Wednesday morning, the 2021 All-West Coast League teams were announced by West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer.
“It’s my tremendous pleasure every year,” said Neyer, “to announce the WCL’s All-League teams. Considering the WCL’s position as the premier summer collegiate baseball league in the entire western half of the continent, saying our teams represent ‘the best of the west’ is hardly an exaggeration.”
Monday, this year’s MVP and Pitcher of the Year Awards were unveiled. Incoming Oregon State freshman Travis Bazzana of the Corvallis Knights was selected as the WCL’s MVP. The freshman-to-be for the Beavers won the WCL batting title with a league-record .429 average. Bellingham hurler Eric Chavarria captured pitching honors, with a league-best 1.83 ERA in 11 outings. With the Lewis-Clark Warriors last spring, he went 8-2 with a 3.14 ERA.
On the All-WCL first team, the Ridgefield Raptors were the most represented squad on the All-WCL first team with four selections, followed by the Corvallis Knights and the Portland Pickles with three.
Awards on deck next Tuesday: Coach of the Year, Top Prospect, Executive of the Year and the Team Sportsmanship Award will be announced by Commissioner Neyer.
First-Team All-WCL
C – Colin Wetterau (St. John’s, junior), Walla Walla Sweets 1B – Coby Morales (Cypress College, soph), Ridgefield Raptors 2B – Travis Bazzana (Oregon State, frosh), Corvallis Knights 3B – Leo Mosby (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Portland Pickles SS – John Peck (Pepperdine, soph), Ridgefield Raptors OF – Nick Vogt (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Corvallis Knights OF – Noah Williamson (*signed with Miami Marlins), Yakima Valley Pippins OF – Sam Linscott (Lewis-Clark State, senior), Bend Elks UTL – Adam Grob (South Carolina Upstate, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox DH – Will Chambers (College of the Canyons, soph), Ridgefield Raptors SP – Eric Chavarria (Lewis-Clark State, senior), Bellingham Bells SP – Kelly Austin (UCLA, soph), Cowlitz Black Bears SP – Alex Giroux (Clark College, soph), Portland Pickles SP – Jaren Hunter (Oregon State, soph), Ridgefield Raptors SP – Ty Uber (Stanford, frosh), Corvallis Knights RP – Josh Mollerus (San Francisco, junior), Portland Pickles RP – Caden Kaelber (Washington State, junior), Walla Walla Sweets
Second-Team All-WCL
C – Gavin Logan (Oregon State, junior), Bend Elks 1B – Willie Lajoie (Chico State, senior), Yakima Valley Pippins 2B – Rikuu Nishida (Mt. Hood CC, soph), Cowlitz Black Bears 3B – Julian Kodama (Seattle U, senior), Bend Elks SS – Nick Oakley (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Port Angeles Lefties OF – Caden Connor (Cal State Fullerton, soph), Ridgefield Raptors OF – Robert Guardino (Wofford, junior), Portland Pickles OF – Daniel Gernon (Lower Columbia College, soph), Bellingham Bells UTL – Bennett Thompson (Oregon, freshman), Bend Elks SP – Brad McVay (Georgia Gwinnett, junior), Portland Pickles SP – Travis Craven (Whitman, senior), Walla Walla Sweets SP – Seth Kuykendall (Western Oregon, senior), Yakima Valley Pippins SP – Ryan Harvey (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Ridgefield Raptors SP – Ethan Ross (San Jose State, soph), Corvallis Knights RP – Keegan Wright (San Diego Christian, frosh), Cowlitz Black Bears RP – Nathaniel Mendoza (Cal State San Bernadino, soph), Corvallis Knights
# year in school noted for fall/winter/spring, 2021-2022.
Honorable Mention All-WCL
Bellingham: Hunter Alberini (Umpqua CC), Ryan Beitel (British Columbia), Emilio Corona (Washington), Malakhi Knight (UCLA), Bennett Lee (Tulane), Ty Saunders (Portland)
Easter, Fleury, Buchan and Waters excited to be back in Nanaimo
Building a team is also about building a culture, with character people who have leadership skills — and that culture is important.
The Nanaimo NightOwls are pleased to announce the return of four key players from the 2023 team, the second season of WCL baseball at historic Serauxmen Stadium, and it’s a group of four that especially has veteran pitching coach Gorm Heimueller smiling.
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Two quality arms, a big bat and a second-team All-WCL catcher will be back in the navy and yellow — Michael Easter behind the dish, part of the catching crew that will receive pitches again from Nathan Buchan and Jake Fleury, along with a strong hitter in Wylie Waters. They join local infielder Aaron Marsh, last year’s co-player-of-the-year, as the first group confirmed for 2024.
Nathan Buchan, LHP, University of Redlands, from Mercer Island, WA
Jake Fleury, RHP, Skagit Valley College, from Burlington, WA
Wylie Waters, IF, South Mountain CC, from West Vancouver, BC
Michael Easter, C, Azuza Pacific, from Arcadia, CA
The WCL schedule was announced earlier this month — the regular season home opener for Head Coach Greg Frady and the NightOwls is Tuesday, June 4 against the Cowlitz Black Bears.
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Easter, who has moved from East LA CC to D-1 Azuza Pacific, was part of a strong catching core in 2023, walking more times than he struck out (26BB, 18K) and hitting .315 (16th in the WCL in average) with 21 runs driven in. His nine doubles tied for third on the team.
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Buchan, the opening day starter in 2023, is a warrior and a throwback, often going deep in games and going 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA over nine starts — a pitcher’s pitcher who struck out 32 batters in 37.1 innings.
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Potent hitter Waters, who played some infield, some outfield and DH in 2023 for Coach Greg Frady, is at South Mountain CC in Arizona, and had a strong summer in the WCL in which he hit .317 (14th in the WCL) with two home runs, 21 RBIs and 10 doubles, second on the NightOwls, in 42 games. He struck out just 22 times, matching his total of 22 combined base on balls (17) and hit by pitch (5).
VICTORIA, B.C. — The season may feel far away, just over six months to be exact, but plans are well underway for filling Head Coach Todd Haney’s 2024 Victoria HarbourCats roster.
Included are returning pitchers, and local products via the Victoria Eagles program, Sam Jordan and Ryder Green, along with the next Magdic (mag-DEECH) power-hitting prospect.
Kyle Magdic, IF, Lincoln, ON, 6-3/230, Marshalltown CC
Brooks Brewster, RHP, Carthage, TX, 6-2/205, Paris JC (Texas)
Wyatt Anderson, RHP, Cochrane, AB, 6-3/205, Hill JC (Texas)
Kade Douglas, RHP, Trinidad, CO, 6-2/185, CSU Pueblo
Sam Jordan, RHP, Victoria, BC, 6-3/190, Trinidad State (CO)
Magdic is the younger brother of 2023 fan favourite Ryan Magdic, a big corner infielder with huge power potential. Anderson is a power pitcher who will benefit from working with HarbourCats pitching coach Scott Anderson (no relation) and the staff.
Brewster is yet another Texas recruit by Haney, with a fastball in the low 90s, a college freshman who had great success at the top high school level in a very competitive state.
Douglas, a lanky right-hander with swing-miss stuff, pitched in the Northwoods League and WCBL, advancing from Allen CC to CSU-Pueblo. Green, who has been around the team for many years including being a batboy many moons ago, is in the midst of his freshman NAIA season in Arizona and returns for a second season working with Anderson.
Jordan returns for a second season, this time after spending a year at Trinidad State in Colorado (previously at Thompson Rivers in Kamloops). He made six appearances including two starts for the HarbourCats in 2023, going 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA and walking only four hitters.
As always, single game tickets will be available through our one and only ticketing partner Select Your Tickets at http://harbourcats.com/tickets.
SINGLE GAME TICKET PRE-SALE SPECIAL! Fans who want to get a jump on their single game ticket purchases may do so by dropping into the HarbourCats office on Wednesday or Thursday November 29th and 30th between Noon and 7PM as the HarbourCats are holding their annual Christmas Open House at the office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
Other Christmas Open House specials include season ticket renewals or new purchases at 2023 pricing (a savings of $20-25 per seat) plus 20% off all in store merchandise! Food and beverage will also be provided.
YOU ARE INVITED! Please mark your calendars and join us, as we usher in the 2023-2024 Holiday season with our annual HarbourCats Christmas Open House, this year expanded over a two day period!
November 29th and 30th, 2023 12 Noon to 7:00 pm both days at the HarbourCats office 101-1814 Vancouver Street (just around the corner from the park!)
We will have our usual assortment of treats and holiday beverages on hand, plus plenty of great deals on tickets and merchandise for the baseball fan on your Christmas list. Come on in and take advantage of the following offers:
15% off ALL in store merchandise including new 2023 North Division Champion shirts, game worn jerseys, new kids apparel and plenty more!
2024 Single Game Ticket Pre-Buy Be the first to get your single-game tickets for 2024 before they go on sale on-line and to the general public on Friday December 1st!
2024 Voucher Exchanges If you have ticket vouchers, be first to exchange them for your preferred seats before single game tickets go on sale to the general public!
Early Bird Season Ticket Pricing! Even though our Early Bird deadline on Season Tickets has passed, come in either day to renew your 2023 seats or set up new season tickets and we will give you those at our 2023 pricing!
Get a 2024 Schedule Pick up a copy of our 2024 Schedule, one that includes 32 home games, 4 fireworks nights and all the excitement of another West Coast League season! Home Opener, Friday, June 7, 2024 6:35 pm against the Wenatchee AppleSox
We will look forward to seeing you on the 29th and 30th!
Stay tuned to all of our social media for updates and more details as they become available.
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