Nick Rozdilski Named Pacific Coast League Groundskeeper of the Year

ROUND ROCK, Texas – On Tuesday afternoon, Minor League Baseball announced that Round Rock Express Senior Director, Field Operations Nick Rozdilski was named the Pacific Coast League Groundskeeper of the Year.

Throughout the 2023 season, Rozdilski and his grounds crew consistently received top grades from opposing teams for the outstanding playing surface at Dell Diamond, which finished the year at No. 1 in the league.

“We are very proud of Nick and his commitment to making Dell Diamond safe for our players and a beautiful place to spend a gameday,” Round Rock Express General Manager Tim Jackson said. “Despite record heat this summer, Dell Diamond was consistently a top-rated playing surface across the Pacific Coast League, which is all thanks to Nick and the hours of work that he and his team put in every day.”

He also oversaw the entire rebuild of the playing surface at Dell Diamond last offseason. The playing surface was utilized for the 2022 Rogue Invitational last October as well as Bulls in the Ballpark, a rodeo-style event that took over Dell Diamond in November of 2022.

Rozdilski has been in the sports turf management industry since 2005 and has been the Head Groundskeeper for the Express since 2016. During the offseason prior to the 2018 campaign, Dell Diamond served as the primary filming location for AMC’s hit television show Fear the Walking Dead. Rozdilski oversaw the transformation of Dell Diamond into the post-apocalyptic set in the fall, then led a complete rebuild of the playing surface and berms in less than three weeks following the end of the show’s production in early March 2018.

Prior to joining the Express, Rozdilski served as the Head Groundskeeper for the Corpus Christi Hooks for two years. During his time with the Hooks, he oversaw multiple renovations to the award-winning Whataburger Field, the largest being the complete replacement of the existing playing field.

Rozdilski was the Assistant Head Groundskeeper for the Baltimore Orioles for seven years and oversaw both the installation and grow-in of a 100 percent sand-based field with four different blends of Kentucky Bluegrass. Additionally, he maintained a pristine playing field during the 2012 ALDS.

Before serving as Assistant Head Groundskeeper for the Orioles, Rozdilski served as the Assistant Head Groundskeeper for the Trenton Thunder. While there, he led the constant adjustment and repair of pitcher’s mounds and bullpen mounds to league regulations. Rozdilski graduated from Delaware Valley College with a bachelor’s in Agronomy. He was part of the baseball team all four years for the Aggies.

For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!