Original Publish Date/Outlet: June 14, 2026 | Minnesota Star Tribune

Article Link: https://varsity.startribune.com/minnesota-high-school-athletes-are-choosing-community-colleges-in-iowa/601863203

Chase Bjorgaard was weighing his options.

The three-sport athlete from Edina had reached the postseason last year in football, hockey and baseball, securing a championship on the gridiron.

His athletic prowess and versatility had been his strength over the past four years. It almost became a hindrance during his recruiting process.

“Once I made it clear I was playing baseball,” Bjorgaard said, “I got a couple looks from a couple of walk-on spots at D-I, then some offers at D-II and then JUCO. But what I thought was best for me was just to go the JUCO route.”

JUCO is shorthand for junior colleges, the two-year schools across the country that can be a proving ground for students and athletes.

Iowa Central Community College is one of those places, and baseball coach Eric Stein likes having multisport athletes on his roster. He will have two from Minnesota next season in Bjorgaard and Brody Geislinger, who starred in hockey and baseball at Delano High.

“There are a lot of guys that are multiple-sport athletes,” Stein said. “When they concentrate on baseball year-round, we can get them in our setting here at the junior college level, where I think they could really thrive.”

For the past several years, Fort Dodge and Council Bluffs, Iowa, home of Iowa Central and Iowa Western Community College, have been popular destinations for Minnesota high school players who want to continue their playing careers.

Iowa Central, located about 3½ hours south of Minneapolis, boasts a strong NJCAA Division II baseball program with a track record of sending players, including those from Minnesota, to four-year programs.

George McIntyre, a 2024 Edina grad, was named the NJCAA Division II Baseball Player of the Year in June after blasting 32 home runs and 22 doubles en route to a 1.630 on-base plus slugging percentage with the Tritons this past season.

McIntyre will continue his baseball career at Dallas Baptist, a Division I program that has made 11 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 2011 to ’25.

Iowa Central’s reputation attracted the attention of Bjorgaard, Strib Varsity’s 2026 All-Minnesota Male Athlete of the Year.

“They pretty much just let their players do the talking,” Bjorgaard said. “They had Cooper Nicholson, who was just playing in the College World Series [for North Carolina]. He hit a home run in the finals. So they got guys that went on to the next level and competed highly.”

The opportunity to get more at-bats, coupled with a familiarity with the program and proven coaches, made Iowa Central a prime candidate for Bjorgaard, who wants to play Division I baseball.

“They have good hitting coaches and their teams have always hit a bunch of home runs, hit for power and stuff,” Bjorgaard said. “I know a couple of guys, and it’s close to home, so I picked that.”

Pipeline on the gridiron

Familiarity and a proven track record of producing talent also ring true on the gridiron with the relationship between Minnesota and Iowa Western football. Minneapolis North High is sending three players — Anthony Deline, J’Marion Sanders and Anthony Palmer — to Council Bluffs this summer to play for coach Scott Strohmeier.

Strohmeier is familiar with Minnesota’s talent pool given his coaching history here.

Quientrail “Bobby” Jamison-Travis graduated from Minneapolis North and played defensive tackle for Strohmeier and Iowa Western for two years before transferring to Auburn. The New York Giants selected Jamison-Travis in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL draft.

Minneapolis North football coach Charles Adams II identified the success of Jameson-Travis as an example of why relationships with Iowa’s community colleges are important for the state’s high school talent.

“If there were more Minnesota [two-year schools] that were on the same competitive skills as these Iowa teams, it would probably help out a lot,” Adams said. “But this all goes back to relationships.”

Strohmeier said North’s trio will be among a group of 13 players from Minnesota that will be on his roster this fall. He cited the character of Minnesota athletes and the relationships he’s built over his coaching career as to why he returns to the North Star State to recruit.

“The discipline, the demands, they’re coached hard, they’re expected to do a lot,” Strohmeier said. “If they can make it through and we get recommendations, I can build those résumés or rapport with the high school coaches, and they’re going to shoot you straight.”

For players such as Jamison-Travis, community college was an opportunity to improve academically to better prepare for the rigor of a four-year university. He graduated from Auburn with a degree in sociology last fall before declaring for the draft.

That wasn’t an issue for some of Iowa Western’s incoming recruits, who already possessed the academic requirements to play Division I. The new landscape of college football — the transfer portal and new five-in-five rule, which allows athletes to compete in five seasons within five years — is forcing more high schoolers to consider community college.

“In college football, the dynamics have changed so much,” Strohmeier said. “The Division I’s have gone down to 105 roster limits. The transfer portal affects high school kids.”

Through the portal, coaches can rebuild rosters with players that have college-level experience.

“I think we sent like 28 guys to FCS or higher this year,” Strohmeier said. “Fifteen of them to FBS schools. And a lot of those guys just didn’t have the Division I offers out of high school, so they needed a year to develop.”

Strohmeier’s program has competed in five straight NJCAA Division I Football National Championship games and won a fourth title this past season. Iowa Central advanced to the NJCAA DII College World Series last season.

Bjorgaard is playing summer ball in the American Legion before heading to Fort Dodge. He says living away from home for the first time will be an adjustment, and hopes his decision to pursue a collegiate baseball career at Iowa Central works out in his favor.

“I hope that’s the right choice for me and I hope it all works out,” Bjorgaard said. “To be honest, I don’t completely know yet, so let’s find out.”