Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats | HarbourCats send six to pro ranks via 2021 MLB Entry Draft
2017 Player of the Year Shane McGuire (above) heads up 2021 MLB Draft class
For Immediate Release
July 13, 2021
Victoria, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats are very proud to announce today that six former Victoria HarbourCats have been selected in the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) entry draft.
Today’s draft result is a direct testimony to the quality of player development that the HarbourCats have emphasized over the years and along with the other players drafted from the West Coast League (40 overall), is a testament to the quality of baseball that the league provides for its fans.
Leading the way in the 2021 draft was 2017 Player of the Year Shane McGuire (San Diego), who was selected in the 9th round of the MLB Draft (278th overall) by the Oakland Athletics. McGuire came to the HarbourCats as an incoming freshman and simply dominated, hitting .451 with four home runs and 32 RBI in 26 games. He was perhaps the best catcher and one of the most well-rounded players in HarbourCats team history.
Rowdey Jordan
Other HarbourCats drafted this year include:
- 2018 HarbourCat Rowdey Jordan, OF (Mississippi State) who was drafted by the New York Mets in the 11th round (322nd overall);
- 2019 HarbourCat Jack Neely, RHP (Ohio State) who was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 11th round (333rd overall);
- 2018 HarbourCat Owen Sharts, RHP (Nevada) selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 13th round (373rd overall);
- Former HarbourCat Wyatt Young, IF (Pepperdine) who was selected by the New York Mets in the 15th round (442nd overall); and
- 2017 HarbourCat Luke Boyd, RHP (Baylor) who was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 17th round (520th overall).
Jack Neely
Also selected in the draft were three players who were signed to play for the HarbourCats, but for various reasons, COVID included, did not make their way to Victoria. These include:
- Aaron Davenport, RHP (Hawaii), 6th round (186th overall) by Cleveland Indians;
- Marcos Castanon, IF (UCSB), 12th round (370th overall) by San Diego Padres; and
- Damiano Palmegiani, OF (Southern Nevada), 14th round (422nd overall) by Toronto Blue Jays.
“With only 20 rounds in this draft, down from 40 in 2019, this is a tremendous draft for so many in our organization,” said HarbourCats Managing Partner Jim Swanson. “These young men are tremendous ambassadors for their schools, their families, and our organization, and they have worked very hard to earn a pro opportunity like this. The HarbourCats program is second to none on Vancouver Island for development of top athletes and people.”
Owen Sharts
The Victoria HarbourCats will continue their quest to develop more MLB draft picks in 2022 when they resume play in the West Coast League following two years off due to the COVID pandemic. Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are now on sale. The 2022 schedule is anticipated to be released in October at which time single-game tickets will go on sale.
Full details on all West Coast League players drafted in 2021 can be found at https://westcoastleague.com/
Wyatt Young
Luke Boyd
SUPPORT YOUR HARBOURCATS! WE NEED YOUR HELP MORE THAN EVER!
Two summers in a row without baseball has been simply devastating for us, but we are confident that there will be a celebratory return to the diamond and the ballpark in 2022. To help us get there, we need your support. If you have been doing well throughout this pandemic, please consider supporting us in any of the following ways:
2022 Season tickets — “We’re Brand New in 2022!” Or as the saying goes, “What’s old is new again!” New players, some new coaches, some new seating changes, new promotions! Come and jump on the HarbourCats bandwagon and see the “new” team in town! Purchasing season tickets is the best way to help, one that guarantees you seats to all our games (usually 35 per year or so) plus other season ticket holder perks. Contact chris@harbourcats.com for details.
10-Game Flex Packs / Vouchers — Don’t want to commit, or can’t commit to season tickets? Consider 10-game flex packs – anytime vouchers that can be used in any combination…10 tickets at one game, 1 ticket at 10 games or anything in between. For you, for your friends, for your staff. Season ticket voucher equivalents are also available. Flex Packs can be purchased at the office and are also available on-line at THE CAT SHOP.
Corporate Partnerships – Want to put your company name or brand in front of our 80,000-100,000 fans we anticipate in 2022? Or know someone who does? Consider joining us as a partner. From a simple program ad, to the most complex of game day sponsorship, complete with signage and tickets, we will customize any campaign to suit your needs and budget. And with our new HCATS.TV platform and our ownership group’s expansion of a new team in Nanaimo in 2022, the opportunities are now Island wide! Contact john@harbourcats.com for details.
Fundraising / 50-50 – Have an organization that needs to raise funds now? A $1000 investment buys you 100 anytime 2022 game vouchers for our Premium Reserved seats that you can then turn around and sell NOW for $20 each, earning you your investment back, plus another $1000 in return. We will then hold a 50-50 date for you in 2022 and you can bring your group to the park to sell that game, taking home 50% of the proceeds. Contact chris@harbourcats.com for details.
Merchandise – Consider a HarbourCats merchandise purchase from our store at 1814 Vancouver Street, or from our on-line store, THE CAT SHOP. We have lots of stock that needs to go!
OFFICE HOURS
We are officially open Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, but may be away at meetings, or dealing with other issues. Best to call 778-265-0327 before venturing over to make sure. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
Pitcher Hudson Lance is a strong believer in faith, and it is that faith that will guide him in his return to the HarbourCats in 2026 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).
By Norm LeBus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2026
Victoria, BC – As a devout Christian and a business student, athlete and leadership intern at Coastal Carolina University, Hudson Lance already walks the road less travelled.
And now his path is even more remote.
A middle-inning reliever last summer with the ‘Cats, Lance has walked away from Division One baseball this season to follow the Lord.
Returning to Coastal Carolina in fall of ’25, Lance was informed he was surplus as the Chanticleers’ roster swelled with talent after last season’s appearance in the College Baseball World Series.
Lance hit the transfer portal and relocated to D1 mid-major Winthrop, also in South Carolina. But two weeks before his arrival, Lance changed his mind. It was August 1.
“I shocked my entire world,” Lance says. “Everyone who knew me thought I was crazy. But I have not regretted it for a second.”
Photo: Christian J. Stewart
Lance went from D1 scholarship student athlete to Christian, club baseball player, business student and leadership intern at…Coastal Carolina. He never left the school that rejected him after initially recruiting Lance to play baseball.
“I just never had peace with the decision to go to Winthrop,” he says. “My faith is really a giant part of my life, and I really felt like the Lord was calling me to step away from baseball. I absolutely love Coastal Carolina – the friends I’ve made there, the community I have.”
At Carolina this year, Lance is running long distance to build stamina, bullpen training and pitching live at-bats with the schools’ club baseball team. But he’s just as excited about his internship with FCA, Fellowship for Christian Athletes – a major time commitment for the business major.
“It’s really just something the Lord has put on my heart and I’m really passionate about,” Lance says. “It is time consuming, but to me it doesn’t feel like work, or something that’s this great burden because it’s something that I love.”
But Lance is returning to the WCL without a season of Division One baseball – an anomaly in the Pacific Northwest circuit.
“When I get to Victoria, it won’t be like I haven’t faced a batter in several months,” he says of the pitching he will be doing at Coastal Carolina with its club team. “I will just have faced hundreds of batters training throughout the entire spring.”
Last season in Victoria, Lance was a middle reliever who had a solid rookie season – one bad outing ballooned his ERA, but the ‘Cats won five of the seven games he appeared in.
Photo: Christian J. Stewart
“He was a good, reliable middle inning guy for us, came in in situations and got batters out when we needed it, a reasonable number of strikeouts, ‘Cats GM Christian Stewart recalls. “More importantly, he only walked three guys – that’s a big plus in this league.”
In bullpen work with the club team this spring, Lance says he’s working on direction, speed and location in bullpen training. Then there’s the live at bats.
“My plan is to hit the ground running and be ready to roll when I hit Victoria,” he explains.
It’s far from the first time a player has arrived in Victoria in May without recent D1 experience.
“The fact that he’s a player without a home right now is kind of interesting – there’s no stats to look at and see how he’s doing, so whether that’s a plus or a minus, hard to say,” Stewart says. “Hopefully we can he’s working hard and ready to show somebody what he can do.”
That seems a safe bet.
—
Hudson Lance and the HarbourCats begin the 2026 West Coast League season on the road in Portland on Friday, May 29th and then return to Wilson’s Group Stadium for the Home Opener against the Edmonton Riverhawks on Tuesday, June 2 at 6:30 pm.
Tickets for that game and all 2026 HarbourCats games, as well as the 2026 All-Star Game and Home Run Derby July 14-15, Season Tickets and Flex-Packs are now on sale at harbourcats.com/tickets or at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street just around the corner from the stadium.
Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – School Spirit Games partners pleased with near-sellout status
March 4, 2026
Nanaimo NightOwls head coach Cody Andreychuk is from the Harbour City — but spends most of his time now as dugout boss at the University of Pikeville in Kentucky.
So, it’s no surprise the next nine players signed are playing college baseball in the Bluegrass State — talent from UPike, and Western Kentucky.
And two of them? From Nanaimo, of course, continuing the tradition of local flavour with the NightOwls.
Announced today by “Coach Chuk”:
LHP Bryson Vawter, Western Kentucky, L/L, 6-1/210, Topeka, Kansas
LHP Rodney Whaley, Western Kentucky, L/L, 6-2/195, Ashland, Nebraska
RHP Jacob O’Day, Western Kentucky, R/R, 6-3/185, Bloomington, Illinois
RHP Jack Schroeder, UPikeville, R/R, 6-1/205, Cody, Wyoming
RHP/IF Reed Sutton UPikeville, L/R, 6-2/215, Nanaimo
LHP Caleb Morrison, UPikeville, L/L, 5-10/170, Georgetown, KY
IF Easton Mould, UPikeville, R/R, 5-10/165, Nanaimo
SS Francis Subero, UPikeville, S/R, 5-11/185 San Jose De Ocoa, Dominican Republic
OF Ethan Reynolds, Western Kentucky, R/R, 5-11/210, Bowling Green, KY
“There is a hard-nosed way of playing the game in Kentucky that our fans at Serauxmen Stadium will like — these guys all work hard and grind,” said Andreychuk. “The pitching depth from this group will important, and I really like having Nanaimo guys in Mould and Sutton. I know these players very well, what they can do.”
This is an intriguing group of additions —- it includes returning local second baseman Mould, and fellow Pirates product Sutton, who got a short stint as a NightOwl in 2025. Mould played 37 games for the NightOwls in 2025 and is the double play partner this spring at UPike with Dominican shortstop Subero, who is batting .356 with 11 runs driven in over 13 games.
O’Day fanned 63 hitters in 58 innings for Heartland CC before transferring to WKU. Vawter had a 3.84 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 72 innings at Kansas City CC, while Whaley is another lefty and a product of power junior college program Iowa Western.
Schroeder and Morrison will be counted on for quality bullpen innings, and Reynolds is a versatile fielder with a bat that finds gaps.
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