There’s no better formula than finding hungry baseball players who are driven to prove they can battle with the best in the West Coast League.

The Nanaimo NightOwls have worked hard this off season to further connect with programs that have sent strong players to Serauxmen Stadium the last few years.

Case in point — Everett Community College, as the Trojans program has previously sent all-stars Adison Mattix and Talan Zenk to Nanaimo. Or Scottsdale CC, which sent Ryder Florence and Dalton Hanson.

Now, Everett is returning Zenk to Nanaimo but also has big bats in Davis Downer and Lukas Cheha headed north in late May, while Scottsdale CC is placing raw power arm Jackson Roybal with the NightOwls.

“Not only have their players been good for us on the field, they have fit with the coaching staff, the organization and in the community,” said GM Tina Cornett. “We know they will come here prepared and be up to the challenge of a very strong league like ours.”

Announced as signed today by Head Coach Cody Andreychuk:

IF/OF Lukas Cheha, Everett CC, R/R, 6-4/190, Seattle, WA
OF Davis Downer, Everett CC, R/R, 6-0/205, Mukilteo, WA
OF Preston Harrison, Dodge City CC, R/R, 6-1/190, Allen, TX
RHP Jackson Roybal, Scottsdale CC, 6-0/155, R/R, Rio Rancho, NM
C Damon Valdez, Long Beach State, R/R, 6-3/185, Long Beach, CA
C Kaleb Ceola, Central Missouri, R/R, 5-7/150, Springdale, AR

Roybal is a freshman righthander who is fairly new to pitching but is topping out at 94, with an opportunity to learn under veteran pitching coach Gorm Heimueller, who will be celebrating 50 years in the game this summer. Roybal is 2-3 this spring in 17 appearances.

Cheha has been a breakthrough freshman at Everett CC, teaming with Downer, a sophomore, to lead the Trojans offense and support Zenk. Cheha leads the team in hits (44) and average (.373), ahead of Downer (41 and .315), who sits second. Both are piling up the extra base hits as well.

Harrison is putting up big numbers for Dodge City CC, batting .336 with nine home runs and nine stolen bases, playing mainly right field.

In Valdez and Ceola, the catching position will be in strong hands. Valdez is getting good playing time at D1 Long Beach State because of his strong arm, starting 15 games as a freshman and recording six RBIs so far. Ceola is batting .435 with 40pct of his hits going for extra bases at Central Missouri, with just one strikeout this season.
Single Game, 10 game Flex Passes, and limited Season Tickets, available now.

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Six more D1 players, including five pitchers and Fresno State shortstop Brady Hewitt (above), ready to play in Victoria

April 15, 2026

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. — The Victoria HarbourCats have had a lot of success working with Fresno State Bulldogs players, and Brady Hewitt could be the next key recruit from the D1 program.

Hewitt, the starter as a freshman, was all conference player of the year as a high school senior and is hitting .353 with 18 extra-base hits — 12 doubles, three triples and three home runs.

“We’ve had a lot of success with Fresno State guys putting on a HarbourCats uniform over the years,” said GM Christian Stewart, “and adding Brady and two promising pitchers keeps that tradition alive. Cayden Munster, Sky Collins, Tyler Patrick and Cam Schneider are recent Bulldogs who became fan favourites in Victoria.”

Added today to the HarbourCats 2026 roster are:

• IF Brady Hewitt, Fresno State, R/R, 6-2/200, Simi Valley, CA
• RHP Erik Rico, Fresno State, 6-0/195, Visalia, CA
• RHP Brandon Thomas, Fresno State, 6-4/235, Cypress, CA
• RHP Brandon Vasquez, St. Mary’s, 6-4/210, Round Rock, TX
• RHP Aiden Barrientes, Texas Christian University, 6-1/195, Katy, TX
• RHP Cade Nelson, Texas Christian University, 6-6/205, Katy, TX

Erik Rico, also a freshman, is working out of the bullpen after a strong high school career where he was also the quarterback of the football team. Thomas is an imposing figure on the mound with 12 appearances as a freshman so far, going 1-1 with a 4.29 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 21 innings.

Brandon Thomas is a freshman who has appeared in 21 innings so far this spring for the Bulldogs, building a 4.29 ERA with 20 strikeouts. As a senior in high school, he owned a 6-5 record with a 0.79 ERA, and 81 strikeouts in 79.1 innings of work.

6-6 TCU pitcher Cade Nelson should be a dominating figure on the mound for the HarbourCats in 2026 (Photo courtesy TCU).

Brandon Vasquez is a redshirt junior who is 3-2 with a 5.05 ERA in 34 college outings, which includes 10 starts and a complete game this season.

Freshman Aiden Barrientes was at the 2025 MLB draft combine, and set his high school’s strikeout record with 129, also named the Sports Illustrated player of the week in May of 2025. He is working out of the pen for the Horned Frogs.

Cade Nelson is from the same Texas town and high school as Barrientes, has started four games as a freshman at TCU, fanning 19 hitters in 18.2 innings so far this season.

The HarbourCats begin their 2026 season on May 29th with a visit to Portland and then return 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.

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Dillon Lopez celebrates his walk-off base hit that gave Victoria a 10-9 win over the Kelowna Falcons last July 12 (Photo: Justin Morash)

April 7, 2026

Story by Norm LeBus

Photos by Justin Morash

At 11 years old, I was five foot seven and almost as wide, so catcher or right field was the best guess in Little League. A late growth spurt and affinity for Gram’s baking meant I didn’t move very quickly, but I did take up a lot of space.

Squatting with a cage on my head, I closed my eyes when I saw a club swing overhead. Then a ball hit me right in the chest protector.

“Maybe join the outfielders,” coach said.

That was 1970.

I’ve always had a respect for catchers. A crouched blend of courage and mule stubbornness, donning and shedding protective amour between innings. Kind of a point guard in the summer heat, bending to a kneel then standing dozens of times a game, guiding eight on-field players into place and counseling shaky pitchers.

So, it’s validating to hear catching feels exactly like it looks.

“When I started, I’d be sore for a couple days after catching games,” Dillon Lopez says.

“I guess over time you kind of get used to hurting all the time. You get used to your body feeling not one hundred percent and you kind of roll with it.”

Lopez, 21, is currently a junior at NCAA Div 1 program St Mary’s University in San Antonio, his hometown. Lopez joined the Cats late in 2025, arriving July 1 after the team’s starting catcher, Jacob Silva, injured his toe sliding into a base in Kelowna.

“If Dillon had arrived earlier, he no doubt would have been one of our all-star selections,” Harbourcats GM Christian Stewart contends. “He’s just a guy you can send up to the plate with confidence and put behind the dish with confidence to handle any of our pitchers.”

Lopez, 5-10 and about 200 pounds, is kind of built for the job.

Dillon Lopez salutes the crowd after his walk-off base hit gave the Cats a dramatic 10-9 win over the Kelowna Falcons last July 12th (Photo: Justin Morash).

In the WCL, you’re crouched behind home plate in about seven pounds of armour, in what amounts to the engine room. Two opposing forces are trying to collide: a hickory or birch bat whirls past your ear at almost 100 miles an hour as a ball’s incoming at close to the same velocity. When the two intersect, it’s game action: foul ball or in-play on the diamond.

But most of the game, the ball lands in the catcher’s mitt for balls and strikes.

“It doesn’t come too close to my head,” Lopez says of the bat. “But it does come pretty close to my glove. All I try to do is focus on catching the ball.”

Every inch of the catcher is protected, including their throat. It’s kind of a dangerous place. And catchers need to keep it calm in the eye of the storm.

“We’re more of a coach on the field,” Lopez says. “We see everything and we keep everybody in check and remind everybody what they have to do.”

My right field recollections were a lot of daydreaming punctuated by one or maybe two fly balls a game and less grounders.

Not so if you play catcher.

“I love catching because I’m always in the game and helps me stay locked in on what ‘s going on,” Lopez says. “If definitely takes a lot of focus and some homework, understanding batters’ swings and their tendencies.

Lopez is also an outstanding hitter. Arriving July 1 last season, he played 24 games and hit .350 with four doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI.

Currently back in San Antonio for his junior year at St Mary’s University, Lopez is hitting .362 with eight dingers and 43 RBI in 35 games this spring.

Lopez is also outstanding in the classroom as a three-time conference honour roll student in his field of sport science.

And he’s a student of the game, studying both his swing and his catching form on video most nights during the season, ensuring his fundamentals don’t stray.

“Your swing can change slightly during the season,” he explains. “There’s mental fatigue and body fatigue and you have to push through the fog, stay true to fundamentals and not chase little fixes that up end altering the foundation.”

The last year has been a huge challenge for Lopez outside the lines. Three months before he joined the Cats in 2025, Lopez lost a family member after a lengthy illness.

Dillon Lopez should be a steady influence behind the plate for the HarbourCats again in 2026 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

His St Mary’s teammate, Garret Brooks, who also arrived in Victoria at the beginning of July, was instrumental at the start.

“He definitely helped me out with getting in there and getting situated,” Lopez recalls. “We hung out with a lot of the guys and kind of got to fit in a little bit, especially when it’s the middle of summer and everybody’s already used to each other.”

It didn’t hurt that both players made immediate impacts: Brooks hit .343 with six doubles and 13 RBI in 20 games; Lopez homered three times with 18 RBI, four doubles and hit .350 in 21 games.

Through 30 games in the current NCAA season that began in February, both players are rolling at St Mary’s: both are hitting well above .300 with a combined 12 homers and 63 RBI.

And when the calendar hits June, Lopez plans to be behind home plate for the first pitch.

“I feel like it should be much better transition wise,” Lopez says. “I get to experience opening day and get the fans to kind of know me a bit more than a new face.

“It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to winning a lot of games.”

Lopez and the HarbourCats begin their 2026 season on May 29th with a visit to Portland and then return 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.

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