The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) is known as the premier collegiate summer baseball league in the nation. It’s where every young player wants to be, but only the best end up. The Kettleers know this, and they don’t take the position they are in for granted.
Many of them have experienced and enjoyed competing in other leagues. From a mallard on a zipline to a pink party bus, there’s no shortage of characteristics that make summer ball memorable no matter where it’s being played.
‘Everyone's a dude here’: facing top-notch talent in the Cape
The Kettleers have experience playing in many different leagues, and one thing they can all agree on is that playing in the Cape is significantly more challenging.
The CCBL draws the most talented athletes, and the level of competition is incredibly high. Landon Beaver, who played for the Strasburg Express in the Valley Baseball League (VBL) in 2025, embraces this.
“There are really good guys in the Valley, but I would say the average person in the Cape is better than the average person in the Valley,” Beaver said. “There are dudes in every level of baseball, but everyone's a dude here.”
Beaver also noted that playing in Strasburg felt much more relaxed. A typical game day involved showing up at the field, hitting the cage and playing. In Cotuit, the Kettleers are taking in-and-out every day, as well as doing pre-work and taking batting practice.
Dawson Park noticed the same thing when comparing playing for the Victoria Generals in the Texas Collegiate League (TCL) to playing for the Kettleers. Park has spent the past two seasons playing for Texas State, but he announced he will be transferring to LSU.
“Going to the SEC, this is what was going to get me better,” Park said about playing in the CCBL. “I'm glad to be here.”
The talent is top-notch, and every team in the Cape has extreme depth. A team’s starting pitcher is difficult to face, but so is its bullpen. The starters in the lineup are threatening, but so are pinch hitters.
“You gotta come ready to play because the guy on the mound (and) the guy in the box is going to be a really good baseball player,” said Owen Paino, who played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) in 2025. “If you're not ready to play, you're going to get exposed.”
With scouts at every game, the pressure is on, but the Kettleers enjoy competing against the best of the best. Playing in the Cape also provides the athletes a bit of self-assurance, which Ryan Tyranski can speak to.
He spent the past two summers in the Northwoods League, playing for the Leprechauns in Royal Oak, Michigan. When Tyranski was selected to come to the Cape, it was a “confidence builder.”
“I'm not far (from) where I want to be,” Tyranski said. “I could still be in Royal Oak right now doing the same thing I was doing last year and hoping to get here. To know that I'm seen and can compete at this level is pretty cool.”
‘Heck of a lot longer’: the Northwoods League’s grueling season
The CCBL is split into the East and West Divisions, with five teams in each. It is double the size of the Alaska Baseball League (ABL), where pitcher Eli Buxton played in 2025.
“It's not like here where guys are going and leaving a lot, so (I was) literally facing the same guys all the time,” Buxton said. “We got a little bit more competitive since we knew each other, so it was pretty fun.”
Buxton competed for the Anchorage Bucs, and they played 32 games, which is on par with Cotuit’s 40. However, teams in the Northwoods League have a very different experience, with the season starting at the end of May and including 72 games.
In Tyranski’s words, the Northwoods League season is a “heck of a lot longer.” He played 63 games last summer, admitting that it was definitely a grind.
JJ Moran was in a similar boat, as he also spent the summer of 2025 in the Northwoods. He competed with the Express in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Because Stanford is on the quarter system, Moran couldn’t get out to Wisconsin until June. Still, he experienced the Express’ extreme schedule with very few days off.
“It's a lot on your body playing every day, but it's kind of fun,” Moran said. “You get into a good groove, (and) you're seeing pitches every single day, which is nice.”
The CCBL has much to offer on an off day
With plenty of fun things to do in the Cape, the Kettleers enjoy the days they aren’t playing games. It’s a nice change of pace for Paino, who previously played for the North Shore Navigators in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Even though Paino stayed in the same state, his experience in each league has been quite different, which is evident in the way he spends his off days.
“I didn't really do much,” Paino said regarding the NECBL. “I stayed at my host family’s house the majority of the time. There are definitely a lot more summer activities to do here, like go to Nantucket.”
Like Paino, Tyranski’s off days were pretty dull. With 72 games on the schedule, he didn’t have much energy. So how did he spend his days off?
“Sitting in my bed, honestly,” Tyranski said. “It was a long, grueling season. It can catch up to you if you're not trying to take care of your body with every opportunity. On those days, I honestly just sat around all day and did as little as I could to enjoy it.”
While Tyranski used his off days as a chance to take a breath, Buxton was out in the mountains. That’s just what players did in Anchorage, Alaska — “go hike a random mountain that we’d find,” Buxton said.
Out in the Cape, athletes trade the mountains for the beach. They can also drive to Boston or hop on a ferry to nearby islands.
This season, the Kettleers participated in a scrimmage in Martha’s Vineyard on June 8 and took a trip to Fenway Park on July 2. Simply put, the Cape is a fun place to spend the summer.
Long bus rides and bonding time
Another key difference between the leagues is the travel. Beaver had it easier, with the travel being reminiscent of that in the CCBL. Similar to the Cape league, which features 10 teams all based in Massachusetts, the Valley league comprises 12 teams based in Virginia.
Paino played in the NECBL, which is made up of 13 teams that span six states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont).
“The travel wasn't bad,” he said. “But that's how college baseball is, (so) we're used to the long bus rides. That's really where you get to know your team and your teammates and build the connections that you're going to have for the rest of your life. We have bus rides here. Thankfully, they're a little shorter.”
Paino may have been blessed with painless travel, but Tyranski and Moran could not say the same. Players would travel on the team bus for hours in the Northwoods League. According to Tyranski, the closest drive from Royal Oak was around two hours. He recalled overnight bus rides.
“I've woken up to daylight the next morning,” Tyranski said. “We played a game at like 6 (p.m.), got on the bus at 9:30 and didn't get home until like 6 a.m. It was crazy.”
Park also dealt with extensive travel in the TCL, as the Generals would face teams in Texas and Louisiana. However, players had the option to drive themselves.
“The five-hour, six-hour drives are what sucked,” Park said. “I always took my truck, so it wasn't too bad, but this is definitely a lot nicer.”
The middle of nowhere, moose and more
Cape Cod is on many people’s bucket list. It is a charming peninsula that draws many tourists, and the Kettleers describe the baseball as traditional. Moran said his experience in Wisconsin was more commercial.
“There were a lot of chain restaurants and regular stores everywhere, and out here, all the stores are like houses and stuff like that,” he said. “It's a little different out here, but it's cool. I like it.”
Beaver enjoyed playing in the timeworn town of Strasburg. The community is small, but it always showed out for the baseball games.
Similarly, Park remembered how the city of Victoria would flock to Riverside Stadium to support the Generals. Though he said there wasn’t much to do there, he appreciated the fans.
Park grew up in Magnolia, Texas, and he attended Texas State from 2025-26. Cotuit has certainly been a change of pace.
“It's definitely a different lifestyle,” Park said. “I've lived in Texas my whole life, so getting to see a new place is always cool.”
Another player who is feeling the difference in lifestyle is Buxton. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, and its mountains and wildlife give it a unique feel.
“My host family had a really cool cabin out in the middle of nowhere, so it was just a lot of cool views,” Buxton said. “There were moose in our backyard at our actual house, and it was cool seeing that.”
Additionally, the leagues have gimmicks that make them unique. In the Northwoods League, the Madison Mallards’ mascot makes its grand entrance via zip line.
“It creates a good atmosphere,” Tyranski said. “If something can be remembered at every park you go to, that's good for the league.”
Players in the CCBL ride the funk bus, a pink party bus with LED lights and noticeably loud speakers, but Beaver took the Strasburg Express bus in the VBL. Ballparks around the Cape offer exciting food options like Yarmouth-Dennis’ iconic donut burger and Chatham’s Grand Slamwich (ice cream sandwich), but Tyranski recalled more traditional ballpark fare in the Northwoods League.
Clearly, the different leagues are just that — different. These differences can be as minor as the weather that the players endure, from rainy days in Virginia to snowy ones in Alaska. They can be as major as the team’s schedule, from 40 games in the Cape to 72 in the Northwoods.
The Kettleers have had varying experiences with summer ball, but they can find common ground in the fact that they’re now in the Cape, and they’re loving every minute of it.
