EVANSTON — Evanston High School senior Ryker Lind dominated class 4A golf this past season, winning every tournament he entered, as well as the 4A State Golf Championship and the Lew Lepore Player of the Year Award, given to the top high school golfer in the state of Wyoming by the Wyoming Coaches Association.

Now the Red Devils phenom will take his game to the next level, having signed last week to compete collegiately for the University of Wyoming next fall.

“I had interest from a couple of schools, but never got an offer from them except for UW,” Lind explained. “I’ve been telling my dad that UW would be a dream come true, and once I got the official offer, I took it right away. I think that it fit me well, because I love the person [UW head coach] Joe Jensen is, and how he runs the team. The biggest decider was he carries a smaller team, and his philosophies are top notch. It couldn’t have fit me any better.”

Like his older brother Braxton before him, Lind is a two-time All-State selection, having finished runner-up at the 2023 3A State Golf Tournament last year He’s also had a successful career on the hardwood for the Red Devils, helping lead the team back to the 4A State Tournament last season for the first time since the 2019-20 season

EHS head golf coach Jerry Carroll said Lind has worked hard for this opportunity, and is excited to see what the future holds for the young golfer.

“It’s very exciting,” Carroll said. “Ryker’s put a lot of time and energy and practice into his game, and he’s just a kid who’s gone above and beyond. He’s on the putting green practicing, long after everyone else is gone. It’s very exciting when those labors pay off.”

“Ryker’s first choice was the University of Wyoming to play golf,” Carroll added. “So this is a dream come true for him, and he’s definitely earned it.”

Asked what he’s looking forward to most about playing at the next level, Lind said the answer is simple.

“What I’m looking forward to the most is the competition I’ll get to see and compete with,” he said. “I think being able to compete with some top notch guys and getting to play against them will make me so much better and make me wanna compete at that level.”

Though he never made an official visit to UW, Lind said he’s met coach Jensen on a number of occasions, as well as had the opportunity to play with some of his future teammates.

“I actually never took an official visit to university, but I’ve been involved with UW for my whole life and have had several meetings and conversations with coach Jensen that taking an official visit wasn’t a very big priority for me,” he said. “Also, I got to meet and play with one of my future teammates at the Junior Americas Cup last year – Austin Barry – and he was a fantastic guy and an incredible golfer. And I got to hear about the other two we will get to play with from him, because they are some of his good friends.”

Carroll said the Pokes are getting a golfer with tremendous upside, who’s only going to get better the more he plays.

“He’s got all the tools – this is a 6’3 kid with long levers that hits the ball a mile,” Carroll said. “But he also has the hands of a lotion salesman – really soft hands. One of the things Evanston kids struggle with is being great putters and having a great short game – we have limited facilities for that. But this kid has all the tools. He set a goal to be an individual state champion, and – if he could – bring his teammates to win a state championship. He’s goal-motivated, but then he went and did the work to get there.”

Lind has also demonstrated leadership abilities on and off the course and courts at EHS, an aspect his coach expects to see at UW.

“He’s a team leader – when you’re good, everyone in the state wants to golf against you,” Carroll explained. “But he didn’t act like he’s better than anybody. He said, ‘I’m just a part of this team, and I want us to win a state championship.’ I’d give him the opportunity to speak to the team before tournaments, and he’d do it every time. He didn’t just worry about himself, he worried about his teammates. He’s a great leader and a great teammate, and those things are very important at the next level.”

Asked what he’ll miss about his days as a Red Devil, Lind said his teammates and coaches top the list.

“My biggest takeaway from being a Red Devil was probably everybody I got to become friends with and got to associate with has been a huge privilege of mine,” he said. “The friendships I’ve made being a Red Devil are above all when it come to that one thing I will miss most is the atmosphere of it all. I love being around all the coaches and all my peers; there really are some amazing people and EHS that have helped me and given me opportunities no one else has, and I can’t thank them enough for that.”

Carroll said Lind will represent EHS and his community well in Laramie.

“That kid has been hanging around Purple Sage since he was little, and you could see he was going to be something special,” Carroll said. “Like I said, he has all the tools – he’s smart, he’s humble, he’s respectful and he’s a hard worker and the physical tools are there. What you can’t teach is that length, and he has it – but he also has soft hands, and a really nice touch around the greens. With time and practice, he’s just gonna get better and better.”