Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats | Another Canadian JNT player signs with HarbourCats
Duncan’s Gavin Pringle (above, pitching for the Victoria Eagles) headlines four new HarbourCat pitchers signed for 2021
For Immediate Release
March 11, 2021
Victoria, BC – If things keep going the way they are going, the Victoria HarbourCats may just have to permanently switch their uniforms to the alternate red and white, “Cats” Canada Day jerseys that they often wear, as with the signing of Duncan BC’s Gavin Pringle, the HarbourCats now boast seven players on their 2021 roster that, at some point in their young careers, donned the red and white for Canada’s Junior National Team (JNT).
Pringle joins Josh Walker, Steven Moretto, Declan Dutton, Russell Young, Noah Takacs and Giordano Mezzomo as former JNT members on the 2021 squad.
The 6′ 2″, 210lb. Pringle is a graduate of the Victoria Eagles of the BC Premier Baseball League (PBL) and made his NCAA college debut this past week, playing for Hawaii Pacific University. He has been one of the more dominant arms in the province over the past two years and in addition to his stints with the JNT, pitched in the Canada Cup and was impressive for the Eagles in the PBL, where in 2019, he had a 2-2 record, 2.06 ERA, striking out 28 batters in 20.1 innings of work.
The HarbourCats today also announced the signing of Braeden Gowdy, RHP (Chico State), teammate Micah Wallette, LHP (Chico State), and A.C. Plumb, RHP (Rice).
Gowdy, a resident of Pleasant Hill, California, is a Junior this season with Chico State, where he transferred after two seasons pitching for Cuesta College. The 6’2, 195lb. righty put together a 7-3 record in 2019 with one save and a 2.83 ERA, earning him Fist Team All-Western State Conference North recognition.
Braeden Gowdy pitching for Chico State (Photo: Ryan McCasland)
Micah Wallette
Wallette, a Long Beach, California resident took a similar path to his Chico State teammate, transferring there this season after pitching for two seasons with Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California. In 2019, the now Junior student posted a 7-5 record, making 14 starts with 60 strikeouts in 67 innings. The multi-sport athlete also lettered in football and can stake claim to saying he has played a ball game at Dodger Stadium.
Plum, a Los Angeles, California resident and in his sophomore season as a Rice Owl, will have to get used to disliking Owls (of the Nanaimo variety) when he comes to Victoria. Plum could be a dominant force on the mound for the HarbourCats. In 2019, the 6’7″ 220lb. righty held opposing hitters to a composite .143 batting average and averaged 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, while in his senior year of high school in 2018, he struck out 56 batters in 54.2 innings and amassed a 4.23 ERA.
A.C. Plum pitching for the Rice Owls (Photo: Maria Lysaker)
“We continue to be impressed by the level of baseball talent available right here in British Columbia,” said Curtis Pelletier, the HarbourCats Hitting Coach and Director of Player Development, “and adding Gavin [Pringle] to the list of local players we have already signed is a huge bonus for us. We expect him to give us a number of quality innings this season.
“We are also impressed by Plum, who with his size, could be dominating,” added Pelletier, “and Wallette give us yet another left-handed option on the hill.”
The HarbourCats are scheduled to begin the 2021 season on the road on June 1, 2021 with a three-game series against the Edmonton Riverhawks, the first ever West Coast League games in Alberta and then will return home for their home opener against the Port Angeles Lefties on Friday, June 4th.
Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are now on sale, while individual game tickets will go on sale in limited fashion on Tuesday, March 16th at 9:00 am.
For details and more information on the season, please visit the HarbourCats website at www.harbourcats.com and follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/harbourcats
Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – Former HarbourCat Austin Russell, a WCL all-star, hired to coach Collegiate Cats program
July 5, 2026
VICTORIA, B.C. — Former HarbourCat and WCL All-Star Austin Russell has been handed the reins of Victoria’s year-round collegiate baseball program.
The local product has been hired to lead the Victoria Collegiate Cats of the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC), effective August 1. The team formerly called the Golden Tide will enter its sixth season this fall, based primarily out of Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.
“I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to help build a Victoria Collegiate Cats program that the players, alumni and community can be proud of,” said Russell, who played with his brother Ty on the 2013 HarbourCats team. “My time playing college baseball had a tremendous impact on my growth as a person, both on and off the field, and my priority is to provide these young men with that same opportunity — an experience they can look back on with pride and one that helps prepare them for success as they move forward in life.”
Russell, 34, was a member of the inaugural HarbourCats team and the outfielder was selected to play in the WCL all-star game in 2013. He also played summer collegiate baseball in Moose Jaw, and played collegiately at Colby Community College, Southern Polytechnic State, and MacPherson College.
Russell won conference awards as a player at Colby and MacPherson, and still plays in the Mavericks League locally. He represented Victoria in the 2018 Baseball Canada Men’s Nationals on home soil, earning a silver medal.
Russell (left), along with Nick Pivetta (centre) and Connor Russell (no relation)(right) were three of the first HarbourCats players to be signed for the 2013 season (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).
He coached for many years in the Victoria Mariners youth system, and is excited to return to the college level. Pitching Coach Darius Opdam Bak and Assistant Coach Colton O’Brien will return and round out the coaching staff.
Russell will also join Opdam Bak and other WCL HarbourCats coaches in taking an active role with community development initiatives and youth camps.
“This is an exciting announcement for us and we could not be happier to put Austin into the leadership role with the Collegiate Cats as Head Coach,” said Jim Swanson, Managing Partner of the group that owns the Collegiate Cats, the Victoria HarbourCats and Nanaimo NightOwls (West Coast League), and the Edwards Family Training Centre (EFTC) indoor facility.
“Austin is well-known and respected in the baseball world, especially locally, and we know he will put tremendous effort and skill into the role as we continue to grow the Collegiate Cats. He’s excited to get started.”
Kelowna, B.C. – The HarbourCats took on the Kelowna Falcons for the third game a row this afternoon, losing the final matchup by a score of 9-2.
The Falcons were the first side to find purchase on the offensive side in a long third inning. Cats starter Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) allowed a couple of baserunners on a walk and an error, and was swapped out for right-hander Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State). Kelowna strung together a few singles together on Tomlinson over the course of the inning, taking a 3-0 lead.
The home team followed that up with an uppercut in their next trip to the plate, smashing a three-run homer off of Tomlinson in the fourth to blow the game wide open.
Tate Collins (Arkansas State) took over for the fifth and pitched a clean inning, but was accosted for another scoring trio in the home half of the sixth. A single, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly gave the Falcons a daunting 9-0 lead.
The Cats at last found life in the seventh frame, kicked off by a solo bomb off the bat of Fresno State outfielder Marcus Nolen. Matthew Westley (George Mason) followed that homer up with a fine job of manufacturing a run. The Virginia product drew himself a walk, stole two bases, and advanced all the way home on a wild pitch to continue cutting a chunk out of that mountainous lead.
Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) took to the pitcher’s mound in the seventh and only allowed two baserunners across his two innings of work, but in the end the lead proved insurmountable and the Falcons secured a 9-2 win on home turf.
The HarbourCats will now travel back to Victoria and look to rebound on Tuesday night in the first matchup of a three-game mid-week series versus the Bend Elks.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.
Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – Two major events announced with Showpass West Coast League All-Star Game
Victoria HarbourCats – Former HarbourCat Austin Russell, a WCL all-star, hired to coach Collegiate Cats program
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