Our Team
Zach Ricketts
Zach Ricketts is the owner of Big League Sports Surfaces. Over the past two decades Zach has made multiple stops working for teams such as the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland A's and Raiders. With the A's, Zach graded all spring training fields on a yearly basis and was involved with the last few years going back and forth between football and baseball at the Oakland Coliseum. Zach also was the head groundskeeper in Papillion Nebraska for the Omaha Stormchaser and Union Omaha Soccer team. They also shared a stadium and were tasked with going back and forth between sports. He also has construction experience working with Bush Sports Turf.
Dalton Deckert
Dalton Deckert joins Big League from Oklahoma State University. There he managed softball and baseball for the Cowboys. Dalton has worked in AAA baseball with the Columbus Clippers, and was the head groundskeeper before that with the Single-A Beloit Snappers. Dalton also has experience in construction helping Dura Edge in finishing the spring training complex for the Nationals and Astros. He is a very smart groundskeeper and has a passion for working dirt. We are excited to have him join our team primarily working with the Phoenix/Tucson Market.
Chris Gracia
Chris Gracia Is one of our part time helpers. He has spent over 5 years working with the Cubs at their Spring training complex and another 5 working with the A's. He has also been a part of the field conversions in Oakland going back and forth between MLB and NFL overnight.
Greg Hofer
Greg Hofer is a part time addition to Big League. His main job is the assistant head groundskeeper for the A's at their training complex in Mesa. There he is in charge of grading of all fields. At the start of Greg's career, he worked for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and in-between stops he worked over a decade for the City of Appleton Wisconsin taking care of sports fields.
Don Bare
Don Bare-Consultant
Don has been helping the transition of Barco to Big League Sports Surfaces in a consulting role. He has been grading fields in the Phoenix Area since the early 2000's. Over the years he has grown Bareco to the primary laser grader in the southwest. His knowledge of the industry and connections with groundskeepers has been a great help.