MANKATO — It took awhile for Chloe Brandt to find her footing with the Minnesota State softball team, but now she’s finally starting to feel comfortable.
Brandt, a junior out of Le Sueur, was recruited by the Mavericks as a pitcher. Prior to her arrival she pitched the Le Sueur-Henderson Giants to two state championships.
She improved on the mound her first two seasons at MSU, going from 2-3 with a 3.37 earned run average as a freshman to 2.94 with a 2-0 mark as a sophomore. At the conclusion of the 2025 season, she sat down with new head coach Kristle Wolcott and had a frank discussion.
“She told me she had three freshmen pitchers coming in and she wanted to take a good look at them,” Brandt said. “She also said there could be a spot open on the infield that I might be suited for if I wanted to try to make that work.”
For Wolcott, it was a no-brainer.
“We knew what a great all-around athlete Chloe was when we recruited her,” Wolcott said. “Izzy Hycnar had been our shortstop the year before, but we had graduated our third baseman so we moved Izzy over there and put Chloe at short. She’s been growing into the position very well.”
It has been a challenge for Brandt because she is doing her student teaching as an elementary education major this spring and has had to miss large chunks of practice. She works out a lot on her own and also individually with coaches when they can fit her in.
“It’s demanding but I wanted to make it work,” Brandt said. “I’ve always liked playing in the infield and this was a move that could help the team. I was fine with it.”
She batted mostly ninth her first two seasons but was bumped up to the leadoff spot this year and is beginning to flourish. Her batting average is .329. She’s scored a team-high 42 runs and is second in on-base percentage at .430. She also leads the club with 11 stolen bases.
“Chloe is a real utility player for us, she can do it all,” Wolcott said. “She’s disciplined about doing work on her own and has a high softball IQ. For Chloe and her family it was all softball growing up.”
Tournament time
Wolcott, who was an assistant coach for 14 years until longtime head coach Lori Meyer retired after last season, has not had many surprises this spring.
“I knew the paperwork would be a lot more and it has been,” she said. “But other than that there really hasn’t been anything I didn’t expect.”
She inherited a team that has been up and down. With only five upperclassmen on a 25-player roster, there have been growing pains. The result has been a 33-21 overall record and a 20-10 conference mark.
“We have great chemistry, the younger players are evolving,” Wolcott said. “I knew we’d have some hiccups this season but the upperclassmen are doing a good job of leading the freshmen and sophomores.”
Designated player Hannah Tong has been one of the team’s most consistent players with a .376 batting average and 15 doubles. She is tied for the team lead in home runs (9) and is second in RBIs (37).
Freshman Nyah Hubert is also playing well. She leads the NSIC with a .392 average and has 12 doubles, three triples and 10 stolen bases. Ireland Broderick has shown nice growth in the outfield and is batting at a .311 clip.
Maddie Oetzmann has become the ace of the staff. She is 16-6 with a 3.13 earned run average and 138 strikeouts in 157 innings. Jorey Fry is No. 2 at 13-12, a 3.55 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 128 innings.
The Mavericks are the fourth seed in the single-elimination NSIC Tournament that begins play Thursday in Sioux Falls. MSU takes on sixth seed Augustana at 10 a.m.