Baseball is in Dalton Wentz's blood. Everywhere he’s gone, success has followed, and last summer on the Cape with the Brewster Whitecaps was no different.
Wentz started the season hitless through his first seven at-bats, but began flashing his offensive prowess during the third game of the season, driving home the tying and winning runs with a double down the right field line in the Whitecaps 3-2 victory over the Hyannis Harbor Hawks.
From that point on, Wentz didn’t look back. He became a mainstay on the infield dirt and finished the summer first on the team in hits, doubles and RBIs, helping him catch the attention of those on the Cape and beyond.
The Draft-eligible sophomore will almost certainly hear his name called in mid-July, but before then, he’ll be spending some time back in Brewster as a member of the 2026 Whitecaps.
Wentz will have a high bar to clear if he wants to improve on his 2025 showing. In addition to leading the team in select offensive categories, he earned a spot on the Cape Cod Baseball League East Division All-Star team. During the game itself, Wentz helped the East jump out to an early lead with a first-inning home run.
The 6-foot-2 switch hitter didn’t showcase much over-the-wall power outside of the All-Star game, hitting just three home runs over the course of the season. What he did do, though, was nearly everything else.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacon slashed .283/.364/.408, giving him a .772 OPS, the highest mark for a Whitecap who played more than 23 games, even tacking on six stolen bases, the third highest total on the team.
Wentz’s production on the Cape was a continuation of his amazing first collegiate campaign with the Demon Deacons.
The now sophomore made his presence felt right away, kicking off his Division I baseball career with a 3-4, two double, three RBI performance against Long Island. For many players, that might’ve been the peak of their season, but Wentz was just getting started.
Wentz went on to finish the year with 13 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .316/.393/.566 slash line as Wake Forest’s primary third baseman. Nothing could slow him down. In fact, he seemed to be at his best when he had the most eyes and pressure on him, hitting five home runs across a three-game stretch in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.
Once it became time to hand out awards and honors, Wentz was named to both the Baseball America and Perfect Game Freshman All-American First Teams, and the D1 Baseball and National College Baseball Writers Association Freshman All-American Second Teams.
No one knows for sure how talent will translate to the next level, but due to Wentz’s prospect pedigree, his freshman success wasn’t exactly a surprise.
Throughout his teenage years, Wentz trained with his father, Lenny, who spent parts of three seasons during the 1990s with minor league affiliates of the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres.
By the time Dalton was ready to graduate from Amherst County High School in Virginia, he had blossomed into Perfect Game’s No. 98 player in the nation for the class of 2024 and an All-American.
The foundation that Wentz laid down as a teenager helped lead him to where he is today, preparing for his sophomore season at Wake Forest as one of the best Draft-eligible sophomores in the nation.
Most collegiate players taken in the MLB Draft are either juniors or seniors, but sophomores who turn 21 years old within 45 days of the draft – a category that Wentz, who turns 21 on July 28, falls into – are also eligible.
Currently, Baseball America ranks Wentz as the No. 95 prospect in the 2026 draft, but another strong showing at Wake Forest, supplemented by more time on the Cape, could boost his ranking even higher.
Title photo credit to Kayla McCullough.
