ROCHESTER, Minn. – Announced on Wednesday, November 16, Oakland Golden Grizzlies junior outfielder Ryan Dykstra received a Northwoods League Rawlings "Finest in the Field" Award, given to the top fielder at each position and the equivalent of a Gold Glove.
A summer wooden bat league for student-athletes with existing National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility that stretches from May-August, the Northwoods League consists of 22 teams from seven states and one in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Helping lead the Great Lakes Division's Kalamazoo Growlers to their first league championship, Dykstra, who also plays some first base, saw action in a team-leading 66 games in 2022 and completed the campaign with a .989 fielding percentage.
At the dish, the left-handed hitter slashed .270/.467/.374 with eight doubles, five triples, two home runs and 43 RBI across 323 trips to the plate, including a two-hit, two-RBI day in the championship game victory over the Great Plains Division's Duluth Huskies on August 18.
A native of Byron Center and a 2020 South Christian High School graduate, Dykstra is entering his debut season with Oakland in 2023, as he played his first two years of collegiate baseball for the Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) Raiders in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA).
Here is the full list of Rawlings "Finest in the Field" Award winners, as well as a
link to the official Northwoods League release:
| Position |
Player |
Northwoods League Team |
College |
Fielding Percentage |
| C |
Spencer Sarringar |
Bismarck Larks |
Northern State Wolves (Aberdeen, SD) |
.989 |
| 1B |
Joey Grabanski |
Battle Creek Battle Jacks |
Concordia Bulldogs (Seward, NE) |
.975 |
| 2B |
Aidan Sweatt |
La Crosse Loggers |
North Florida Ospreys |
.973 |
| 3B |
Trevor Austin |
St. Cloud Rox |
Mercer Bears |
.957 |
| SS |
Noah Dehne |
Minnesota Mud Puppies |
North Dakota State Bison |
.959 |
| OF |
John Nett |
St. Cloud Rox |
St. Cloud State Huskies |
1.000 |
| OF |
Jan Rollon |
Madison Mallards |
Southern Jaguars (Baton Rouge, LA) |
1.000 |
| OF |
RYAN DYKSTRA |
KALAMAZOO GROWLERS |
OAKLAND GOLDEN GRIZZLIES |
.989 |
| P |
Aidan Longwell |
Lakeshore Chinooks |
Kent State Golden Flashes |
1.000 |
