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For the first time, softball teams from all age divisions will be heading to Troy – starting this week – for Dixie Softball State Tournaments.

While the City of Troy has played host to numerous state tournaments in the past, 2024 is the first year that the city has hosted all tournaments for softball in the same year.

“We’re looking forward to having it here in Troy and for the first time ever having all of the age divisions for Dixie Softball,” Troy Parks and Recreation Director Dan Smith said. “We’ve had various state tournaments here in the past but never all of them here in Troy in the same year. That’s a total of 47 teams, so we’re dividing it up into two weeks.”

From June 28 through July 2, the Sweetees (6U) and Darlings (8U) tournaments will take place, while the Angels (10U), Ponytails (12U), Belles (15U) and Debs (18U) tournaments will begin July 5 through July 9. Troy will have host teams represented in each age division.

Troy’s Sweetees in 2023 brought the first ever Dixie Softball World Series Championship back to the city last season. Smith is optimistic about all of Troy’s teams in the various state tournaments this season.

“There will be a team from Troy in every division and we have some very, very good teams,” Smith said. “A lot of those girls from the Sweetees last season have moved up to older divisions but we believe the Sweetees will have another really good team and we think they will all do very well. We think all of our teams this year are really good.”

Putting together this amount of tournaments – with so many age groups and teams involved – over a two week span will have the Troy Parks and Recreation staff working hard but Smith said he’s very confident in that staff.

“We have one state tournament every summer but to have two at the same time in the first week and four at the same time the next week – six tournaments in two weeks – has obviously been a challenge for my staff,” Smith said. “They’re pros at what they do, though, and they do an exceptional job and I cannot say enough about our staff and the preparation and time and effort they have put in to all of these tournaments.

“Troy has a reputation of putting on a first class state tournament and when people come to Troy we want to exceed their expectations, because we know for a lot of these children this could be the only state tournament they ever get to attend in their life. We want to be everything they except and much more.”

Having this many teams, fans and family in Troy for the tournaments will also provide a great boost to the local economy.

“Everyone should be seeing a lot of softball uniforms in Troy, whether that means local businesses, restaurants or WalMart,” Smith said. “We hope everyone will wish them a great welcome to Troy, because there will be a lot of people in Troy for the next two weeks. We have always been appreciative of the hospitality we receive in other cities and we know Troy will extend the same to them.”