Pat Bowlin's teams have been competitive, whether on the court or the diamond. Winona Cotter's longtime girls basketball coach won his 700th game on Dec. 5 and owns a 700-397 career record. He became the state’s all-time winningest softball coach with a Ramblers' victory on Apr. 5 and finished the season with a career record of 819-212.

Pat Bowlin thought he had a pretty good team at St. Bernard’s when he began his coaching career in 1983.

The Bulldogs girls basketball team was victorious in his initial game. They went on to finish 3-18.

“I learned then we had to get to work to become a winning program,” Bowlin said. He had an eight-year run at the defunct St. Paul school before moving to Winona Cotter in 1991.

Bowlin picked up his 700th career win with a 57-33 victory over La Crescent-Hokah last Thursday. The Ramblers (2-2) play at Fillmore Central on Tuesday night.

“For me coaching is a vocation, the benefits for kids being on teams was invaluable in 1983 and even more so today in 2024,” Bowlin said. “While I am a competitive person, ultimately I'm trying to use basketball as a vehicle to teach lifelong lessons.”

He owns a career record of 700-397, becoming the fourth girls basketball coach to reach the milestone. New London-Spicer’s Mike Dreier is the state’s all-time winningest coach with 1,072 victories, followed by Rochester Lourdes’ Myron Glass (719) and Alexandria’s Wendy Kohler (706).

“I’m incredibly grateful for the wonderful players and parents I have had the privilege to know,” Bowlin said. He has also coached softball over the same period, where is the state’s all-time winningest coach with a career record of 819-212.

Bowlin’s teams will always be competitive, whether on the court or the diamond.

“I have always taken great pride that my teams play hard,” Bowlin said. “I feel we’ve won a lot of games over the years that maybe we didn't have the more talented team, but we had the team that refused to lose and outworked our opponents. Our style of full court pressing and fast breaking at every opportunity embodies our work ethic. It’s been a great ride.”

Inside the Numbers

3: Number of teams who remain unbeaten in Class 4A. They are Mounds View (6-0), New Prague (3-0) and Sartell-St. Stephen (4-0).  

17: Steals by Providence Academy junior guard Maddyn Greenway in a 94-24 victory over Albany. It is tied for the fourth most in state history, with the record of 20 being set by Nicole Anderson of Cannon Falls in 2009. The Kentucky recruit finished with a triple-double, also scoring 32 points and dishing out 10 assists.

37.8: Points per game Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s sophomore guard Morgan Mathiowetz is averaging through the first five contests of the season. She has had two 40-point performances.

90: State record points scored in one half by Alexandria. The Cardinals went on to defeat Sauk Rapids-Rice 116-26. The previous mark of 84 was set by Mountain Iron-Buhl in January.

700: Career wins for Winona Cotter coach Pat Bowlin.

2,000: Career points eclipsed by Walker-Hackensack-Akeley senior guard Aubrey Morrison. She reached the milestone with a 35-point performance in a 74-57 victory over Chisholm.