One of the highest honors in the Minnesota Twins organization is winning the Carl R. Pohlad Outstanding Community Service Award.

The award is given to recognize one player each offseason for outstanding community involvement and on-field performance, according to the team’s website.

When Brooks Lee was named the recipient of the Pohlad Award after the 2025 season, it was a testament to the bonds he built within the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota in just two years at the major league level.

Lee helped initiate a “reverse autograph session” in July that season, where the organization welcomed nine kids from Gillette Children’s Hospital and 14 Twins players asked for their autographs. 

He also gave back to the community by participating in the organization’s Holiday Week of Giving in 2024 and volunteering at several youth baseball clinics during the season.

And the former top prospect took part in the team’s Winter Caravan, traveling across Twins Territory to interact with fans around the state and the upper Midwest. 

That final act brought him back to the place where his connection to the Land of 10,000 Lakes began taking root: Willmar, Minnesota.

Unlikely Beginnings

The Willmar Stingers weren’t Brooks Lee’s first option for the summer of 2020.

He initially stayed at Cal Poly to work out and fully recover after a surgery on his knee the previous October left him at less than full strength during the dramatically shortened college baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“He had a couple pinch hits and he was going to be my starting shortstop in a four-game series at home against Oklahoma,” Cal Poly head coach and Brooks’ father Larry Lee said, “And that Thursday, the entire season shut down.”

As Lee got back to full playing shape, the team decided he was ready to gain back the experience he missed out on that spring with a season of summer ball. 

Cal Poly’s first two options for Lee, the Cape Cod Baseball League and the Alaska Baseball League (chosen that summer for its distance from the continental United States and smaller, more remote population), both opted to shut down for the year. 

The program then talked to the Eau Claire Express and manager Dale Varsho, who has a long relationship with Cal Poly and Larry Lee. The only problem: the Express would soon shut down for the summer, too. 

“About a day later, he said that he thought the city was going to shut down their ballpark for the summer,” Larry Lee said, “but he gave me Ryan’s contact information and said there might be a chance there, and that’s what happened; contacted Ryan, got [Brooks] placed.” 

Voz, the longtime co-owner of the Stingers, had heard high praise for the talented young shortstop – who passed up on multi-million dollar offers and going as high as the first round in the MLB Draft out of San Luis Obispo High School to play for his father at Cal Poly.

Even so, Voz entered the summer with some skepticism – both of the reported dollar amount and Lee’s prodigious talent. 

“‘Yeah, right.’ Like, who passes up on $3 million to go play college baseball?,” Voz said. “I thought, ‘There’s no way this kid’s that good that he was offered $3 million.’” 

Lee was solid but not spectacular during the first portion of the season, which began in early July that summer. 

“His stats were very similar to most of the guys for the first third of the season,” Voz said, “And then you saw something kind of clicked, and then he started to stand out amongst the other guys.”

Lee ended the season with a  .345 batting average alongside 35 runs batted in and also built an 18-game hitting streak.

“You started realizing how long the hit streak was, where the batting average was. And then you saw a home run right-handed, a home run left-handed,” Voz said, “and then you thought, you know what, this kid’s pretty special. But he still has a lot to prove because he hasn’t played a lot in college.”

Lee removed any remaining doubt with his performance as a redshirt freshman, earning All-American honors and being named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award.

By the end of the 2022 season, when he was named the nation’s top shortstop as the winner of the Brooks Wallace Award, Lee established himself as one of the top players in college baseball – and a top prospect in the upcoming MLB Draft.

He credited his summer in Willmar with helping him make the jump that put him on a trajectory to becoming one of college baseball’s top stars.

“It was huge for my development,” Lee said ahead of a July 26 matchup with the Athletics at Target Field, “I just wanted to prove myself – that I could play with the need that I had – and it was a good summer.”

For Lee, the restrictions of playing baseball during the pandemic actually helped the team create a stronger bond. 

“They recruited a bunch of guys that are obviously good at baseball, but even better people, and that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

The summer that helped shape Lee’s development happened on blind faith and a recommendation given based on the trust built through years of Northwoods League seasons.

“Dale Varsho gave me the thumbs up and said that Ryan was a good person, ran a good program, and he felt confident that if he wasn’t going to play in Eau Claire, that this would be the best spot for him,” Larry Lee said. “We were very fortunate that Willmar was available, and I’ve had a real good relationship with Ryan ever since.”

Leaving An Early Mark

The summer Lee spent in Willmar wasn’t just formative for his development as a player; it had an impact on him personally that continues to this day.

Lee’s host family, Jay and Sherri Black, welcomed him and made sure he got the full experience of a Minnesota summer.

“That was kind of the first time I had lake days. That’s what we would do on our off day: go on the lake, wake surf, wakeboard,” Lee said. “So [it was a] super memorable time that I had, and you know, when I got drafted by the Twins, that was kind of one of my first thoughts.”

Lee kept his nose to the grindstone throughout the season, reviewing each at-bat and every play he made in the field and talking to his coaches at Cal Poly after the games.

But the time he spent away from the ballpark with the Black family helped him strike the right balance.

“He relaxed a little bit rather than being so serious all the time,” Sherri Black said, “So I think that was good for him too, as a little balance of both.”

The Black family’s efforts to spend time with Lee off the field led to one of the earliest marks he made in the state. Improbably, it can still be found on the north corner of a rusted old metal quonset hut just north of Danube, Jay’s hometown.

Spray painting the hut has been a tradition for decades in the town of less than 500 located 25 miles south of Willmar.

They took his then-girlfriend and now-fiancée Delanie (she and Brooks have their wedding Nov. 14) to spray paint the hut first and showed Lee photos. 

When it was Lee’s turn to take part in the tradition, it quickly became clear he was also using a can of spray paint for the first time – something he later confirmed.

“He wasn’t quite sure how that spray can worked,” Jay Black said, “but his name is still there six years later.”

The moment became Black’s favorite memory from that summer, and it’s one that Lee also remembers fondly.

“It’s like a ritual, a rite of passage,” Lee said. “It feels like it’s out in the middle of nowhere, and there’s just spray paint all over. It’s such a unique experience, but I’m glad I did it.”

The Black family made sure to stay in touch with Lee after that season, even making the trip out to California to see him and another former host player, Chris Campos. Lee’s quick ascent to star status at Cal Poly was clear, but that fact didn’t affect his relationship with his former host family – at least, not too much.

“Before we got to talk to him, he had 50 kids lining up to get autographs from him,” Jay Black said, “And he finally told one kid, ‘I signed it last night; I need to visit with these people for a while.’”

That care the Black family showed to one former host player may seem like it goes above and beyond. But it’s the same attention and affection they’ve shown to all the Stingers they have brought into their lives since they became host families in 2018.

“We’ve had nine other kids at our house, and Sherri can text any one of them,” Jay Black said, “and within an hour, they’re all responding to her.”

Even so, it’s not every day a host family gets to see one of their own make his major league debut. 

Lee was in the batting cages at CHS Field in St. Paul on July 3, 2024 when he was told the news every baseball player dreams of: he was headed to the show. 

It sent Lee and his circle of loved ones into a scramble. As he made the trip over to Target Field and prepared for his debut, Jay and Sherri Black rushed toward Minneapolis and arrived at the ballpark just before the game started.

“It was emotional for us because you could see the look on his face… he had made it,” Sherri Black said. “It was a proud moment for him, and, you know, I think we felt that too.”

Lee’s family in California arrived mid-way through his second game – the combination of the distance and travel delays made it impossible for them to be there for his debut in person.

But it provided some comfort to know there was someone in Lee’s corner for a milestone moment in his life.

“Anytime that your son or daughter goes away and there’s a big moment in their life that there’s support there, [we were] very appreciative of that,” Larry Lee said.

The newly minted major leaguer went 2-for-4 that night, notching his first hit and first run batted in against the Detroit Tigers as he became the fastest Twins first rounder to reach the big leagues since Matt Garza nearly two decades before him.

He was able to talk to Jay and Sherri Black after the game, providing a full circle moment just over four years after he arrived in Willmar.

“They were such a good host family for me: great people, and that’s what the Midwest is all about. I got to experience it firsthand,” Lee said looking back on that summer. “I love their whole family, and their family is huge now because they have a bunch of players, and they treat everyone with respect and love.”

Continued Connections

Lee’s summer with the Stingers in 2020 easily could have been the only chapter in his Minnesota story.

Instead, it turned out to be just the beginning.

Ryan Voz entered the opening day of the 2022 MLB Draft hoping Lee would become the first Stinger and Northwoods League Player to be the number one overall pick. He’d been receiving some late buzz as an option to be taken at the top spot.

The Baltimore Orioles took Jackson Holliday instead. But as Lee continued to wait for his name to get called, Voz realized that a slightly longer wait could lead to a dream come true for Stingers fans.

“Then he slid down to two, slid down to three, slid down to four, and then we started to realize that if he goes… to the Twins, that’s a better story probably than going two overall.”

Lee went eighth overall to the Twins, tying Hunter Dozier as the highest-drafted player in Stingers history. 

It’s the moment that brought him back to Willmar during the 2025 offseason, now a major leaguer coming off his first year with the Twins.

“It was really cool just to see some familiar faces, and it means a lot to me that a town like that has my back and they’re really rooting for me, and they want me to do well,” Lee said, “Obviously it’s for their hometown team, but I think it’s really cool that I have a reason to go back and a reason to be proud of playing there. I can’t say enough good things about it.”

That support has only grown as Lee takes the next step in his third season with the Twins. He’s become a true everyday player, ranking among the top 20 players in the American League in both games played (109) and runs batted in (58), and has provided more power to manager Derek Shelton’s lineup with 16 home runs.

“The more you play at this level, I feel like the more you get used to 95-plus good pitches, guys that throw strikes in all counts,” Lee said, “It’s just a never-ending grind of just trying to get better every single day, and you know, the stats are always going to be what they are. But as long as you’re getting better every day, then you’re going to get spotted.”

Larry Lee, who has a Twins schedule printed out and posted on the whiteboard in his office at Cal Poly, sees a noticeable impact from the younger Lee’s offseason training. He went through a program of explosive lifts and running to gain quickness and get faster.

“You can see the difference in how he moves and how he runs,” Larry Lee said, “so that was a big step, I think, for this year.”

The change has given Stingers fans more chances to make the two-hour trip to Target Field and cheer on one of the team’s most famous alums.

“I get so many pictures of Willmar people going to Twins games and taking a picture of Brooks Lee on the scoreboard and it said ‘played in Willmar for the Stingers in the Northwoods League,’” Voz said. “So I love the tie in and I think it’s very cool.”

The Stingers have done their part to strengthen that connection over the years. The team has held Brooks Lee bobblehead giveaways and jersey nights, which have become a big draw. 

“I sent him the picture of the line of kids waiting for the Brooks Lee jersey and he was very surprised – he said, ‘Holy cow, that’s a lot.,’” said Sherry Black, “So I said, ‘Well, you’re still pretty popular here.’”

The close proximity of Lee and the fact that he played for the Stingers just six years ago have helped to make the connection more concrete for fans. So it’s no surprise that replica Brooks Lee Stingers jerseys can sometimes be seen in the stands at Target Field – including during the July 22 game against the Athletics, where he went 1-for-3 and scored twice.

“There’s a lot of really cool players and big star names with the Twins,” Ryan Voz said, “But now when you go to a Twins game, you root a little extra for the guy that played in your hometown.”

The bond between the Stingers and Lee wasn’t the only one the organization made during the summer of 2020 – it also proved to be the beginning of a successful connection with Cal Poly. 

More than a half-dozen Mustangs have played for the Stingers since 2020 – including Ryan Tayman, who was a Northwoods League All-Star in 2025. 

 “We try to send the majority of our guys out, especially for position players to get more at-bats, to get more experience,” Larry Lee said, “and then when they come back, they’re usually much better.”

Tayman took a bigger jump than most in his development. He was a Third Team All-American this year and tied Cal Poly’s single season home run record as the program made its first-ever appearance in a super regional, taking down the nation’s top overall seed in UCLA to get there.

The former Stinger recently made his professional debut in the Low-A Florida State League after being drafted in the 9th round by the New York Mets.

“Summer baseball is part of a player’s evolution and development,” Larry Lee said, “If they’re good enough to play in a league like the Northwoods, even then they’re going to be challenged. That’s what you want.”

His son agreed. 

“You’ve got to. It’s the closest thing to Major League Baseball: you’re playing every single day,” the younger Lee said when asked about what his advice would be to someone considering playing in the Northwoods League, “It’s a grind, but you learn to love the game at a young age, and then if you want to continue playing it, you might as well play in the Northwoods because it feels like a rite of passage.

From their showing at the Twins Winter Caravan to the long lines for his replica jerseys the last two seasons, Stingers fans have made it clear they’re grateful Lee’s Northwoods League experience happened in the black and honey gold.

And for his part, Lee still strongly remembers his supporters in Willmar and the summer that helped launch a Minnesota journey taking him all the way to the big leagues. 

“I had never seen what the world was like until I left [Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo],” Lee said, “so it was really cool for me just to experience it, and I’m glad I did.”

About the Willmar Stingers:
The Willmar Stingers are a member of the Northwoods League, the premier summer collegiate baseball league in North America. The Stingers provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment while showcasing the top college baseball talent from across the country.

For more information about the Willmar Stingers, visit willmarstingers.com or contact the front office (320)222-2010 or info@willmarstingers.com

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The Willmar Stingers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now entering its’ 33^rd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 415 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (BAL) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (NYM). League games are viewable live on FloSports.tv.