Summer is fast approaching on the Cape, which means the Bourne Braves will soon be back in action to defend their 2025 championship title.
After a devastating Game 3 loss in the 2024 championship, the Braves came back in 2025 with their eyes on the prize. Finishing first in the CCBL West Division, Bourne picked up series wins against Hyannis and Cotuit to advance to the championship. There, they swept the series, including a 19-5 win in game two to be crowned champions.
The Braves are no strangers to the championship series. They’ve been a part of the last five dating back to 2021. In that span, Bourne has been crowned champions three times: 2022, 2023, and 2025.
The magical run the Braves are on has been led by Field Manager Scott Landers. Entering his fifth season at the helm, Landers has never missed out on the championship game. When he’s not leading the Braves to CCBL titles, Landers is the head baseball coach and strength and conditioning coordinator for SUNY Oswego where he’s been since 2011. Entering this past season, Landers has led the Lakers to a 356-185 record and seven NCAA championship appearances.
The coaching staff will be made up of three returners and three newcomers. Landers, along with bench coach Ed Blankmeyer and hitting coach Jeffery Limoncelli, will return to Bourne for the upcoming season. New to the coaching staff are Leif Bigelow and Jelani Hamer.
Blankmeyer and Limoncelli both return for their second year in Bourne. Blankmeyer previously managed at St. John’s University for 24 seasons. In that time, he became the winningest coach in the program’s history and led them to the NCAA tournament 11 times. Limoncelli currently serves as an assistant coach at Mansfield College. Before that, he spent 27 years as the head coach of Horseheads High School in New York, guiding them to 11 Section 4 championships and two state titles.
Bigelow will join the Braves staff as pitching coach for the upcoming season. He’s just finished his first year as the pitching coach at Wesleyan University. Before that, Bigelow served as director of player development for the University of Connecticut in the 2024-25 season. As a collegiate pitcher from 2019–2024, he competed at UConn, UMaine, East Tennessee State, and UMass.
Hamer joins the staff as an assistant coach. He concluded his second year as an assistant coach for Landers at Oswego this past season. In his collegiate baseball career, he spent two seasons at Saint Rose before transferring to play his final two years at Oswego.
The Braves’ roster is expected to be made up of 43 players this season, ten of whom are returning from last season.
Three returning position players to keep an eye on for Bourne this season are Gavin Kelly (West Virginia), Mark Quatrani (Notre Dame), and Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati).
Kelly played in 30 games for the Braves in 2025, hitting .277 with 16 RBI. In 59 games with West Virginia this season, he is hitting .384 with 17 home runs and a 1.204 OPS. Kelly will miss the beginning of the Braves’ season with West Virginia advancing to the Men’s College World Series.
Quatrani appeared in 11 games for Bourne last summer, hitting .276 with a .410 on-base percentage. This season at Notre Dame, Quatrani appeared in 53 games and batted .376 with 15 home runs and a 1.100 OPS while also being named a Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Award Semifinalist.
Sefcik hit .400 in 16 games as a Brave last summer. This spring with Cincinnati, Sefcik played in 29 games and batted .302.
On the mound, the Braves welcome back one of their leaders in innings pitched last year in Will Whelan (Minnesota).
In nine appearances out of the bullpen last summer, Whelan threw 20.2 innings with a 1.31 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .174 batting average. This season for Minnesota, he made 12 appearances out of the bullpen.
Jack Brown (Louisville) and Rhys Bowie (Wake Forest) will also be back in Bourne this summer. Brown made five appearances out of the bullpen last year, accumulating a 2-0 record with a 5.56 ERA. Bowie pitched in only one game last season, but went 5.0 no-hit innings and racked up 11 strikeouts in the appearance.
New position players to keep an eye on this season are Mikey Ryan (NC State) and Matt Bolton (Binghamton).
Ryan is an infielder currently in his sophomore year at NC State. In 55 games this spring, Ryan hit .342 with nine home runs and a 1.032 OPS.
Bolton joins the Braves from Binghamton. In 2025 as a freshman, he was named First-Team America East All-Conference and set Binghamton’s school record with 78 hits. This year, Bolton hit .340 with six home runs and 44 RBI.
There are 19 new arms on the mound for Bourne this summer, highlighted by Freddy Beruvides (Pitt) and Myles Upchurch (Alabama).
Beruvides joins Bourne after being named Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year last summer. This season with Pitt he made 19 appearances with one start, throwing 27.1 innings for the Panthers.
Upchurch was the state of Maryland’s top-ranked RHP and second-ranked overall prospect in the class of 2025. After being named the Sunday starter in his freshman year with Alabama, Upchurch has started 15 games and thrown to a 3.57 ERA. The righty will join the Braves after the Crimson Tide’s postseason run in the Men’s College World Series concludes.
There’s a lot to be excited about in Bourne as the Braves look to become back-to-back CCBL champions once again. The season will kick off on Saturday, June 13 as the Braves host Chatham. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
