The 2022 Northwoods League season was the 29th season of baseball in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball organization. The season concluded in August with the Kalamazoo Growlers winning the championship.
Season overview Background In 2022, there were 22 Northwoods League (NWL) baseball teams, split between the Great Lakes and Great Plains Divisions. These divisions were then split up between the Great Lakes East, Great Lakes West, Great Plains East, and Great Plains West subdivisions. The Traverse City Pit Spitters entered the season as defending champions, having defeated the St. Cloud Rox in the league's 2021 championship game.
While there were no new expansion teams for 2022, three teams changed their branding and identity. Under new ownership, the Green Bay Booyah changed their name to the Green Bay Rockers and unveiled new colors, uniforms, and logos. The Battle Creek Bombers changed their name to the Battle Creek Battle Jacks and introduced a new color scheme, logos, and dog mascot. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Woodchucks reverted to the more specific place name that they had used in the 1990s, going forward as the Wausau Woodchucks. They also updated their logos and other aesthetics to reflect the change.
Season The regular season began on May 30, with the season split into two halves, and the top two teams in each sub-division—the standings leader from each half—qualified for the playoffs. The first half sub-division winners were the Kalamazoo Growlers (Great Lakes East), Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (Great Lakes West), Duluth Huskies (Great Plains East), and St. Cloud Rox (Great Plains West). The second half sub-division winners were the Traverse City Pit Spitters (Great Lakes East), Wausau Woodchucks (Great Lakes West), Eau Claire Express (Great Plains East), and Willmar Stingers (Great Plains West).
In the four best-of-three subdivision series, the Growlers swept the Pit Spitters, the Rafters took 2 of 3 from the Woodchucks, the Huskies swept the Express, and the Stingers swept the Rox. In the single-game Great Lakes Division championship, the Growlers defeated the Rafters, and in the Great Plains, the Huskies defeated the Stingers.
The NWL Championship game was held at historic Wade Stadium in Duluth, Minnesota on 8/18/22. Kalamazoo led from the second inning on and defeated Duluth 8-3. The Growlers won their first NWL Championship.
Individual achievements Outfielder Sean Ross of the Mankato MoonDogs was named 2022 NWL Player of the Year after batting .376 with eight home runs, 14 doubles, 3 triples, 51 runs scored, 53 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. Jack Habeck of the Willmar Stingers was named 2022 NWL Pitcher of the Year. Habeck appeared in 11 games (68.1 innings), going 8-0 with a 2.77 ERA.
In the 2022 Major League Baseball draft, 93 former NWL players were selected by MLB teams, including two players going in the top ten. Brooks Lee was the highest-selected of these alums, going 8th overall to the Minnesota Twins. Lee had played for Willmar in 2020. Gabriel Hughes was selected by the Colorado Rockies at pick #10. He has played for the 2020 Covid-19 temporary pod team, the Great Lakes Resorters.
Standings
Great Lakes Division + Great Lakes East Sub-Division Regular Season Standings Pos Team G W L Pct. 1y – Traverse City Pit Spitters7245272Rockford Rivets7237353x – Kalamazoo Growlers7136354 Battle Creek Battle Jacks7235375 Kenosha Kingfish7133386 Kokomo Jackrabbits711953
+ Great Lakes West Sub-Division Regular Season Standings Pos Team G W L Pct. 1x – Wisconsin Rapids Rafters7257152y – Wausau Woodchucks7138333Fond du Lac Dock Spiders7136354 Lakeshore Chinooks7236365 Green Bay Rockers7230426 Madison Mallards722646
Great Plains Division + Great Plains East Sub-Division Regular Season Standings Pos Team G W L Pct. 1 y – Eau Claire Express6842262 x – Duluth Huskies6734333 La Crosse Loggers6831374 Waterloo Bucks6816525Minnesota Mud Puppies36729 + Great Plains West Sub-Division Regular Season Standings Pos Team G W L Pct. 1x – St. Cloud Rox6850182 y – Willmar Stingers 6848203Mankato MoonDogs6840284 Rochester Honkers6832365 Bismarck Larks682345
x – First Half Winner, clinched playoff spot y – Second Half Winner, clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
Format First and second half sub-divisional winners were eligible for the playoffs. The two playoff-eligible teams in each sub-division competed in a best-of-three Sub-Divisional Series. The two Sub-Divisional Series winners played a one-game Divisional Championship Game. The two Divisional Championship Game winners played a one-game League Championship.
Playoff bracket
Statistical leaders
For cumulative stats, leaders include all league players. For rate stats, leaders include only qualifiers. Qualified hitters must have 2.70 plate appearances per team game. Per NWL standards, qualified pitchers must have minimum .80 innings pitched per team game. This significantly limits the pool of those qualifying for pitching rate stats.
Hitting Stat Player Team Total H Nick Mitchell Dock Spiders 89 HR Brendan Bobo Rafters 17 RBI Charlie Condon Rox 68 AVG Ben Ross Rafters .421 OPS Ben Ross Rafters 1.152 SB Cadyn Schwabe Express 36
Pitching Stat Player Team Total ERA Jack Habeck Stingers 2.77 W Jack Habeck, Josh Howitt, Hunter Day Stingers, Rafters, Rox 8 (tie) SO Will Semb Rockers 65 SV Chase Grillo Rox 13
All-Star selections Mid-season All-Star Game The 2022 NWL mid-season All-Star game was played on 7/19/22 at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. The following players were selected to participate in the All-Star game.
Great Lakes Division +Hitters PositionPlayerTeam C Matt DePrey Chinooks C Josh Caron Mallards 1B Brendan Bobo Rafters 2B Sam Kirkpatrick Growlers 3B Garrett Broussard Rafters SS Ben Ross Rafters IF Brent Widder Woodchucks IF Griffin O'Ferrall Growlers IF Grant Hussey Dock Spiders UTL Jacob Igawa Rafters OF Nick Mitchell Dock Spiders OF Ty Crittenberger Rivets OF Matthew Mebane Rivets OF Patrick Mills Battle Jacks OF Garrett Martin Chinooks
+Pitchers PositionPlayerTeam P Richard Kiel Jackrabbits P Ty Rybarczyk Rivets P Derek Clark Pit Spitters P Mitch Mueller Chinooks P Grant Manning Rafters P Dylan Carter Rockers P Clark Candiotti Kingfish P Grayson Thurman Kingfish PBryce Woody Mallards P Aren Gustafson Pit Spitters P Kyle Seebach Rivets P Eric Chalus Chinooks P Steven Lacey Mallards
Great Plains Division +Hitters PositionPlayerTeam C Eduardo Rosario Huskies C Drey Dirksen Stingers 1B Charlie Condon Rox 2B Boston Merila MoonDogs 3B Trevor Austin Rox SS Kristian Campbell Huskies IF Cameron Cromer Bucks UTL Tai Walton Bucks UTL Ben Vujovich Mud Puppies OF Ryan Guardino Bucks OF John Nett Rox OF Sean Ross MoonDogs OF Landon Wallace Loggers OF Joey Walls Stingers OF Nico Regino Honkers
+Pitchers PositionPlayerTeam P Jack Habeck Stingers P Hunter Day Rox P Thaniel Trumper Honkers P Jake Christianson Huskies P Tyson Neighbors MoonDogs P Edwin Colon Larks P Matt Helwig Express P Chase Grillo Rox P Nathan Culley Rox P Sam Malec Stingers P John Klein Stingers P Chase Chatman Loggers
Full-season All-Stars After the season concluded, the league announced its Post-Season All-Stars for the full regular season. This group included players who performed well over the course of the entire season. Several players were selected to both the mid-season All-Star Game and the Post-Season All-Star team.
Great Lakes Division +Hitters PositionPlayerTeam C Matt DePrey Chinooks 1B Brendan Bobo Rafters 2B Tristin Garcia Rockers 3B Parker Noland Dock Spiders SS Ben Ross Rafters OF Nick Mitchell Dock Spiders OF Patrick Mills Battle Jacks OF Chase Hug Woodchucks DH Kemp Alderman Dock Spiders
+Pitchers PositionPlayerTeam P Josh Howitt Rafters P Dylan Carter Rockers P Ty Rybarcyzk Rivets P Grayson Thurman Kingfish P Mitch Mueller Chinooks P Aren Gustafson Pit Spitters
Great Plains Division +Hitters PositionPlayerTeam C Drey Dirksen Stingers 1B Charlie Condon Rox 2B Aidan Sweatt Loggers 3B Aidan Byrne Stingers SS Kristian Campbell Huskies OF Joey Walls Stingers OF Sean Ross MoonDogs OF John Nett Rox DH Ethan Mann Rox
+Pitchers PositionPlayerTeam P Jack Habeck Stingers P Hunter Day Rox P Matt Helwig Express P Chase Grillo Rox P Tucker Novotny Stingers P Carter Rost Larks P Nolan Lebamoff Huskies P Jacob Mrosko Mud Puppies
NWL alumni in MLB MLB players who played in the NWL in 2022 The following is a list of players who appeared in the NWL during the 2022 season, en route to a future career in MLB. Name 2022 NWL team MLB debut MLB debut teamHayden BirdsongLakeshore Chinooks6/26/2024San Francisco GiantsKristian CampbellDuluth Huskies3/27/2025Boston Red SoxBrice MatthewsSt. Cloud Rox7/11/2025Houston AstrosJakob MarseeTraverse City Pit Spitters8/01/2025Miami MarlinsJJ WetherholtMadison Mallards3/26/2026St. Louis CardinalsGeorge KlassenLakeshore Chinooks4/5/2026Los Angeles AngelsJohn KleinWillmar Stingers5/2/2026Minnesota TwinsCharles McAdooMankato MoonDogs5/29/2026Toronto Blue JaysBrett BatemanWillmar Stingers8/7/2026Toronto Blue JaysBen RossWisconsin Rapids Rafters9/1/2026Minnesota Twins
Alums with 2022 MLB debuts The following is a list of NWL alums who made their Major League Baseball debuts in the 2022 MLB season. Name MLB debut Debut team Former NWL team(s) Season(s) in NWLBryson Stott4/8PhilliesRafters2017Zach Jackson 4/9AthleticsRafters2014Steven Wilson 4/9PadresExpress2014Tanner Banks4/10White SoxStingers2011-12Bryan Lavastida 4/10GuardiansWoodchucks2018Phoenix Sanders 4/14RaysStingers2014Mark Kolozsvary 4/20RedsChinooks2015Mickey McDonald 4/20AthleticsExpress2016Tanner Tully 4/22GuardiansBombers2014Richie Palacios 4/25GuardiansRafters2016Jason Krizan 4/29GiantsBucks2009Penn Murfee 4/29MarinersBorder Cats2015Jared Solomon 5/7RedsRox2017Danny Young5/9MarinersWoodchucks 2013Mark Contreras 5/11TwinsHonkers2015-16Brandon Hughes 5/17CubsGrowlers2015Michael Papierski5/21GiantsExpress, Border Cats2015, 2016Cody Sedlock5/29OriolesBucks2014Steele Walker6/5RangersWoodchucks 2016Jonah Bride 6/14AthleticsRafters, Bucks2015Cam Vieaux6/17PiratesChinooks2014Matthew Batten 6/30PadresBorder Cats2015Korey Lee 7/1AstrosLoggers2017-18David Villar 7/4GiantsLoggers2017Alex Call7/11GuardiansExpress2013-14Erich Uelmen 7/22CubsExpress2015Terrin Vavra 7/29OriolesHuskies2015Charles Leblanc 7/30MarlinsGrowlers2015Cal Stevenson8/10AthleticsHuskies2015Greg Weissert 8/25YankeesBorder Cats2015David Hensley8/27AstrosGrowlers2016Garrett Mitchell8/27BrewersMoonDogs2018Ben DeLuzio 9/2CardinalsRox2016Ryan Kreidler 9/2TigersMoonDogs2017Louis Varland9/7TwinsStingers2017-18Cole Waites9/13GiantsRafters2018Frank German 9/17Red SoxMallards2016Miles Mastrobuoni9/22RaysHonkers2015Nate Mondou 10/4AthleticsWoodchucks2014
Awards and highlights
NWL alums selected the 2022 MLB All-Star Game:
Pete Alonso (Madison Mallards, 2014) Tony Gonsolin (Madison Mallards, 2015) Jose Trevino (Madison Mallards, 2012)
NWL alums awarded with a 2022 Gold Glove: Jose Trevino (Madison Mallards, 2012)
NWL alums who were members of the World Series-winning Houston Astros: David Hensley (Kalamazoo Growlers, 2016)
See also 2022 Major League Baseball season
References