Nokomis sets July 12 date for Camren’s Classic wiffle ball tournament

Nokomis will put Camren’s Classic back on the summer calendar on Sunday, July 12, when the wiffle ball tournament lands on the North Diamond at Nokomis Memorial Park on North Cedar Street. First pitch is set for noon, and the field will be built around four-player teams, a setup that keeps the games tight and the pace moving.

The format is stripped down in the best way. Teams will pay $60 apiece, and the tournament is open to players ages 14 and older, giving it a clear teen-and-adult lane instead of a youth exhibition. Pre-registration is due by Thursday, July 9, which gives organizers just enough time to lock in the bracket before game day and keeps the event limited to teams ready to commit.

That structure matters in Nokomis because Camren’s Classic has never been just another park tournament. It began as a memorial event for Camren Neisler, who played baseball for Nokomis High School and died in October 2018. The inaugural Camren’s Classic wiffleball tournament drew 12 four-person teams on Sunday, Oct. 2, at Stan’s Field in Fillmore, and the move to Nokomis Memorial Park now brings the event closer to the community that has carried it.

The tournament also feeds Camren’s Causes, the memorial effort that supports local projects in Neisler’s name. Past proceeds have gone toward projects including the Nokomis Pool, and the wider Camren’s calendar has shown staying power in town, with the annual Camren’s on the Mini Greens youth putt-putt tournament at Shane Cole Park drawing record turnout in recent years. That kind of repeat support is what gives July 12 weight on the local schedule: it is not just a one-day bracket, but another checkpoint in a tradition that has already pulled together families, friends and local teams around Neisler’s memory.