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Summer Collegiate

Northpaws Joey Rico Named To ALL STAR TEAM

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Tuesday morning, West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer revealed the all-star selections for the 2024 All-Star Game. Marking the return of the WCL’s mid-summer classic for the first time since 2019, the game is scheduled for Wednesday, July 17, with the first pitch at 6:35 p.m. Pacific Time at the legendary Joe Martin Field.

After a long hiatus, we’re thrilled to bring back the All-Star Game and celebrate the incredible talent in our league,” said WCL Commissioner Rob Neyer. “It’s already apparent that the Bells will present a tremendous event for our fans, our players, and for the many thousands watching the game around the world.”

Hosted by the Bellingham Bells, this event promises to be a two-day extravaganza beginning on July 16. The evening before the All-Star Game will feature players from the Max Higbee Center alongside WCL All-Stars in the Community Champions Game, an integrated baseball game to benefit the Max Higbee Center. The Max Higbee Center supports and empowers teens and adults with developmental disabilities to build community, friendships, happiness, life skills and health through recreation. Half of ticket sales from the evening will go directly to the Max Higbee Center.

Bellingham Head Coach Bob Ralston will guide the North Division squad, while the South will be led by Corvallis Knights skipper Brooke Knight. The North Division consists of the Bells, Edmonton Riverhawks, Kamloops NorthPaws, Kelowna Falcons, Nanaimo NightOwls, Port Angeles Lefties, Wenatchee AppleSox, and Victoria HarbourCats, with every team represented on the roster by at least one standout player. In the South, the Bend Elks, Corvallis Knights, Cowlitz Black Bears, Portland Pickles, Ridgefield Raptors, Springfield Drifters, Walla Walla Sweets, and Yakima Valley Pippins are all sending players to Bellingham for the All-Star Game.

Tickets for the WCL All-Star Game may be purchased here, but for those not able to attend, the WCL has exciting news later this week about the broadcast. Stay tuned!

NORTH
C – Conner Smith of Santa Clara (Bellingham Bells)
C – Jonathan Fitz of San Diego (Wenatchee AppleSox)
1B – Jacob Mejia of Cal State San Bernadino (Bellingham Bells)
1B – Jeremy Giesegh of Cal State San Bernadino (Port Angeles Lefties)
2B – Michael Soper of Westmont College (Edmonton Riverhawks)
SS – Roman Martin of UCLA (Bellingham Bells)
SS – Nevin Noonan of San Diego State (Nanaimo NightOwls)
3B – Nate Kirkpatrick of Yavapai College (Bellingham Bells)
3B – Jakob Poturnak of Sacramento State (Edmonton Riverhawks)
OF – Bryce McFeely of Westmont College (Edmonton Riverhawks)
OF/P – Joey Rico of Westmont (Kamloops NorthPaws)
OF – Trey Duffield of Rice (Kelowna Falcons)
OF – Riley Paulino of Pikeville (Nanaimo NightOwls)
OF – Wylie Waters of USC Upstate (Nanaimo NightOwls)
OF/2B – Tate Shimao of Hawaii (Victoria HarbourCats)
OF – Max Hartman of Washington State (Wenatchee AppleSox)
P – Josh Flaugher of Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Bellingham Bells)
P – Tyler Van Dyke of Stetson (Bellingham Bells)
P – Tate Dearing of Reinhardt (Edmonton Riverhawks)
P – Vicarte Domingo of British Columbia (Edmonton Riverhawks)
P/OF – Gavyn Jones of McLennan CC (Kelowna Falcons)
P – Adison Mattix of Everett CC (Nanaimo NightOwls)
P – Carson Cormier of TCU (Victoria HarbourCats)
P – Evan Canfield of Lewis-Clark State (Wenatchee AppleSox)
P – Quincy Vassar of Vanguard (Wenatchee AppleSox)

SOUTH
C – Luke Iverson of Utah Valley (Ridgefield Raptors)
C – Dane Woodcook of New Mexico State (Springfield Drifters)
1B – Easton Amundson of Liberty (Bend Elks)
1B/3B – Patrick Keighran of San Francisco (Portland Pickles)
2B – Spencer Shipman of Whitworth (Yakima Valley Pippins)
SS/2B – Ty Yukumoto of Pacific (Corvallis Knights)
SS/OF – Blake Wilson of Washington (Corvallis Knights)
3B – Kedren Kinzie of Hawaii (Springfield Drifters)
3B/OF – Preston Allen – uncommitted (Yakima Valley Pippins)
OF – Brandon Cabrera of Lewis-Clark State (Corvallis Knights)
OF – Dylan Schlaegel of Dallas Baptist (Cowlitz Black Bears)
OF – Tanner Griffith of Saint Mary’s (Portland Pickles)
OF – Kolby Felix of Colorado Mesa (Walla Walla Sweets)
OF – Davis Mauzy of Wichita State (Walla Walla Sweets)
UTL – Kevin Takeuchi of USC (Corvallis Knights)
P – Mason Edwards of USC (Bend Elks)
P – Jackson Elder of Utah (Bend Elks)
P – Tyler Wood of UC Davis (Bend Elks)
P – James DeCremer of Oregon State (Corvallis Knights)
P – Tyner Horn of Nebraska (Corvallis Knights)
P – Kaden Segel of Portland (Corvallis Knights)
P – Freddie Rodriguez of Hawaii (Portland Pickles)
P – Shay Timmer of Salt Lake CC (Portland Pickles)
P – Dylan Stewart of Pepperdine (Ridgefield Raptors)
P – Liam Hohenstein of Colorado Mesa (Walla Walla Sweets)

Universities and colleges noted are where players will be enrolled this upcoming school year.

About the West Coast League: The West Coast League is the West’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Encompassing Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and now Alberta, the WCL showcases pro prospects from major collegiate conferences around the nation. Every summer, the league features unparalleled fan and player experiences, with North America’s best baseball weather and a mix of classic and state-of-the-art ballparks, all backdropped by dramatic scenery.

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Summer Collegiate

Pitching Coach Gorm hits a HUGE milestone

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The Nanaimo NightOwls will be using the 2026 season to celebrate Gorm Heimueller — the esteemed pitching coach, one of the best to ever do it in baseball!  The 70-year-old marks a half-century in the game when he suits up in his fifth summer in the West Coast League with the Nanaimo NightOwls.

“First — thank you, Nanaimo,” said Heimueller.  “I’m very grateful to the Nanaimo NightOwls organization for allowing me to come back as pitching coach in 2026. This will be my 50th year since I signed my first pro contract, but I’ve been very fortunate and blessed to be involved in this game that I’ve loved for more than 60 years.  I’m looking forward to working with Jim, Tina, Anthony, and Cody in putting together an exciting and competitive team on the field for our amazing Nanaimo fans!”

Coach Gorm will tuck his golf clubs away in May — he recorded his second career ace recently — so he can do what he loves most, and that’s working with young pitchers.

“We are going to celebrate Gorm in 2026 — our players, our coaches, our staff could not have more admiration for him as a coach and as a human being,” said Jim Swanson, managing partner of the NightOwls, in announcing Heimueller and wife Lee Ann will return to Nanaimo in 2026 to work with Head Coach Cody Andreychuk and assistant Anthony Houk.

“Players love the man, they hang on his every word. Coaches send us pitchers specifically to get to work with him. He’s a gentleman, he relates well to everyone, and he tells the best stories. We have an absolute legend of the game in Nanaimo as the only pitching coach the NightOwls have ever known — and he’s a mentor to so many, in so many ways.

“Gorm has more than earned the opportunity to be celebrated for all he’s done for the game. I’m biased because he’s become a good friend, but he should be in the Hall of Fame.”

The NightOwls are unveiling a special “GORM50” logo that will be ever-present during the 2026 season — from players shirts, to merchandise. There is also a book being written on his stories and exploits, co-written by Swanson and fellow NightOwls owner Helen Edwards — both have authored books in their careers.

Heimueller, a Los Angeles native, who has World Series rings from coaching in the Twins and Phillies systems, started his baseball career as a lefty pitcher at Cal Poly — with a guy named Ozzie Smith as his shortstop.

Heimueller spent 10 years as a professional pitcher, throwing strikes around the globe (Venezuela, Australia, Canada, USA), and spent two years as mostly a starting pitcher with the Oakland A’s (1983-84), a team which featured Rickey Henderson in his prime. As legend has it, the manager at his first MLB spring training was Frank Robinson, with Billy Martin the manager at his second camp, and his first MLB strikeout victim was Cal Ripken Jr. He transitioned directly from playing to coaching in the minors and held pitching coordinator positions later in his pro tenure, including the San Diego Padres until 2020.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – ALL-STAR GAME PACKAGES ARE DAYS AWAY — BE READY!

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THIS IS A SPECIAL note for all HarbourCats season ticket holders to get their seats set up next week to be in line for the 2026 All-Star Game festival packages, July 14-15, 2025 – full details soon to be released.

Individual Season Ticket Members who have fully renewed or have initiated a payment plan for their 2026 seats, will have first dibs on securing their seats for the All-Star festivities via a special pre-sale window.

We will also offer this pre-sale window to anyone who has purchased a Season Ticket Equivalent Flex Pack (32-Game Flex Pack).

If you are a 2025 HOST FAMILY, please let us know as soon as possible if you intend to return as a host for 2026 and we will save your seats AND you will also be eligible for the pre-sale window for the All-Star activities.

If your season seats are part of a CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP deal, again please let us know as soon as possible that you will be renewing that sponsorship for 2026 (contact your sales rep) and we will save your seats AND you will also be eligible for the pre-sale window for the All-Star activities.

Once the pre-sale window has passed, any unclaimed Season Ticket seats  (for All-Star festivities only) will be released and we will open up sales to the general public.

**IF YOU ARE a traditional 10/12-pack holder, now is the time to trade up for Season Tickets or a 32-Pack Season Ticket Voucher Equivalent to get All-Star Game privileges!

Contact GM Christian Stewart at the HarbourCats office (778-265-0327 or chris@harbourcats.com) to make arrangements!

The excitement around baseball and the 2026 season has hit new heights!

Season ticket memberships and 12-game flex packs (new for 2026!) are now on sale for the HarbourCats 2026 season at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. BE SURE TO LOCK IN YOUR SEASON TICKETS TODAY to get first right of refusal on your seats for the 2026 WCL All-Star game that will be played here in Victoria.  These will be going on sale SOON!

Season tickets, 12-packs and team merchandise are also available at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, Tuesday thru Friday, 10am-4pm.

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Victoria HarbourCats – Haney, HarbourCats bring back former player to lead pitching staff

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October 28, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, BC — A very familiar name and face is returning to Victoria to lead the pitching staff of the HarbourCats.

Zachary Swanson — who has served as batboy, pitcher and play-by-play voice of the team — has been hired as Pitching Coach for the 2026 season by Todd Haney, the Head Coach who is entering his sixth season as the Victoria skipper.

Swanson is in his first year as the pitching coach at Hawaii Pacific University (D2) in Honolulu, under Head Coach Dane Fujinaka, a former HarbourCats catcher who coached in the Toronto Blue Jays system.

“After coaching Zach a couple of seasons, I am thrilled for the opportunity to coach with him now,” said Haney, who started Swanson on the mound against the Corvallis Knights in Game 1 of the WCL championship series in 2019.

“Zach brings energy, experience and expertise to the HarbourCats coaching staff. Our pitchers will love working with him.”

Swanson, the son of Managing Partner Jim Swanson, is a Lambrick Park grad who spent time with both the Eagles and Mariners BCPBL programs. He spent two college years with the San Diego Christian (NAIA) Hawks, then moved to the Park-Gilbert (NAIA) Buccaneers in Arizona, under Head Coach Kelly Stinnett, a long-time MLB catcher, to complete his college playing career.

Swanson will work with Bullpen Coach Darius Opdam Bak, who filled the same role last summer under now-retired Scott Anderson, who held the pitching coach job for three seasons. Opdam Bak is a former HarbourCats and Victoria Golden Tide (CCBC) pitcher who is now Pitching Coach of the Golden Tide.

Swanson, who will be 26 by next season, earned his MBA and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Park-Gilbert business program. He served as pitching coach at Skyline High School (6A) in Mesa, AZ before accepting the HPU offer. He is married to Madeline, and they reside in Kailua, HI.

“This is an extremely special opportunity for me, to return home and coach in front of this amazing city is such a privilege,” said Swanson. “I’m excited to coach some great young men and bring a West Coast League championship home to Victoria.

“It is a tremendous honour to have the chance to coach alongside Coach Haney, someone I consider a mentor. His intensity and passion for player development combined with his true joy for the game are traits that I admire as a coach.”

Swanson was 7-3 in his collegiate career, including playoffs and non league, including five starts.

Opdam Bak was a HarbourCat for two seasons and spent four seasons with the Golden Tide, as a dependable starter. He made eight starts last spring for the Tide, going 3-1 — he made 17 CCBC starts overall.

Season ticket memberships and 12-game flex packs (new for 2026!) are now on sale for the HarbourCats 2026 season at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. BE SURE TO LOCK IN YOUR SEASON TICKETS TODAY to get first right of refusal on your seats for the 2026 WCL All-Star game that will be played here in Victoria.  These will be going on sale SOON!

Season tickets, 12-packs and team merchandise are also available at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, Tuesday thru Friday, 10am-4pm.

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