{"id":36491,"date":"2026-03-05T15:16:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/wausau-ignite\/?p=36491"},"modified":"2026-03-05T15:18:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:18:39","slug":"branson-to-return-as-wausau-ignite-softball-assistant-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/wausau-ignite\/2026\/03\/05\/branson-to-return-as-wausau-ignite-softball-assistant-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Branson to Return as Wausau Ignite Softball Assistant Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><u>Wausau Ignite Announces Return of Assistant Coach Branson for 2026<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wausau, WI- Wausau Ignite Softball is excited to announce another returner, this time to the coaching staff. Maclai Branson will be returning as an assistant coach, alongside head coach Jasmin Estrada for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Before coaching, Branson played collegiately at the University of Kentucky where she played as an infielder during the 2019 season, reaching an NCAA Regional and Super Regional appearance. In 2020, she transferred to Miami University and played with a graduate year at Thomas More University in 2022. \u00a0After her playing career, she served as an assistant coach at Thomas More University from 2023-2024 and West Virginia State University in 2025. During the summer of 2024, Branson both played and coached in Germany.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Branson is currently in her first season as Assistant Coach at the University of Sioux Falls. The team is currently 7-8 and will start conference play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference on March 21<sup>st<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Wausau Ignite Softball is preparing for a great second season. Season tickets, group outings, and select ticket packages are on sale now, with single-game tickets coming soon. Make sure to get in on all the action by calling 715-845-5055 or visiting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ignitesoftball.com\">www.ignitesoftball.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>###<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Leveraging the 31-year success of the Northwoods League, the first for-profit Summer Collegiate Baseball League, Northwoods League Softball (NWLS) is the first for-profit Women\u2019s Summer Collegiate Softball League beginning play in the Upper Midwest in the summer of 2024. The purpose of the League will be to develop players for their college, Olympic and future professional play. Teams will be promoted similar to minor league baseball teams, playing games in front of fans in a fun, friendly, family-oriented environment.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wausau Ignite Announces Return of Assistant Coach Branson for 2026 Wausau, WI- Wausau Ignite Softball is excited to announce another  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":36492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-team-news","category-update-ticker"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Branson to Return as Wausau Ignite Softball Assistant Coach - 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