Summer Collegiate
Oregon State Duo Joins NorthPaws with Eyes on College World Series
The Kamloops NorthPaws is looking to an NCAA program with a rich history of success to continue building the inaugural roster.
Oregon State University’s sophomore outfielder Wade Meckler and freshman utility player Brady Kasper have signed with the NorthPaws for 2021.
“We’re fortunate to have guys from a program like Oregon State. We want to create a winning culture in Kamloops and it starts with bringing in players who know how to win,” said head coach Cole Armstrong.
The team’s history of success was a key factor in both players’ commitments to Oregon State.
“When I committed, they were just coming off I think the highest win total in Pac-12 history. They went 27-3 in the Pac-12 and the year I committed here they won a national championship, so it was one of the best overall programs in the country,” Meckler said. “That’s the goal, to get to Omaha and win the whole thing.”
“When I was younger, I would watch them on tv with my dad because they were in the College World Series or Super Regionals almost every year. I just remember watching them all the time and thinking I want to go there,” Kasper said.
Wade Meckler | Photo Credit: OSU Athletics
Meckler, from Yorba Linda, Calif., was slated to play in the West Coast League with Corvallis in 2020 before the season was cancelled and is excited about another opportunity to play in the league.
“I wanted to stay on the West Coast. My coaches believe that the West Coast League is one of the best leagues competition wise in the country, so they wanted me to stay out here,” Meckler said. “I think the West Coast League is surpassing a lot of these other leagues that are historically known as the best leagues. I really think this is the biggest up and coming league in the country.”
For his 2021 collegiate season, Meckler said he wants to reach 80 hits and have good plate discipline, earning walks for at least 10 per cent of his at bats.
“I feel like if I do both of those things, I’m putting myself in a good position to be one of the best leadoff hitters in the country,” he said.
“If I had to use one phrase to use the way I play, its ‘high-octane.’ It’s full-go, it’s high-intensity, it might cause some scraps with the other team but at the end of the day I’m an extremely competitive person and it shows in the way I play, everything is 100 per cent.”
“He’s a veteran presence who will provide experience and leadership to go with a top of the order bat,” Armstrong said of the outfielder.
Kasper, from Mission Viejo, Calif., will get his first taste of summer collegiate baseball in Kamloops after the pandemic impacted his senior high school season.
Brady Kasper | Photo Credit: OSU Athletics
“Kamloops, I saw pictures of it and it just looks awesome. I saw the golf courses and the rivers for fishing, the town looks awesome, the field looks awesome and I didn’t need to look anywhere else. That looks like somewhere I want to be for the summer,” Kasper said.
Kasper is slated as a player who can slide into multiple positions and provide some versatility to the NorthPaws lineup.
“He’s a loud, left-handed bat who could provide a presence in the middle of our batting order,” Armstrong said of the freshman.
Before they can turn their focus on Kamloops, Meckler and Kasper are set on proving the pundits wrong. Oregon State was ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in preseason polls.
“I think we’re going to be a threat this year. We’ve been ranked a little lower in the polls than we think we should’ve been and I think we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong this year,” Meckler said.
“I feel like we just need to take it game by game and prove everyone wrong. I don’t think rankings matter very much to us, it is just a little bit more fuel to the fire just because they did rank us so low,” Kasper echoed. “It pissed some guys off, so we’re going to come out strong and we’re going to come out ready to win.”
Oregon State is off to a strong start to the 2021 season with a 4-1 record through the first week of the season. Meckler and Kasper are locked in a four-game series this weekend against their future NorthPaws teammates, including week one NCAA hits leader Ryland Zaborowski, with Grand Canyon University.
The Kamloops NorthPaws are an expansion West Coast League franchise bringing the highest calibre baseball Canada’s Tournament Capital has ever seen. The West Coast League, founded in 2005, has 15 teams across Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta featuring some of the top collegiate players during a 54-game summer season. Find the NorthPaws online at www.northpawsbaseball.ca, @northpawsbaseball on Instagram and Facebook, or @northpawsbb on Twitter.
May 12, 2026
NANAIMO, BC — Once players have landed in Nanaimo, they definitely want to come back.
Right-hander Blake Hager has signed to return to historic Serauxmen Stadium— celebrating its 50th year — and pitch for a coach in Gorm Heimueller who is now in his 50th year in the game.
Hager is a NCAA Division 1 starting pitcher and brings immediate experience and stability to the pitching staff.
Hager, Parker King of Campbellsville and Damian Pasillas have been signed as pitchers, along with and exciting group of position players by Head Coach Cody Andreychuk:
RHP Damian Pasillas, Azusa Pacific, 6-1/195, San Diego, CA
RHP Blake Hager, Morehead State, 6-3/205, Pikeville, KY
SS Beau Musser, University of Hawaii, 5-9/150, L/R, Los Gatos, CA
C Blake Helsper, Hawaii Pacific, 5-8/175, L/R, Irvine, CA
RHP Parker King, Campbellsville, 5-11/160, Anaheim, CA
OF Diego Escandon, Columbia Basin, 5-10/170, R/R, Edmonds, WA
Hager previously pitched for the NightOwls in the 2025 season, 2-1 with a 7.71 ERA in six appearances, one of them a start. He’s started five games this spring for Morehead State, going 2-0 with a 6.84 ERA.
Pasillas has 45 innings this spring for Azusa Pacific, with two wins.
Musser is a highly-regarded, lefty-swinging shortstop signed to be a freshman at UH in fall. Described as a Brett Gardner type who plays a strong shortstop. Is being groomed to take the role at UH when former NightOwls star and Texas draft pick Elijah Ickes moves to the pro level.
Helsper handled the majority of the catching duties for Div2 Hawaii Pacific this season, especially down the stretch — a tough, scrappy hitter and hard worker behind the plate, he struck out just nine times and walked 12 times, hitting .328, in 112 at bats over 39 games. He started 30 games and had 38 hits, five of them doubles, and stole four of five attempted bases.
King was at Orange Coast in junior college before landing at Campbellsville, where he is 3-0 with a 4.28 ERA this season over 14 appearances. He has a save and 26 punch-out’s with just nine walks in 33.2 innings for a very good NAIA school.
Escandon has identical .291 averages the last two seasons, and has an exciting mix of power and speed — seven home runs and 51 stolen bases combined.
Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – Vancouver Island Brewing and Victoria HarbourCats unveil the Islander FanZone
By Norm LeBus
Victoria, BC – He works fast and he likes a crowd. That makes third-year pitcher Shea Lake a hit with his teammates – and even former coaches.
In the relative pressure cooker of Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park, there’s an electricity on good summer nights that’s not coming from the overhead lights.
“It’s kind of like that white line fever,” former pitching coach Scott Anderson tells me from Portland. Scott spent three seasons mentoring the ‘Cats mound prospects. “Some of those guys when they come out across the foul lines and they get 3,000 people in the stands it’s a little bit different story.”
But at 6-3, Shea Lake stands tall on the mound.
“First off, when we’re in Victoria it’s a much better crowd than anywhere else,” he says.
“I just think the way that RAP kind of fits – all those people packed in close together, the energy just fills the room, especially playing night games, firework nights, all the stuff like that.”
Lake is one of the rare three-year players with Victoria. And like many of the ‘Cats, he’s had a nomadic path to BC’s capital.
In his case, ‘Cats fans can thank the U.S. Department of State.
After his freshman year at Hawaii Pacific the coaching staff placed Lake with the Swift Current 57s of the Westen Canadian Baseball League. But Lake’s passport did not arrive in time to play summer baseball. Instead, he’s in town for a trifecta: ’24, 25 and now 2026.
And the 2025 campaign was a busy one: Lake appeared in nine games and pitched 34 innings, compiling a 2-2 record and 3.20 ERA. And both fans and teammates appreciated his efficient pace on the hill. Lake works quickly.
“It’s one of the more underlying things in baseball that people don’t really see,” Lake says. “When your D is out there for a while, it kind of wears them out throughout the game. Getting them off the field and staying on their hitting side, it’s always good for the offense and the fans kind of like it — especially when you have an offense like us.”
And how would he describe himself on the hill?
“I’ve never been a big velocity guy,” he says. “It’s kind of just playing with the hitter and keeping them off balance, control the count and generating ground balls. The longer I’m out there the more it becomes like work, so keeping the pitch count low and trying to get the guys off the field as fast as I can.”
“He’s a pitcher that can pitch,” Anderson says. “Shea’s a solid guy that works with a good tempo and he changes speeds really well. He’ll be a good leader to the team. He’s a smart kid.
Lake is a mechanical engineering student at West Texas A &M near Amarillo. When it comes to his baseball future he thinks like an engineer – sound, fundamental concepts built on proven principles. About 10% of NCAA baseball players are drafted, but a much, much smaller percentage make it all the way to Major League Baseball.
“Of course there’s that chance,” he says. “If a big jump happens, that’s great; I think I have the ability, the capabilities to do it, you never know.
“I just keep my head down and work hard and we’ll see what happens. I wouldn’t say nothing’s really changed: I think just being the best version of myself every day and working as hard as I can is all I can really do.
“As long as I do that, I’m happy with myself.”
It’s a winning attitude.
Before he even crosses those white lines.
The HarbourCats season begins May 29th on the road versus the Portland Pickles, before returning to Victoria for the Home Opener against the Edmonton Riverhawks on Tuesday, June 2, 6:30 pm.
Season tickets, single-game tickets, 12 and 32-game flex packs and 2026 All-Star Game ticket packages are now on sale at harbourcats.com/tickets or at the HarbourCats office at 1814 Vancouver Street.
Hager returns, exciting bats added to NightOwls roster
Victoria HarbourCats – Vancouver Island Brewing and Victoria HarbourCats unveil the Islander FanZone
Victoria HarbourCats – Shea Lake Returns for Third Season with HarbourCats
-
Summer Collegiate2 weeks agoVictoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats announce 2026 A&W Summer Kids Camps
-
Summer Collegiate1 week ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Arms Race Speeds Up for Cats, Seven Pitchers Signed
-
Summer Collegiate6 days ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Peninsula Co-op Makes Special Events Happen This Summer with HarbourCats
-
Summer Collegiate3 days ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Shea Lake Returns for Third Season with HarbourCats
-
Summer Collegiate2 days ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Vancouver Island Brewing and Victoria HarbourCats unveil the Islander FanZone
-
Summer Collegiate2 days ago
Hager returns, exciting bats added to NightOwls roster
You must be logged in to post a comment Login