Of the 39 active Cotuit Kettleers alumni in Major League Baseball in 2026, seven made the postseason and made it onto their team’s postseason rosters.

For those following the 2026 MLB Postseason, New York Yankees’ first baseman Ben Rice is a household name. His deep ties to Massachusetts and Dartmouth College have also been mentioned frequently during his dominant start to the playoffs.

But one part of his New England heritage that often goes unmentioned are his ties to the Cotuit Kettleers and his summer baseball experiences.

Rice has made the headlines as one of this postseason’s top performers with four home runs, nine RBI, 21 total bases, a 1.605 OPS and two multi-home run games. Rice, who played 13 games for the Kettleers in 2021 before being drafted by New York that same summer, is one of seven Ketts alumni that donned the postseason patch on their jersey this year.

Similar to Rice, Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson spent 12 games in Cotuit in 2022, the same summer he was drafted by the Rays. Simpson’s contact and speed tools have been on display for years, going back to his days on the Cape.

In Simpson’s stint with the Ketts, he recorded 20 hits in 44 at-bats for a .455 batting average. He also swiped eight bags and raked three doubles.

With the Rays, Simpson stole an American League best 46 bases in 2026, had the fourth best batting average in the MLB at .306 and recorded the sixth most hits in the league with 175.

Prior to his MLB debut in April 2025, Simpson reflected on his time with Cotuit in an article with the Cape Cod Baseball League and how the Cape prepared him for the grind and level of competition of Minor League Baseball.

“It’s the best competition,” Simpson said. “I feel like that was my introduction to pro-ball.”

Rice and Simpson went head-to-head in the ALDS, with the Rays sweeping the Yankees 3-0.

In game two of the series Oct. 5, Simpson’s speed was put on display when he beat out an infield hit to drive in a run and subsequently stole second base, eventually scoring Tampa Bay’s fourth run in a 5-2 win.

In the other dugout, Rice slugged two solo home runs in the game, and has accounted for all Yankee runs in the series. Rice also had an impressive regular season, mashing the sixth most home runs in the MLB at 41 and accumulated the 11th most RBI in the league with 97.

In the national league, Atlanta Braves’ outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who spent the summers of 2010 and 2011 with the Ketts, faced off with three fellow Cotuit alumni in the National League Wild Card round from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Catcher Garrett Stubbs ’13, pitcher Chase Shugart ’17 and pitcher Tim Mayza ’12 all bowed out in the first round at the hand of Yastrzemski’s Braves. Yastrzemski opened the Braves’ playoff scoring with his first career postseason hit and RBI in his sixth career postseason appearance.

Yastrzemski also hit a go-ahead three-run home run Sept. 20 that proved to be the difference in the Braves’ win over the Houston Astros that clinched Atlanta its seventh NL East Division title in nine years, and its first since 2023.

Mayza was the lone Cotuit alum to appear for the Phillies in its three playoff games, recording an out in relief in game three of the series. Mayza, in his ninth season as an MLB player, set a career high in innings pitched at 67.1 and a career high in strikeouts with 64 while posting a 3.48 ERA.

Shugart, in his second full MLB season, appeared in 46 games for the Phillies, throwing 53.2 innings and striking out 59 to go with a 4.02 ERA. Stubbs appeared in 37 games, playing five different positions despite being listed as a primary catcher.

Astros’ outfielder Joey Loperfido ’19 did not make any appearances in Houston’s two playoff games, but did post a near perfect .983 fielding percentage in the regular season, while also contributing 22 hits for 34 total bases across 103 at-bats.

With only two left in the 2026 MLB Postseason, Simpson is the only Cotuit alumni that remains in the playoff picture. Coming off of an AL East Division title, look out for Simpson to continue leaving his mark with the Rays this October.