The wait is over. The chill of winter has faded and allowed the long, sunny days of spring and summer to take over Cape Cod. With that, the 2026 Cape Cod Baseball League season will be underway shortly. The players have arrived, the coaches are running practice and fans are excited for the season that lies ahead.
For the Cotuit Kettleers, the 2026 season represents a new dawn. With Coach Rob Cooper — a long-time coach at both Penn State and Wright State — at the helm now after being hired in the fall, the team has a new face in the dugout with big-time goals. Additionally, the roster is dotted with names both familiar and new to the team that will look to deliver Cotuit’s first championship since 2019.
Cooper’s inaugural Kettleer squad is filled with potent hitters from schools across the country. Big-name players in the lineup include Tague Davis (Louisville), Hogan Denny (Indiana), Jake Hanley (Indiana) and Seojun Oh (High Point). These four combined for 76 home runs and 234 runs batted in during the 2026 college baseball season. Davis also earned First Team All-American honors as well as the ACC Player of the Year award, putting him in the company of MLB stars such as Buster Posey and Ryan Braun. Returner Landon Beaver (UAB) will also play a critical role in the lineup and in the dugout as one of the few second-year players on the team.
Adding on, the lineup also features a slew of players who just finished playing a great freshman year, with two earning freshman All-Conference honors. Whether it be Brady Christman (Georgia Southern), Aidan Aguayo (UCLA) or Ryan Tyranski (Cincinnati), the Kettleers will have a lot of young bats who can do damage.
“In the Cape it’s really more about being a good baseball player right now…” Cooper said. “I view our freshmen as seasoned guys more than anything else.”
There are also some more under-the-radar names on Cotuit who have succeeded at smaller schools and will look to prove their worth in the CCBL. Hunter Warren (Wright State), Jesse DiMaggio (Westmont), and Oh all play outside the traditional ‘power conferences’ of the sport yet can hang with the best players at the college level. All three made their respective all-conference teams, with Oh being named Big South Player of the Year.
On the mound, Cotuit will rely on a myriad of different arms to keep opponents at bay. Notable pitchers will include Jonathan Adelmann (Bucknell), Joel Core (Stetson) and Tristan Hunter (Kentucky). Additionally, Ryan Buckler (FAU) returns to his hometown team for a second year as a part of the pitching staff.
2025 saw the Kettleers fall for the third consecutive year to the Bourne Braves in the Divisional Finals with more late-game heartbreak. But with a new coach and a strong roster, the power in the division could shift very easily. For Cooper, getting the Kettleers their 18th championship is the end-goal, full stop.
“Any coach that you talk to in the Cape, if they didn’t say they wanted to win a championship then they are lying to you…” Cooper said. “The people in this community have been so welcoming and I’d like to bring them another championship.”
The Kettleers will open the 2026 campaign Saturday against the Wareham Gatemen. First pitch at Lowell Park will be at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
