support of Hamilton County and the City of Kokomo has been top-notch. We feel welcomed and our teams love it,” Lobpries said. “It’s family-friendly with tons of good restaurants, it’s safe, and there isn’t a ton of traffic. It’s easy to get from the airport and hotels, and it’s a nice experience for everybody.”
Location and convenience aside, Lobpries noted the connection the group has with Grand Park, Bullpen, and Hamilton County at an organizational level. That story dates back to 2022, when the AFCS first began visiting Westfield.
“We’d heard of Grand Park, and we made a call to Michael Tucker and Blake Hibler at Bullpen. It was a blind find in a sense, but we’d heard great things,” she said. “It came together pretty quickly. Once we got there and drove around, it was a done deal. They share the same core values for creating a great experience for teams and families. That’s important for us.”
Along with Grand Park’s vast resources, AFCS will use Kokomo, Indiana’s Championship Park for tournament play. Kokomo High School’s field, which underwent a multi-million dollar renovation in 2023, will host the AFCS All-Star Game and the national championship games in each age group. The 18U, 16U, 14U, and 12U championships are all best-of-3, while the 10U is a single-game final.
“There’s something special about keeping all of the age groups together,” Lobpries said. “When the 10u kids are finishing playing, the 16Us and 18Us will be there, and it’ll be nice for those kids to play in front of the players they look up to.”
Teams throughout the series must earn a berth in the AFCS. A combination of tournament results and a point system is used to determine the teams and the seeding. Last year, teams from as far as Hawaii came in to compete. Lobpries said this year’s edition will feature a record number of 18U and 14U teams, and the 16U field remains the same as last year, although all spots are now filled.
In addition to the approximately 360 teams coming in, more than 200 umpires will make Hamilton County home in July. Additionally, there are ancillary programs that will bring value to the area. The All-Star Game is set for July 20 on ESPN+, which will also carry the 18U championship series for the first time.
Lobpries and the Alliance team are also working to build local softball participation from the ground up. The older AFCS players will be hosting youth camps for local softball players. The all-stars and 18U players will serve as instructors, and the event is open to the surrounding communities.
“We are hoping to have an impact on long-term programming in Indiana,” Lobpries said.
