LAURIE WEIR
Smiths Falls LPGA star Brooke Henderson has gone public with her relationship with Minnesota Twins pitcher Ricky Castro.
Castro, 26, first posted photos with Henderson on July 21, paired with the George Strait song, “Check Yes or No”. The images showed the couple at a baseball stadium in Wichita, Kan., where Castro plays for the Twins’ Double-A affiliate, the Wichita Wind Surge.
On Aug. 7, Henderson posted one of those photos to her own Instagram account, marking her first public acknowledgment of the relationship. The LPGA Tour standout’s longtime friend and fellow Olympian, swimmer Bailey Andison, commented “Hard launch!!!” followed by rocket and heart emojis, a playful nod to the couple’s official reveal.
Castro, a right-handed pitcher from Naperville, Ill., played collegiate baseball at Purdue and Tulane before joining the Twins organization. Henderson, 27, is a 13-time LPGA Tour winner and two-time major champion. Both she and Andison have represented Canada at the Olympic Games.
Meet Ricky Castro
Age: 26
Hometown: Naperville, Ill.
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Team: Minnesota Twins organization
Current club: Wichita Wind Surge (Double-A)
College: Purdue University; Tulane University
Signed: Joined Twins organization in 2022
2025 season stats (Double-A Wichita):
Record: 3–3
ERA: 5.05
Innings pitched: 71.1
Strikeouts: 66
WHIP: 1.39
