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)
Above: Infielder Jake Butler from George Mason University should be a key cog in the middle infield for the HarbourCats in 2025.
March 24, 2025
For Immediate Release
VICTORIA — It’s always a bonus to find a double-play combo from the same school, especially one as strong as George Mason University (GMU).
The Victoria HarbourCats are excited to add middle infielders Owen Clyne, who starts at short, and Jake Butler, his usual counterpart at second but also able to play third, from GMU — the school that provided star catcher Connor Dykstra, who signed in July with the Seattle Mariners.
“This group we are announcing today, we will be counting on them to lead key parts of our team this summer,” said HarbourCats GM Christian Stewart.
“Butler and Clyne are impressing everyone this spring, and JC Allen from UC San Diego is off to a strong start as well. Our offense just got even stronger with these four signings, and you know (head coach) Todd Haney will get the most out of them.”
Announced as signed today, by Coach Haney:
IF Owen Clyne, George Mason, L/R, 6-2/185, Wichita, KS IF Jake Butler, George Mason, R/R, 5-11/185. Towson, MD IF JC Allen, UC San Diego, R/R, 6-4/210, Irvine, CA IF/OF Curtis McKay, Niagara, R/R, 6-3/205, Dorchester, ON
Clyne, batting .363, has 28 RBIs in 24 games so far this season, with three home runs, nine extra-base hits and more walks than strikeouts. Butler has 35 runs driven in and is batting .326 with a .457 on-base clip in 20 games.
UC SanDiego’s JC Allen is another player who should see plenty of playing time in the HarbourCats infield in 2025.
Allen is off to a huge start at the D1 level, after two years at Saddleback College, with six home runs and 24 RBIs in his first 22 games for UC SAN Diego. He hit 13 bombs in his second season at Saddleback. He can play either corner infield spot, or get his bat active in the DH role.
McKay, from Ontario, can play corner infield or outfield, is batting .303 with four home runs and an RBI per game (22 total) over 18 starts at Niagara.
The HarbourCats open their 2025 home schedule on Friday, June 6, with the Port Angeles Lefties visiting Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP. Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and three “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.
Tickets can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.
ATTENTION 2024 SEASON TICKET HOLDERS – FINAL NOTICE! If you have not already done so, please renew your seats for 2025 so that they can be locked into the new ticketing system. Season Tickets will be sent to all members electronically this season on April 1, 2025, perhaps sooner. Any seats not renewed by MONDAY, March 31 will be released and placed back into the system. Contact Christian at the office at 778-265-0327 to renew.
VICTORIA, B.C. — Count ’em, 25 years of helping youth enjoy sports.
KidSport Greater Victoria is teaming up with the Victoria HarbourCats to celebrate an amazing 25 years of assisting kids in the pursuit of both participation and excellence in local sports, with planned events this summer at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.
And, not the least of which is the June 19 KidSport Greater Victoria School Spirit Game, a Thursday matchup starting at 11am featuring the HarbourCats and island rival Nanaimo NightOwls, with many schools all but emptying to take in the action and helping celebrate this tremendous achievement for KidSport Greater Victoria.
“We can’t think of a better community organization to have involved with this, the KidSport School Spirit game,” said Jim Swanson, Managing Partner of the HarbourCats.
“This will be a season-long theme of celebration, of reminding our fans of the great work they do and have done for so long in Victoria. Each and every game, people will have an opportunity to show their support for KidSport Greater Victoria, including a few special events outside this School Spirit Game.”
This will be the second Thursday game in a row in the HarbourCats home schedule in 2025 which will be dedicated to kids — on June 12, the Mayfair Optometric School Spirit Game will take place, also an 11am start featuring the HarbourCats and NightOwls. KidSport Greater Victoria and Mayfair Optometric Clinic are aligned with community values and supporting youth, making this an ideal match to welcome a combined total of more than 5,000 school kids to the park.
“We are so grateful for the past and ongoing support the HarbourCats have offered KidSport, and very excited about the various ways our organizations will work together this year,” said Jill Shaw, Executive Director of KidSport Greater Victoria. “Demand for our support is at an all-time high. We are seeing more families than ever coming to us in need of help so their children can access organized sport. The HarbourCats June 19th School Spirit Game is a great opportunity both to raise awareness about the work we do, and to offer local kids great access to another fun and rewarding local sport experience – we are very happy to be involved!”
KidSport Greater Victoria will also be front and centre on Harvey’s Birthday Game on July 11 at Wilson’s Group Stadium, and will be involved in other special games that are still to be announced.
Supporting KidSport will be a constant theme of the HarbourCats in this 2025 West Coast League season. The HarbourCats encourage all who can to contribute to this great cause, which you can action by clicking this link (https://www.kidsportvictoria25.ca/).
KidSport Greater Victoria has seen tremendous growth over the last 25 years, with demand for their support increasing very steeply starting in 2023 in particular. KidSport Greater Victoria exists to help ensure all kids have opportunity to play; annually they cover the registration fees for well over 1400 local kids living in financial need, enabling them to take part in seasons of sport of their choice – including baseball! As the largest KidSport chapter in the province, we know that on just about every sports team in the region, there are children playing who are able to take part thanks to KidSport and the supporters and donors who make their work possible.
To order tickets as a school group for the June 19 KidSport Greater Victoria School Spirit Game, or the June 12 Mayfair Optometric Clinic School Spirit Game, contact GM Christian Stewart, chris@harbourcats.com — some seats are left, but not many!
For fans looking for tickets for these exciting games, and any other HarbourCats game in 2025, visit the HarbourCats ticketing site HERE.
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