On the surface, the Kettleers consist of 30 players, one manager and six assistant coaches, but a deeper look reveals that there are a lot more people involved. From Cotuit’s board members to host families to the training staff, it truly takes a village to keep the team running.

While everyone serves an important role, seven kids might just have the coolest job of all. Cruz Andrews, Colton Gardner, Atticus Harding, Thomas Lentell, Bennet McWilliams, Dean Schroeter and McKinley Strand work as the Kettleers’ bat kids for the 2026 season, and it’s a pretty good gig.

“I don't think that any of the kids really know how cool it is to do this or how lucky they are to bat kid for a Cape League team,” said Katie Strand, McKinley’s mom and the bat kid coordinator. “I don't think they know how special that is.”

They say fortune favors the brave, and a bat kid has to possess a sense of fearlessness. Take it from McKinley, Cotuit’s only female bat kid this season. She is in her third year as a bat kid at 12 years old, and she took a foul ball to the face at McKeon Park in Hyannis.

“I was in shock, and I almost fell because I was dizzy,” McKinley said. “It came at me like at least 70 miles per hour. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’”

A bat kid must be fearless but also intelligent. Attentive. Patient. The role of a bat kid seems relatively straightforward, as their primary objective is to retrieve the bats and balls, but there’s a bit more that goes into it.

After a player records a hit, the kids have to wait for him to get on base and for the play to be over before grabbing the bat. They have to be mindful at all times of players swinging. They have to be willing to do the less glamorous part of the job, which includes tasks like putting out the pine tar and cleaning up.

Another trait that Cotuit’s bat kids have is competitiveness. One of the more fun parts of the job is grabbing the passed balls, a seemingly mundane task that is made exciting due to a little friendly competition.

“When there's a passed ball, we go behind and grab it, and we always try to beat the other team,” McKinley said.

The ongoing competition between the bat kids is not only fun for the kids themselves but also for Kettleers players. JJ Moran (Stanford) recalled a scuffle between one of Cotuit’s bat kids and one of Bourne’s bat kids for a ball at Doran Park.

“I've never seen anything like that,” Moran said. “That was pretty funny. I love when they're competing for who gets it first.”

There are a few requirements to be a bat kid, including having background knowledge of baseball and being at least 10 years old. With limited spots, kids who have done it before get priority, followed by kids who host players.

Harding, who is 13 years old, falls into both categories, as he is in his fourth year as a bat kid and hosts Landon Beaver (UAB). Living with Beaver is an experience Harding described as “pretty cool” — “After the games, we can play ping pong or go around the fire,” he said.

The competitive fire that exists within Cotuit’s bat kids is evident in Harding. It’s there when he is at Lowell Park but also when he is at home. Harding and his friends are always up for a challenge.

“One day, I whooped them all in ping pong,” Beaver said. “He and four of his friends were talking all that junk, and I was like, ‘Alright, let's play.’ I destroyed all of them.”

While Beaver didn’t hesitate to take a friendly jab at Harding’s ping pong skills, he also offered some praise.

“He's really good at baseball,” Beaver said. “The first day I got up here, we instantly went to the golf course and threw a baseball around. It's pretty electric stuff from a 13-year-old.”

All of the bat kids have baseball experience. Harding is a versatile athlete, as he pitches, catches and plays at third base. He and Andrews play together at Mashpee Middle-High School.

McWilliams, a 13-year-old in his first year as a bat kid, hopes that baseball will be a big part of his future, stating that playing in college would be “the biggest dream.”

“It's kind of what I've devoted my life to,” he said. “It's just really fun.”

McKinley currently plays softball, but she used to be part of a coed baseball team in the Barnstable Little League. While playing with a bunch of boys may seem intimidating, it never bothered her.

“I didn't care,” McKinley said. “I wasn't ever all girly or wanting to wear pretty clothes. I was always just aggressive, like tomboyish.”

For McKinley, being a bat kid runs in her family. Her older brother, Gavin Strand, used to be a bat kid, and her younger brother, Grayden Strand, will be one next year.

Both of her parents have ties to baseball, as her dad, Dan Strand, is currently the president of the Barnstable Little League, and her mom is Cotuit’s bat kid coordinator. Katie works closely with the kids, and she gets to see McKinley in action.

“She takes it really seriously, but she also enjoys it,” Katie said. “When you're a bat kid, you get to ride the bus with the players, so you just get a deeper connection with them.”

Riding the team bus involves playing games like Mafia and listening to music. The players are hype, and the energy is palpable, making the kids feel like they are a part of the team.

“Going on the bus, you get to watch what (the players) do, and you get to see their personalities,” McKinley said. “Some are calm, some are going crazy, some have loud music, some have quiet music… It's really interesting to see what they do and their reactions to things.”

Something else the bat kids enjoy is simply interacting with the players, and these interactions can take many forms.

“It can be as subtle as me telling them they had a good hit,” McWilliams said. “I’ll also ask them questions about baseball because I like it, and they'll tell me about their college seasons or stuff like that.”

The exchanges between the bat kids and the players are meaningful to the kids, but they also often cheer up the players. The happy, youthful energy that the kids bring can be uplifting.

“It's hard not to high-five a kid and then feel pretty good about yourself because they light up, and it's kind of a good luck charm,” Beaver said. “They're like, ‘Please get a hit for me,’ (and) I'm like, ‘Alright, I got you,’ and I usually will get a hit, and they're super excited.”

There is no doubt that Cotuit’s bat kids have it good. From competing for passed balls to bonding with the players, it’s a job that any young baseball fan would be lucky to have. While the bat kids do receive $10 a game, the experience they are getting is worth much more.