The path that many of the Alaska Goldpanners’ top players took to Fairbanks over the past couple of summers can be traced back to someone who’s run the same base paths within Growden Memorial Park.
Gonzaga University associate head baseball coach Brandon Harmon took, perhaps paved in a way, the path that many of his current players are following. In doing so, he built a deeper connection than usual between player and coach, joining them as both a Gonzaga baseball alum and a Goldpanners alum as he played for both not quite two decades ago.
Perhaps that makes it easier for the select few Bulldogs-turned-Goldpanners to trust their coach when he tells them they’re going to Alaska for the summer.
“I think there’s the familiarity of people,” Harmon said by phone of why Gonzaga opts to send several players up to Fairbanks each summer. “To me, that’s the biggest connection of summer ball. You want to send them to people you trust, and then I think a lot of it too is I really enjoyed my experience up there.”
Harmon played on the 2007 Goldpanners team and his first coaching job was with the ‘Panners in 2009. There, he coached alongside Bret Lachemann, who was the Goldpanners’ field manager in 2023 and half of 2024 before leaving last week to become the pitching coach at UC Riverside.
The ‘Panners have had a number of Division I players litter their rosters over the years. In fact, half of the players on the 2024 team’s initial 28-man roster hail from Division I programs. Other Division I schools (UC Irvine and Cal Baptist) have as many players on this summer’s roster. But none of those programs have had as strong of an influence on the Fairbanks baseball scene in the past couple of years.
The three Gonzaga players on this summer’s team — pitchers Treyson Peters and Paxton Fenberg and third baseman Mikey Bell — are three of the Goldpanners’ best.
Peters made six starts for the ‘Panners, amassing a 3-0 record and a 1.42 earned run average (ERA), before playing his last game of the summer on July 11. He pitched five scoreless innings in his final showing, against the Sawtooth Sockeyes, which also happened to be the last game the Goldpanners have won before three consecutive losses.
“He was great for us all summer,” Goldpanners acting field manager Carlos Gonzales said of Peters. “He was dominant.”
The 6-foot-7 Peters boasted nowhere near the same levels of productivity at Gonzaga this past spring, compiling a 13.24 ERA after two years at the junior college level. He appears primed to go back to college with new levels of confidence and experience.
Bell, who’s headed to Spokane this fall after playing at Cuesta College, has appeared in almost every game this summer while batting a team-best .411 and scoring almost one run per game along with 24 RBIs, three home runs and a signature walk-off game.
The trip north for the summer was a move that should help him acclimate to his first full year living outside of the Golden State.
“I’ve been a California kid for all my life, except for obviously Gonzaga, so I was definitely excited but had to get used to it for about a week or two,” Bell said of coming to Alaska.
Foremost among the elements Bell had to get used to was the omnipresent sunlight. Harmon said that’s the question he is most commonly asked from the players he sends to Fairbanks. He has vivid memories of biking back to his host family’s house after games and seeing kids still playing in the street as well as regularly staying up until 1 a.m. himself because it was still light out.
“I think the light conversation is a lot like, ‘Well, how do you sleep up there?’ You know, all that kind of stuff,” Harmon said.….“Obviously the Midnight Sun Game is a spectacle, which is another, I think just a cherry on top when you’re talking about the Goldpanners specifically. What a cool tradition and what a cool list of names that have come through that organization. It’s pretty amazing.”
Because of how unique and isolated from the Lower 48 Fairbanks is, Harmon and the Gonzaga staff put real thought into who they send to the Interior. They often opt for guys who may be more outdoors oriented.
Fenberg, who redshirted his freshman season at Gonzaga this past spring, has made eight appearances on the mound for the ‘Panners and has a 2-1 record with a 1.62 ERA. While excited for his summer in Alaska, he admitted to some nerves.
“[I was] a little nervous coming to Alaska and not being connected to the Lower 48 states,” Fenberg said. “But knowing that I was going to get a bunch of innings up here, that there was good coaches, and once I knew Trey [Peters] was coming up, I was really excited. All the outdoor things to do too is super fun.”
This year’s trio of Bulldogs-turned-Goldpanners was not only helped by Harmon’s familiarity with Lachemann and Fairbanks, but also by Gonzaga teammates who had played for the ‘Panners themselves. That includes Donovan Ratfield, who played three games for the ‘Panners at the Scout Showcase in Anchorage this season after a strong summer of 2023.
Ratfield was one of the Goldpanners’ standouts last year and then saw his playing time grow exponentially as a senior this spring, starting 51 games for a Gonzaga squad that finished 21-32. He came to Alaska sight unseen a year ago but served as an ambassador to his college teammates this summer.
“He was super helpful, and he said it was one of his favorite summers ever,” Peters said of Ratfield.
“Donny [Ratfield} and [Daniel] Sotelo, Parker [Smith] also, three guys that were up here, giving us people’s names to go do stuff kind of gave us like a leg up knowing we were going to come here and have stuff to do,” Fenberg said.
Even with Lachemann headed back stateside, Harmon doesn’t see any reason for the Gonzaga-to-Alaska pipeline to shut off.
“It’s about finding the right fit, and I foresee it continuing in the future,” Harmon said. “Because I do know that guys get taken care of, and they get a good experience. And like I said, I couldn’t be any more thankful for the two summers I was up there.”
Gonzaga might see the most benefit from the alliance, especially as players like Bell and Fenberg gain experience as guys who have already been in college but are readying for their first season in the NCAA and at the Division I level. The summer has also helped build camaraderie as they’re “living life every day together” as Fenberg puts it.
It’s also impossible to argue the ‘Panners aren’t better for the Bulldog standouts’ contributions. The “Gonzaga Goldpanners” pipeline seems a mutually beneficial partnership, one driven by Harmon’s own history and positive experiences in Fairbanks.
“To me, collegiate summer league is awesome because it’s a development period that’s also really competitive,” Harmon said. “Obviously, those teams are trying to win, and for the player, it should be a good, life-altering experience. You hopefully see something new that maybe you wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for baseball…I mean, how many times do you get to go live in Alaska for a summer?”
