One of the largest annual gay sporting events in the world will return to Minnesota for a third time after the Minneapolis region secured the 2022 Gay Softball World Series.

The Twin Cities Goodtime Softball League, in partnership with Sports Minneapolis, won hosting rights after a presentation to delegates from the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance last weekend in Columbus, Ohio. The tournament will be held Aug. 28 to Sept. 3, 2022.

The 2022 Gay Softball World Series will feature nearly 900 games taking place at softball complexes in Minneapolis, as well as Burnsville, Eagan, Inver Grove Heights and South St. Paul. Last year's tournament in Kansas City, Mo., included 207 teams from 45 cities across the U.S. and Canada.

The Minnesota Twins also have pledged their support, becoming the first Major League Baseball team to partner with the Gay Softball World Series.

The Minneapolis region previously hosted the tournament in 1996 and 2012.

Three-star tight end picks U

The Gophers landed a commitment from a heavily recruited tight end when Jameson Geers announced he has picked Minnesota.

Geers, a consensus three-star recruit from New Lenox, Ill., also had offers from Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue and Illinois. The recruiting site 247Sports.com rates Geers as the No. 18 tight end in the class of 2021 and notes that he is the highest-rated tight end recruit for Minnesota in the Internet era.

The 6-5, 220-pound senior from Providence Catholic High School, announced his commitment on Twitter.

JOE CHRISTENSEN

Etc.

• Former South Dakota State women's soccer player Annie Williams signed a professional contract with Deportivo Saprissa of the Primera División in San Jose, Costa Rica. Williams, who played at Park of Cottage Grove High School, was twice named the Summit League Defensive Player of the Year.

• Minnesota Duluth's Braydon Kubat, a junior track and cross-country runner from Owatonna, Minn., was chosen to be one of the two Student Athletic Advisory Council representatives on the NCAA Division II Management Council.

• Augustana was picked to win the NSIC women's tennis title in a preseason coaches poll. The Vikings are the 10-time defending champions.