The Alaska Goldpanners announced their 2025 season schedule this week, featuring 30 home games beginning June 6.
The six teams visiting Growden Memorial Park, in order, are Kingsmen Baseball (South Carolina), the San Diego Waves, Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Arroyo Seco Sentinels (California), Team Philippines (California) and California Halos.
Of those teams, the Goldpanners only played Team Philippines and the San Diego Waves last season. The Goldpanners also have their annual game against the Fairbanks Legion and Adult All-Stars on June 18.
The 120th annual Bill & Eddie Stroecker Midnight Sun Game will be played on June 20, which is the day the summer solstice falls upon this year. The Glacier Pilots will be this year’s visitor from June 19-21. They’ll be the first Alaska team to play against the Goldpanners in a Midnight Sun Game since 2016 and the first Anchorage team to do so since 1996.
The Glacier Pilots have never played in the Midnight Sun Game and haven’t played any game in Fairbanks since 2015 after the Goldpanners split with the Alaska Baseball League.
“The Pilots organization is really looking forward to playing in the Midnight Sun Game that is such a great Alaskan tradition,” Glacier Pilots General Manager Derek Foote said in the Goldpanners’ release. “We’re excited to resume the historic rivalry with Fairbanks that goes back so many years, and we appreciate the invitation from the Goldpanners.”
The Goldpanners’ out-of-state trips this summer are to the Grand Forks Invitational in British Columbia from June 23-29 and the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series in Wichita, Kansas, from July 24 to Aug. 2, where they’ll end their season. The Goldpanners played in the Grand Forks Invitational in 2024 but have not played in the NBC World Series since the start of the 2020s.
The National Baseball Congress website touts the Goldpanners as “one of the most accomplished teams in NBC World Series history.” The ‘Panners won six NBC championships from 1972-2002.
“The Goldpanners have been a National Baseball Congress staple ever since they stormed on to the scene in 1962, finishing second in their very first year in the NBC World Series,” Katie Woods, tournament director for the NBC World Series, said via release. “Fans know that the teams from Alaska bring a special brand of baseball with them, and we can’t wait to welcome the Goldpanners back to Wichita this summer.”
Carlos Gonzales, who took over the role of field manager in the second half of last season after Bret Lachemann left to become the pitching coach at UC Riverside, is set to return as field manager this season.
“I’m really honored to be back in Fairbanks for my third summer,” Gonzales said in the Goldpanners’ release. “Fairbanks has felt like a second home to me. The community, the businesses that support us and our loyal fans are a testament to what collegiate summer baseball should be.”
Gonzales will be joined by new assistant coaches Dave Dawson and Vince Payne. Dawson was an assistant in Kenai last summer and brings 20 years of coaching experience, including 16 as the head coach of NCAA Division II school Arkansas Tech. Dawson will coach third base and be the Goldpanners’ hitting instructor.
Payne comes to Fairbanks as the pitching coach from Hope International University, where he helped guide the Royals to the 2024 NAIA Championship. He joined Hope International one season after Lachemann was there as an assistant coach.
“I think the schedule this year is another step forward for our organization,” Gonzales said. “Playing the Glacier Pilots in the Midnight Sun Game, going to British Columbia for the Grand Forks Invitational and finishing at the NBC World Series in Wichita are bright spots in our competitive schedule. And having six home series really gives our fans a terrific opportunity to come and watch us play. What’s better than a Friday night at Growden?”
