Yesterday, Line Drive Softball wrote about the launch of Northwoods League Softball (NWLS) starting this summer in Part 1 of our two-part feature that concludes today.

The NWLS will be following in the very successful footsteps of its baseball-focused older brother, Northwoods League (NWL) Baseball which has been a huge success and, according to the event’s website, is “the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players.”

The website adds:

“It is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind.”

“A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 340 NWL Alumni have advanced to Major League Baseball.”

To build and maintain a softball equivalent would be a huge success, but the formula has proven to be a successful one and expectations are high that the Northwoods softball league will someday be as successful as its male counterpart.

In an effort to learn more about the forthcoming league, we reached out to three key people behind the scenes to get their perspectives and thoughts:

• Co-Founder Kathy Radatz
• President & Commissioner Kathryn Reynolds
• Board Member Jolene Henderson.

Q&A with Co-Founder Kathy Radatz

Dick and Kathy Radatz are the co-founders of the Northwest Softball League.

Kathy brings over 35 years of Human Resources (HR) experience in financial services and defense technology industries.

Among her many accomplishments professionally, she was the Human Resources Managing Director at Citigroup where she led global HR Transformation efforts and successfully led the global Workday implementation across 200,000 employees and 98 countries. 

Kathy holds MBA and BBA degrees from the University of Michigan with a concentration in Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations. She also played on the first Michigan softball team.

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Line Drive Softball: How would I describe this league to someone not familiar with it?
Kathy Radatz: It is an opportunity for female athletes to continue their development during the summer against great competition, large crowds playing 42 games.  Our research showed that there are not many options available to them today, so we are addressing a real need.  NWLS will be the first for-profit summer collegiate softball league just like NWL baseball was 31 years ago.  We will leverage the NWL baseball experience including host families, webcasting all games and leveraging technology (scoring system, customer relationship management, ticketing system, websites).

Where are you and Dick living and where is the WNLS headquartered?
The league headquarters is in Rochester, Minn. Dick and I live in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. but spend much of the year up north.

Why those four cities—La Crosse, Wisc.; Mankato, Minn.; Madison, Wisc. And Minot, North Dakota—for softball?
We thought initially it made sense to use existing Northwoods League facilities because we knew the owners who excelled in marketing baseball, and we were comfortable with them extending the experience to softball.  Teams had to have at least turf infields so that limited the footprint.  There are more NWL teams interested in softball in 2025 and beyond so we will grow quickly.  We also have a number of municipalities and universities interested in our product.

What is the goal for the Northwoods League off the field?
From a business standpoint, we expect to grow the league rapidly with at least eight teams in 2025.  In addition, we want to give softball players involved in the business side through internships and hopefully front office jobs once they graduate including general management and ownership opportunities in the long run.  We also hope to inspire more professional opportunities.  

When and how did the idea of adding softball originally arise?
Our La Crossse Steam owner, Dan Kapanke, brought the idea to us and we ran with it.  The timing is right with the popularity of softball, the level of competition, and the lack of summer opportunities.  We wondered why this had not been done and we came to the conclusion it was lack of facilities and the best ones were on college campuses.  This is unlike baseball where there are numerous former minor league parks.

What is your goal and mission when it comes to helping the softball players? the sport overall?
Here is a draft mission statement which outlines our mission and goals…   NWLS strives to:

• Create the premiere environment for the continued overall development of collegiate softball players;
• Elevate the sport of softball through exposure and expanded opportunity for players, coaches, and umpires; and
• Provide a unique and engaging experience in its member communities

Q&A with President & Commissioner Kathryn Reynolds

Reynolds graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Business Management in 2015 and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2017.

She was a member of the University of Iowa’s Women’s Basketball coaching staff for six seasons, serving as the director of basketball operations from 2017-2019 before being promoted to the role of director of player development from 2019-2023.

In that time, the team won two Big Ten Conference Championships, two Elite 8 appearances, and one National Championship appearance.

As a student-athlete at Iowa, Reynolds was a member of the women’s basketball team, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient, a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, and a member of the Women’s Basketball Allstate Good Works Team.

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Line Drive Softball: Who came up with the idea to do the softball equivalent of what’s going on in baseball? And when did the idea come up to do the softball side of it?
Kathryn Reynolds: A few years back one of our outstanding owner/operators from the affiliate in La Crosse, Wisc., Dan Kapanke, came to our founder/Chairman Dick Radatz to collaborate on the idea to expand the Northwoods League to include softball. They astutely observed a need for additional opportunities in collegiate softball and recognized that utilizing the infrastructure of our baseball league could position us in a special way to add softball to our league’s repertoire.

How did you and the Radatz’s knew each other?
Back in the day, my dad was the General Manager of the Vero Beach Dodgers. In that role, he hired interns every year for spring training and in doing so he often tapped into the network of Sport Management students from the highly respected program at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Dick was one of those interns and after a successful spring training together for the Dodgers, “The rest is history,” as they say. The Radatz’s have been like a second family to us ever since.

When you were growing up, how did you personally interact or know the Radatz family?
Dick and Kathy have been part of mine and my brother’s life as long as I can recall. They have been supremely supportive of every endeavor I’ve been a part of. In particular, coming to Iowa Women’s Basketball games when I was a staff member and supporting the program and thereby me through fundraisers and the like. When I was a law student, the Radatz’s graciously invited me to NWL board meetings as an observer to learn about what the Northwoods League is all about, to see a snapshot of the business model, and to witness behind the scenes how it evolves to remain a leader in the summer collegiate sporting environment, largely due to the innovative and open-mindedness of Dick, Kathy, and their colleagues.

How did you get involved with the softball biz at first (knowing you knew Dick and Kathy growing up, how did they think of you to be the Commissioner with your basketball background)?
When NWLS started to become a reality, the Radatz’s graciously reached out to me knowing my involvement in and love for sports in general, in growing opportunities for women in sports, and an interest in the intersection of business with sports. I’m very grateful that they saw the combination of the educational background that I’m fortunate to possess, a career in collegiate athletics, and an underlying strong relationship based on trust…fortuitous mixture of factors that led to a really amazing opportunity.

How do you get athletes to sign up and compete in the League?
Glad you asked! NWLS coaches recruit their teams, but we would love for any athletes that are interested to visit our website and fill out a player application at this link.  Athletes, please tell your teammates and friends and come play with us in the summer!

What will be the barometers of success for the NWLS?
With anything, and especially with anything new, success can be measured in a variety of ways. In year one, a few of the bellwethers will include the quality experience we provide for the athletes and coaches that come to NWLS locations to compete and develop, the community experiences we provide, and the interest we draw to the sport at large to elevate softball and expose new markets and individuals to this great sport.

What has been the biggest challenge for you in getting the NWLS started and going?
Since we are new to the summer collegiate softball space, we are putting effort towards getting our League’s name and vision out to as many people in the world of softball as we can. We want to make people aware that we are here as a new and strong option for summer competition. Building relationships is so important to any field and is something I highly value. It simply takes time to develop and foster strong relationships. I’m enjoying every moment of working towards doing so.

What excites you about your position and the future of the League?
I’m incredibly grateful to be in this role and for the opportunity to interact with people daily who have a shared passion and drive to create opportunities through sports. The thought of providing an amazing summer experience for everyone involved; from young kids at the ballpark, to staff members, and of course to the players and coaches who will be on the field in La Crosse, Madison, Mankato, and Minot for our inaugural season. I’m excited to see how and where, together, NWLS can elevate summer collegiate softball. The best is yet to come!

What will be your benchmarks for success?
We have three key areas we’re focusing on:

1. Goal: Our goal is to have our league be a conduit to create opportunity for softball players, coaches, umpires, team staff, and community members. We want to create a ground for these individuals to develop in the premier summer collegiate softball league in the country.
2. Vision: To explain the vision for NWLS, it’s helpful to hear about the history of our baseball league. NWL Baseball started over 30 years ago, with only five teams. Today, we have 26 teams across seven states and one team in Canada. Throughout the course of the 2023 season, NWL Baseball drew over 1.3 million fans to ballparks across the league. There’s a strong desire for women’s sports and we believe fans will come out to the ballpark in NWLS communities just like they do for NWL Baseball!
3. Timing:We’re currently experiencing an all-time high level of interest in women’s athletics across the country and globally. Attendance and viewership records are being broken seemingly weekly across a wide variety of sports – soccer, basketball, volleyball, hockey, softball, etc. Additionally, the return of softball to the Olympic slate for the 2028 Olympic Games is so important for the growth of the sport of softball at all levels.  We view our league as yet another vehicle for the growth of the sport.

This must make you feel very proud knowing you’re helping advance the sport…
When athletes can see something, they can dream it. We want to help athletes achieve those dreams by providing a place for them to develop both as athletes and as individuals, while playing a sport they love in front of fans that love to be a part of it.

Q&A with Board Member Jolene Henderson

Jolene brings 15-plus years of softball experience, including playing collegiately, professional, international, and with Team USA (2014).

She was a starting pitcher for the California Golden Bears from 2010–13 where she is the career leader in wins and was a four-time All-Pac-12 player. 

She holds a degree from UC Berkeley and helped coach the Gators while earning a Master’s Degree from the University of Florida.

Jolene’s purpose in the financial services industry is to educate and empower the Professional athletes, NIL athletes, individuals and communities she serves, contributing towards a positive future.

Jolene lives in Sacramento with her German Shepherd, Charles. On the weekends she can be found hiking, snowboarding or cycling the California coast.

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Line Drive Softball: How did you first hear of the Northwoods League? Did you know it initially from the baseball side or did you become aware initially from the launch into softball?
Jolene Henderson: Ted Young, another member of the Northwoods League Softball Board of Directors, has a long-time relationship with Northwoods League Baseball and shared many positive remarks about the League.  He recommended I meet with them and upon doing so I loved the commitment they have to the sport, specifically summer collegiate baseball and excitingly, now, softball.

What first interested you about the league?
Their infrastructure and tenure in the sport of baseball is very impressive.  They have built through many phases, from where the game/society was 30 years ago, to now being the premier collegiate summer baseball league in the country.  That makes them a force to grow the game.  The ability to go play in the summer is similar to my professional softball experience in that you connect with high-level athletes, create new friendships and connections in new places or get another chance to play with former teammates, develop your craft in live games in preparation for your next season, perform in front of fans and grow the sport of softball…how cool.

Now that you’ve been exposed to it more including the leadership, what do you like about what the NWLS is doing?
The NWLS leadership has an unparalleled passion for sports along with the community sports creates.  I think mentalities like this will grow the game and sport we all love so much.

How else do you see this being beneficial to young players coming up?
My professional experience was full of unfamiliar places which exposed me to different cultures, places and people, it brought me life experiences. Being able to sharpen your craft, experience new places and make memories are things we value more as we age.

What do you hope to accomplish in the league? 
Softball is a special sport with loads of untapped talent and passion, I hope to see the opportunities for the young athletes continue to grow.

Is it something you hope for you personally will lead to other opportunities?
I’m excited by the chance to pair my softball background with my love for the game in my role on the NWLS Board to help grow the League and thereby grow the sport. Selfishly, I would love to see its growth benefit the professional scene so young women can extend, grow and chase their dreams.