Northeastern catcher Will Fosberg has been one of the Hyannis Harbor Hawks’ more surprising players. Fosberg, who calls Natick, Mass. home, has gained a reputation for his defense behind the dish, is an important “glue guy” in the team’s clubhouse and has showcased his talents at the plate with some clutch hits in big spots.

But there’s a reality in which Fosberg isn’t even on the roster right now.

“I always believed in myself, that I am capable of playing here,” Fosberg says. “I just didn’t know if I was going to get a shot earlier on in the year, and I was lucky enough to get my shot, and it worked out.”

When Fosberg learned his agent had arranged for him to come to Hyannis, the local kid bought in immediately. Fosberg grew up spending parts of his summers on the Cape, staying at his grandparents’ summer home in Centerville not far from McKeon Park, where – unlike most Cape League players, who stay with host families – he’s living again this season.

In fact, Fosberg attended a few Harbor Hawks games at McKeon Park in his youth – “it was a little bit of a full-circle moment there,” he says. The family connection runs deeper: Fosberg’s cousin Sam, who now covers MLB for media outlet Just Baseball, interned as a beat writer for the Harbor Hawks a few summers ago.

It was Sam who told Hyannis general manager Nick Johnson he had a talented cousin who played ball at Northeastern and may be interested in playing for the team.

“[I] wanted to get him up here, you know, local kid,” Johnson says. “I always love getting those kinds of guys up here. I think it means more for those guys.”

Johnson “hadn’t seen Will play a lot” when Hyannis signed Fosberg, but was soon impressed with his power, framing and ability to move around behind the plate when the backstop arrived on the Cape.

Even so, Fosberg came in as the fourth man on the Harbor Hawks’ catching depth chart, behind Blake Primrose, Jon Embury and Efren Ortega. Fosberg knew how much catching talent the Harbor Hawks had on their roster, and he anticipated his playing time would be limited.

“I’d be lying if I said I thought it was going to turn out like this,” Fosberg says. “I was just trying to find any way I can to get in the lineup. I told myself, once I get a shot, I can’t not take advantage of it.”

Fosberg’s first shot came in Game 3 of the season, a 6-3 loss to the Harwich Mariners. He pinch hit for second baseman Taylor Kirk and lined out.

Johnson was impressed with the at-bat. But with three catchers ahead of the local kid on Hyannis’ depth chart, Johnson told Fosberg frankly “there’s not going to be at-bats for you anymore.”

But that night, Primrose told Johnson and manager Mitch Karraker he needed time off after injuring his hamstring. Johnson and Karraker told Fosberg they still needed him after all.

“As baseball does, I feel like it frequently finds you, right?” Johnson says. “[We said], ‘Hey, if you’re still into it and want to stay here, if you’re liking the experience, you’re going to play.’ It wasn’t like [he’d] play every fifth day, [he’d] be in the rotation as a catcher.”

On June 20, Fosberg started behind the dish for the first time. He walked twice, showing great discipline and patience at the plate.

“The at-bats have been so mature,” Johnson says. “He takes his walks, he lays off pitches, fouls pitches off, and he’s driving the ball. All our eyes were opened by that [start].”

On the 24th came his first clutch hit. Fosberg was a big part of the Harbor Hawks’ ninth-inning comeback in Orleans. Pinch-hitting for center fielder Tanner Chun, he singled on the third pitch of the at-bat to drive in second baseman Kyle Alivo. The Harbor Hawks scored four runs in that inning, stunning the Firebirds, as Hyannis held on to win 6-4.

“You try to have a clear mind and not do anything different,” Fosberg says on hitting in clutch situations. “My college coach always says those situations are a battle of who slows the game down the best. I kind of view it as an internal competition between me and the pitcher, and I’m going to be the one to slow the game down and not make it bigger than what it is.”

Fosberg’s biggest moment of the season came on June 29 against the Falmouth Commodores. He got the Harbor Hawks’ offense off the ground early with a huge three-run homer to right-center. Those RBIs turned out to be the game-winners, as Hyannis won 6-2.

“When he gets his opportunities, he makes the most of them,” Karraker says. “There’s a couple games where he’s gone off offensively. [The team] gets fired up when they see it, because they know how hard he works. It’s good to see the game reward a kid like that.”

Sam, of course, posted the homer on X for his audience of over 10 thousand followers, adding “that one is for our late grandfather, Dennis.” The Fosbergs’ grandfather passed away on June 10, and Will has done his best to honor him.

“His grandpa’s dream was to see him play,” Johnson says. “It’s kind of like a dream fulfilled.”

Fosberg can hit, but his greatest strength is his defense – he models his game after the Cleveland Guardians’ Patrick Bailey, one of the most renowned defensive catchers in the majors – and Fosberg says “any catcher should say they’re a defensive-first guy, that’s the most important aspect of the game.”

He prides himself on having plus abilities in every area a catcher should, from receiving the ball to catching runners – but especially blocking and preventing passed balls.

“Athleticism behind the plate, side-to-side movement,” Fosberg says. “[I’m] not someone who can be a stationary target, I can move and make plays and do a lot of different things defensively.”

That makes him a valuable asset to have in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where defense is unrefined and passed balls and catching mistakes are commonplace.

“He’s done a hell of a job behind the plate,” Johnson says. “He bodies up, blocks balls, then calls a good game, and works with all the pitchers.”

During the early season, when he wasn’t getting into games, Fosberg was catching in the bullpen. Johnson says he’s developed “a good rapport with the lot of the arms,” which is hard to do given Cape League pitchers and catchers all meet for the first time mere days before the season starts.

“It’s not easy catching guys with really good stuff, and you don’t know what it’s doing until you first get in there,” Karraker says. “He’s willing to work, and that’s what we asked of him.”

Fosberg’s transition to the Cape went as well as it could have, given the circumstances and lack of playing time.

He started out struggling in his last season with the Northeastern Huskies. Early in the season, he hit with a big leg kick, which caused him to struggle with his timing at the plate. In the end, he hit only .194 in his redshirt sophomore season, but he ended the year hot.

On May 12, as Northeastern downed the UConn Huskies, Fosberg had a three-hit, three-RBI game with two doubles. He ended the year with four hits – including two home runs – three walks and five RBIs in his last five games, driving in two runs against power-conference Arkansas in the Huskies’ last game of the season. Not bad for a defense-first catcher.

Even with that big leg kick, he knocked a pinch-hit, two-out RBI in Northeastern’s annual exhibition contest against the Boston Red Sox in a memory that will last him a lifetime.

“I finished the season really strong, and I was able to carry it into the Cape,” Fosberg says.

Fosberg committed to play for the Huskies at the age of 15, and hasn’t looked back – “I’m glad I made that decision,” he says, “I love Northeastern, and I love the program and culture we have, and I think it’s where I belong.”

He’s majoring in criminal justice, and “it’s definitely tough … I’m very grateful to have all the support we have,” Fosberg says of studying at the famously rigorous institution. Every Northeastern student has brains, athletes included, and Fosberg’s coaches help him succeed academically, too.

Many Northeastern players hail from New England or the Northeast. Fosberg says that kinship brings them closer together.

“We’re all tough Northeast guys, and things haven’t come easy to us,” he says. “We have to deal with the cold, we have to deal with a bunch of adversity with being a Northeast baseball player, so we kind of bond in that sense. I have 40 brothers at Northeastern, and I feel like I couldn’t get that anywhere else.”

So, it’s been “definitely different,” he says, playing on a team with guys from around the country – but Fosberg has bonded closely with his teammates, no matter where they’re from. The Northeast isn’t the country’s biggest producer of baseball talent, so Fosberg comes from humble beginnings – but that makes him a key “glue guy.”

“Most guys … they expect to be up here,” Karraker says. “He wasn’t one of those guys. He’s very appreciative of the opportunity, and that’s contagious for guys. When you have a guy with that kind of personality and that kind of appreciation, it’s contagious, and everybody loves him.”

Johnson says Fosberg’s “lowkey” and “mellow” demeanor is needed in the team’s clubhouse. Many players, especially top-end talents, feel the weight of MLB scouts’ eyes on them and play with anxiety.

“A lot of those guys come up here and they’re so high-stress,” Johnson says. “‘I have to perform, every game has to go perfectly.’ When you have someone who’s mellow and happy and has that disposition, ‘I’m happy to be here,’ I think that can be infectious for a lot of guys.”

That’s not to say Fosberg isn’t a talent worthy of the draft. He’s got two seasons of college ball and a summer on the Cape under his belt, and as a rising junior he has time for plenty more before heading into affiliated ball.

“My goal is to play professionally, like everyone’s is here,” Fosberg says. “The good thing about professional baseball is you can still go back to school and take classes during the winters. Finishing my degree and getting drafted, those are the two goals.”

He’d be grateful to be drafted by any organization, but as a Northeast baseball player, he can’t help but think about being in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. “I’d be blessed to be with everyone … obviously, there’s your hometown team,” he says, but because of the “pipeline” from Northeastern to the New York Yankees organization – think ace Cam Schlittler and several other draftees – he wouldn’t mind being on the other side of the rivalry, either.

Whichever organization drafts Fosberg, it’s sure to get a gem of a backstop.