Work Ethic Continues to Drive Van Dyk's Endeavors as Co-Owner of Family Farm
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 4, 2026
Matt Van Dyk’s work ethic was always easy to spot, even for those not spending every day at Imlay City’s basketball practices.
“The only way he could get out of work in the summer was for church or basketball, nothing else,” Imlay City boys basketball coach Don Gauthier said. “We would have summer league games in Flint or wherever we were playing, and he would show up five minutes before tip off, covered in mud, dirt, or whatever he was doing on the farm, and with no excuses, would come out there and play as hard as anybody. That work ethic, it was contagious to everybody else.”
That work ethic was born in the fields at Van Dyk Farms, grew through his time on the court for Imlay City and eventually Michigan State, and continues to serve him in his role as part owner of that same family farm, which serves as one of the largest produce suppliers in the eastern United States.
“I’ve had some phenomenal coaches in my life,” Van Dyk said. “My high school coach was Don Gauthier, and he really instilled work ethic into us. I think his favorite quote was, ‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.’ When I think about high school, just that work ethic of working hard every day really helped with being at the college level, but also with farming. And, really, I’ve been blessed to have role models that have all echoed that same mentality. My high school coach, my junior college (St. Clair County Community College) coach Dale Vos, and at Michigan State with coach (Tom) Izzo, plus my father, Doug Van Dyk.”
Matt Van Dyk, a 2012 Imlay City graduate, returned home to the 1,000-acre family vegetable farm after graduating with his agri-business degree from MSU in 2017.
While he’s officially one of the owners, he said his unofficial title is field operations, as he oversees planting, growing and harvest operations.
“I’m the person they call when something’s broken down, or they need to know what field to go into next,” he said.
Van Dyk has immersed himself in the Imlay City community since his return, joining the township board for a while, as well as his church council. He’s also giving back as an athlete, helping with the basketball program. His wife, Rachel, who played volleyball at MSU, was the varsity girls volleyball coach at Imlay City for three seasons and still works with clubs in the area.
“The Bible says that to who much is given, much is expected, and I’ve been given a lot, more so than I deserve,” he said. “The opportunity to play at Michigan State, not many people get that opportunity. For me, to be able to use that and give back is what we’re called to do. With the farm, too. I have the opportunity to work on a family business, and some people will say that you’re starting on second base – well there’s a lot that’s expected from me with this opportunity that I’m given. That is where my true worth comes from; it doesn’t come from personal success, it comes from what our team here at Van Dyk farms can accomplish.”
While Van Dyk describes his time at MSU as an opportunity he was given, the reality is it was one he fought long and hard to earn.
After becoming an all-state selection in Class B and Blue Water Area Conference MVP at Imlay City, he originally went to Hope College after high school but transferred to SC4 following one semester.
During his lone year there, he was named the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Eastern Conference Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-MCCAA and National Junior College Athletic Association Region XII All-Defense.
That earned him scholarship offers from in-state Division II programs, but he chose instead to walk-on at MSU and follow his dream of playing for the Spartans. At worst, he thought, he would graduate with a top-notch degree in the field he wanted.
Of course, he ended up with much more than that. After two years as a walk-on, Van Dyk earned a scholarship for his final season at MSU. He wound up playing in 53 games during his career, starting four during the 2016-17 season.
“I guess while you’re in it, it’s just work,” he said. “You put your head down, take it one day at a time. Looking back and seeing how there are no days off in life, you’re like, ‘OK, maybe that was pretty awesome what I did.’ I got to go to Italy, got to go to Madison Square Garden, got to play at Duke, got to travel the world.”
He also went viral.
While work ethic was what pushed Van Dyk to reach his dreams, he was also a remarkable athlete, possessing one of the best vertical leaps on the roster. That came out in a game against Ohio State his junior season, during which he threw down a massive dunk off an alley-oop. The play made the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10.
“That’s not my style of play at all,” Van Dyk said with a laugh. “Dunking, that’s what got me on the team, was my athleticism. But being flashy, that’s not my thing. It’s a funny way to work things out, and I’m forever indebted to Alvin Ellis for throwing it off the backboard.”
Now, as Van Dyk is back in Imlay City with his wife and two young daughters with another on the way in November, he’s putting his head down to better his family’s business and the community at large. All while continuing to set the right example for the next potential athlete willing to work for what he earned.
“They see him, and he played at Michigan State, and there’s his picture on the wall,” Gauthier said. “Most young kids have big dreams, and they have a guy right there in their hometown that did it. They look up to that. For the athlete and basketball player he is, he’s just a better person. He’s very humble, he doesn’t act big time toward anybody. That’s even more impressive.”
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Matt Van Dyk puts up a jumper for Imlay City. At right, Van Dyk and his daughters enjoy a moment in one of his family’s fields. (Photos provided by Matt Van Dyk.)
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Boys Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 27, 2023
The seeds for this season’s District brackets are set as 726 Michigan boys basketball teams are finishing up their regular seasons this week in advance of the playoffs beginning March 6.
Brackets were seeded and filled Sunday, and published here for all four divisions:
Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Division 4
This will be the last of our regular-season “Breslin Bound” reports, as next week we switch the format up a bit while previewing several of the strongest Districts across the state.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Grand Rapids South Christian 82, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 54 The Sailors (18-3) also needed to defeat Cedar Springs three days later, but this win over GRCC (15-6) opened the opportunity to share the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title with the Cougars and also ended their 75-game league winning streak going back to Feb. 21, 2017.
2. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 68, Detroit U-D Jesuit 63 The Warriors (20-1) claimed their first Detroit Catholic League tournament championship reportedly since 1990 with their third win this season over the Cubs (17-4).
3. East Kentwood 61, Hudsonville 49 Friday’s winner-take-all for the outright O-K Red championship went to the Falcons (16-5), who had fallen to Hudsonville (15-6) by nine Jan. 27.
4. Warren Michigan Collegiate 58, Romulus Summit Academy 50 The Cougars (18-2) clinched the Charter School Conference tournament title in a rematch of last season’s championship game, won by Summit (18-2).
5. Hart 63, Mason County Central 45 The Pirates moved to 20-0 and clinched the outright West Michigan Conference Rivers championship – reportedly their first league title since 1963 in boys hoops.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
East Kentwood (16-5) The Falcons have hit their stride during a seven-game winning streak that included clinching the O-K Red title (see above) and also avenging an earlier loss to Grandville, plus defeating Detroit Old Redford at Benton Harbor’s Wilson Chandler Shootout. East Kentwood was 6-15 just a season ago and 3-12 the year before that, but also has pairs of wins over Rockford (14-7) and Grand Haven (16-5) this season and an opportunity to impress further in the regular-season finale against South Christian.
River Rouge (15-5) The Panthers have won 10 of their last 12 as they prepare for the postseason, with a pair of wins over Hamtramck (13-7) and others over Davison (16-6), Lansing Waverly (16-6), Grosse Pointe South (17-4) and Brownstown Woodhaven (16-4) boosted by good losses to Brother Rice and Ferndale among others. Rouge earned the second seed at the District at Detroit Cass Tech, with another boost from defeating Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 63-59 at Saturday’s 313 Classic.
DIVISION 2
Cadillac (16-4) The Vikings bounced back from two and one-point losses to Traverse City Central and Petoskey, respectively, to defeat Traverse City West 58-30 on Friday and clinch a shared Big North Conference championship with the Trojans. It was a repeat of the 2021-22 league finish, and Cadillac will hope to build on last season’s playoff run as well after reaching the Division 2 Quarterfinals. Cadillac followed up the one-point loss to the Northmen with a one-point win over Big Rapids (17-2), which went well with other impressive victories over Ludington (18-2) and McBain (17-4).
Grand Rapids South Christian (18-3) As noted above, the Sailors ended GRCC’s incredible league winning streak – but that wasn’t the first highlight for South Christian this winter. Total, the Sailors have 11 victories over teams with double-digit wins, and 15 victories have come by double digits. They started 1-2 with losses to Grand Rapids Christian and Grand Rapids Northview, but those along with a loss to GRCC in their first meeting no doubt helped boost South into the top seed in its District at Plainwell.
DIVISION 3
Ecorse (13-3) After reaching the Division 3 Semifinals a year ago, Ecorse is picking up plenty of momentum for a repeat run with 11 straight wins after taking its three losses consecutively in December to larger Oak Park, Detroit Renaissance and Detroit Catholic Central. The Raiders have gone over 80 points seven times and 90 points five times during this current streak, which began with a win over Division 1 Woodhaven. Ecorse most recently defeated Detroit University Prep Art & Design (14-5) by four at the 313 Classic.
Traverse City St. Francis (17-3) The Gladiators appear to be in top form, having earned a shared Lake Michigan Conference title last week in part by defeating then-leader Boyne City 58-34 to avenge a Jan. 24 loss to the Ramblers. The only other defeats came to Division 1 Grand Haven and Detroit Cass Tech (21-0), and the latter by only seven points. St. Francis will squeeze the last bits of prep possible out of this week with tests against McBain (17-4) and Cadillac before heading into the District at Lake City seeded first and opposite postseason rival Glen Lake (17-3).
DIVISION 4
Rudyard (16-5) The Bulldogs are among the handful of Upper Peninsula schools that play in multiple conferences, and while they are third in the Straits Area Conference they have finished a perfect run through the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference. Only last week, to Sault St. Marie, did Rudyard take its first loss by more than five points. The Bulldogs are seeded first in the District they host next week, with four other EUPC teams in the field. Wins over Mackinaw City (17-3) and Indian River Inland Lakes (15-5) no doubt provided a solid boost toward that rating.
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (15-5) The reigning Division 4 champion is a win better than at this point last season, and with the same kind of experience as usual having played mostly larger schools outside of league play. A pair of losses by a combined five points have the Defenders as part of a three-way tie for second place in the Alliance League, but they have four wins over teams with 12 or more victories – most recently against Pewamo-Westphalia (12-6) and reigning Division 3 champion Schoolcraft (13-7).
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Ferndale (12-7) at North Farmington (17-1) – These two have the top MPRs in Divisions 2 and 1, respectively, and are second and first in the Oakland Activities Association Red thanks to North Farmington’s 50-48 win in the first meeting Jan. 31.
Tuesday – Kalamazoo Central (18-2) at Muskegon (19-2) – A pair of programs with two of the longest traditions of success in state history match up in the regular-season finale for both.
Thursday – Grand Blanc (19-2) at Flint Beecher (16-3) – Grand Blanc has won the last two meetings between these Flint-area powers, in regular-season finales last year and in 2020.
Thursday – Iron Mountain (19-1) at Negaunee (15-5) – The Mountaineers have a one-game lead on the Miners heading into this Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East finale.
Friday – Detroit Cass Tech (21-0) vs. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (20-1) at Detroit Mercy – This Calihan Hall Operation Friendship showdown of champions could end up among the most memorable in the series in some time.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Otsego takes on Paw Paw on Friday in an eventual 58-44 win that kept the Bulldogs atop the Wolverine Conference standings. (Photo by Gary Shook.)