HYANNIS, Mass., June 11, 2026 – The Cape Cold Baseball League Hall of Fame Committee announced the induction class for 2026 at the Cape League’s annual First Pitch Brunch at the 99 Restaurant.
The 2026 Cape League Hall of Fame class includes two-time All-Star Seth Etherton (Chatham, 1995, 1996), Benjamin F.C. Whithouse Outstanding Pitcher Award winner Matt Goyen (Brewster, 2004), 2008 Robert A. McNeese Outstanding Pro Prospect Award winner Grant Green (Yarmouth-Dennis, 2007; Chatham, 2008), 1996 Pat Sorenti Most Valuable Player Award winner Kevin Nicholson (Wareham, 1996), and long-time league volunteer and 2014 Cape League Executive of the Year, John Garner.
In addition, the Hall of Fame Committee announced Jack Martin, longtime member of the Y-D Red Sox organization, including serving as the team’s general manager, as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award and, in recognition of its support of the Cape League, the Wequassett Resort & Golf Club as recipient of the Peter Gammons Award. Additionally, Cape League President Andrew Lang named former Wareham Gatemen president Glen Hannington as Executive of the Year for the 2025 season.
The Cape League Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 15, at the Wequassett Resort in Harwich, Mass. Tickets can be purchased by calling Mary Henderson at (508) 922-7388.
Seth Etherton, Chatham
For two seasons in the Cape Cod League, the righty from the University of Southern California was an All-Star pitcher and among the league leaders in ERA. During the 1995 season, he posted a 4-2 record with a 1.29 ERA over 49 innings pitched. He posted 65 strikeouts at a rate of 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Then in 1996, he was an All-League pitcher with another 4-2 record over 50 innings and a 1.98 ERA. He finished the season with 68 strikeouts, a 12.2 rate for nine innings and amidst an amazing two consecutive outings that summer he logged a total of 29 strikeouts. He was also a first-team College All-American, helping USC win the 1998 College World Series. Etherton was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the first round of the 1998 MLB draft and in 2000 was 5-1 in eleven starts with the Angels. He later pitched for the Cincinnati Red, Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals. After two seasons of pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2007-08, he ended his professional career as a member of the Dodgers system in 2010. He has served as pitching coach at both USC and the University of San Francisco, and in 2025 was announced as coach for the United States national under-18 baseball team’s developmental program in North Carolina.
Matt Goyen, Brewster
A hard-throwing southpaw out of Georgia College was a 2005 Division II All-American pitcher following his outstanding 2004 season on the Cape where he was the winner of the Benjamin F.C. Whitehouse Outstanding Pitcher. Hurling for the Whitecaps he was the league leader in strikeouts with 80 and third in innings pitched with 57, an amazing rate of 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Overall, he posted a 5-2 record with an impressive 1.25 ERA. He was a member of the 2004 All-Star team and was also selected an All-League pitcher. The Florida Marlins made him the overall 96th pick in the 2005 MLB draft in the third round. He spent the 2005 season with the Jamestown Jammers of the New York Penn Single A League. He then split the next season in the South Atlantic League with Greensboro and the Florida State League with Jupiter before closing out his career with Greensboro in 2007.
Grant Green, Yarmouth-Dennis, Chatham
This talented shortstop out of the University of Southern California spent two summers on the Cape with two different teams. In 2007, he had a .291 batting average with four homers for the champion Red Sox. The following season he returned to the Cape, this time with the Chatham A’s, where he earned the Robert A. McNeece Award as Outstanding Pro Prospect. He batted .348 with 12 doubles, six home runs and 21 RBI and hit a two-run homer to lead the East to a win in the 2008 All-Star Game to earn the game’s MVP award. At the conclusion of the season, he was named All-League shortstop. Green was drafted in the first round of the Major League baseball draft by the Oakland Athletics, 13th overall, and played with them briefly in 2013 before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. There he compiled a .273 batting average and played through the 2015 season. He also spent time in the San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins organization before closing out his career with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League in 2018.
Kevin Nicholson, Wareham
The switch-hitting shortstop out of Stetson College was among the league leaders in a number of categories with the 1996 Gatemen. His league-leading 18 doubles is tied for second all-time in the Cape League, while he also topped the league in total bases, 76, extra base hits with 22, was second in slugging percentage at .510 and third in hits with 47. His offensive totals, which included a .315 batting average with three home runs and 23 RBI, earned him the leagues’ Pat Sorenti Most Valuable Player Award. He was also selected the West Division MVP of the All-Star Game and was named All-League shortstop for 1996. In the 1997 Major League Baseball draft he was chosen in the first round, 27th overall, by the San Diego Padres. After spending three seasons in the minors, he was called up to the Padres where he played 37 games in 2000. He later spent time in the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations. The British Columbia native also was a member of the Canadian National baseball team from 2001 until 2007, helping Team Canada earn fourth place in 2006.
John Garner – CCBL
The Scarborough, Maine native has been involved with the Cape League over 25 years in a myriad of different roles. Garner received the 2014 CCBL’s Executive of the Year as the league’s director of public relations & broadcasting, serving as the league’s first broadcast director from 2000-23 and PR director from 2002-15 and 2017. Garner has promoted the Cape League’s visibility, connecting with fans and maintaining a strong presence though print and electronic media. He started Cape League reports on 99.9 WQRC and 95.1 WXTK and was color analyst on Cape League Games of the Week with Larry Egan on 96.3 WEEI, and with Scott Wahle on WBZ.com. He’s served as chair (or co-chair) of the Cape Cod Baseball Hall of Fame, and Broadcast and PR/Marketing committees. Before working at Cape Cod Times, Garner spent 13 years with the ECAC as assistant commissioner and was SID at Plymouth State College. He is a graduate of Plymouth State, majoring in history and geography and was a member of the men’s basketball team, student senate and student newspaper.