SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Canaries) — Sioux Falls Canaries outfielder Wyatt Ulrich has been named the American Association Rookie Position Player of the Year, the league announced Thursday.
A native of Indus, Minnesota, Ulrich enjoyed an outstanding debut in pro baseball. The true rookie out of St. John’s University (MN) and the University of Richmond set modern Canaries records with a 51-game on-base streak and a 29-game hit streak.
Ulrich finished the year with an eye-popping 119 hits in just 88 games. He joined the Canaries for the team’s first road series in Lincoln May 28th and proceeded to hit .327 with one home run and 37 RBI. He scored 69 runs while notching 16 doubles and six triples. He drew 42 walks and finished the season with a .402 OBP while notching exactly 150 total bases.
He joins teammate Mike Hart as the second Canary to win the award in the last three years. Hart was named the American Association Rookie Position Player of the Year in 2019.
Ulrich’s .327 average ranked 8th in the American Association this year. He was one of just three players in the Association who hit at least .325 while stealing at least 20 bases, joining teammate Cade Gotta and Cleburne’s Zach Nehrir.
Ulrich starred at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He was named the 2017 MIAC Most Valuable Player and was also named an ABCA/Rawlings All-American. He hit .464 in 2020, his last year with the program. He finished his collegiate baseball career at the University of Richmond, where he hit .344 in the spring before joining the Canaries.
He is an alum of International Falls High School and has also played high-level hockey. He starred as a goaltender for the Steele County Blades of the MnJHL (2014-15) and USPHL (2015-16).
The Sioux Falls Canaries wrapped up the 2021 season September 6th.
(The Sioux Falls Canaries contributed this release.)
