2024 Cape Cod Baseball League Season Preview
Image credit: Orleans' Eldridge Park (Photo by Simon M Bruty/AnyChance Productions/Getty Images)
The Cape Cod Baseball League begins its 101st season this weekend. Founded in 1923 and with 1,250 MLB alumni, the Cape League is the preeminent college summer wooden bat league. One in every six major leaguers played on the Cape at one point as an amateur. The league’s talent is unrivaled.
The Cape League is comprised of 10 teams split into two five-team divisions. All 10 teams play each other with divisional standings determining who makes an eight-team playoff. The schedule spans 44 games from mid-June through early August before a three-round playoff structure.
In recent years, the Cape has transformed from a showcase of next year’s draft talent to a pre-draft destination for players looking to give scouts one last look before the July draft. As a result, the CCBL now feels more transient. Teams often turn over 80% of their roster between the league’s opening week and the end of July.
It’s not uncommon to see future draftees, weeks away from the dawn of their professional careers, for a few weeks prior to the draft. Similarly, it’s not uncommon to see the top positional players participate for a few weeks prior to Collegiate National Team trials. Players like Spencer Torkelson, Brooks Lee, Charlie Condon and others have all done brief cameos on the Cape before joining the national team in Cary, NC.
While this has miffed some local fans accustomed to players spending a full summer on the Cape, it’s created an even more fertile ground for evaluators, whether professional or amateur, to get a wide range of looks on up to three different college draft classes.
The games are free to attend (though a donation is suggested) and the ballparks are mostly old high school fields. The accommodations are stripped down compared to the parks of the SEC, ACC and professional baseball. The league has the feel of a home-cooked meal–familiar, delicious and removed of any pomp and circumstance. Concessions consist of homemade chocolate chip cookies, root beer floats and hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on a grill.
In many ways the Cape Cod Baseball League serves as the end of season cookout for college baseball, heavy on good vibes and low on cost of entry.
You can see Baseball America’s draft rankings below.
West Division
Bourne Braves
Park: Doran Field
Parking: Available on site
Last CCBL Championship: 2023
Team page
Top Players
- Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina
- Clay Grady, Virginia Tech
- JD Thompson, Vanderbilt
Cotuit Kettleers
Park: Lowell Park
Parking: Limited parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 2019
Team page
Top Players
- Devin Taylor, Indiana
- Brandon Compton, Arizona State
- Joey Volchko, Stanford
Falmouth Commodores
Park: Guv Fuller Field
Parking: Parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 1980
Team page
Top Players
- Trent Caraway, Oregon State
- Gavin Kilen, TBD (Kilen is one of the 10 best transfers in the portal)
- Gage Wood, Arkansas
Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Park: McKeon Field
Parking: Limited parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 1991
Team page
Top Players
- Joe Dzierwa, Michigan State
- Kane Kepley, Liberty (Kepley boosted his draft stock this season)
- Mason White, Arizona
Wareham Gatemen
Park: Spillane Field
Parking: Parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 2018
Team page
Top Players
- Christian Foutch, Arkansas
- Brendan Summerhill, Arizona
- Max Williams, Florida State
East Division
Brewster Whitecaps
Park: Stony Brook Field
Parking: Limited parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 2021
Team page
Top Players
- Andrew Fischer, Ole Miss
- Nolan Schubart, Oklahoma State
- Derrick Smith, NC State
Chatham Anglers
Park: Veterans Field
Parking: Parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 1998
Team page
Top Players
- Aiva Arquette, Washington
- Ike Irish, Auburn
- Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma
Harwich Mariners
Park: Whitehouse Field
Parking: Parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 2011
Team page
Top Players
- Bristol Carter, TBD (Carter is one of the 10 best transfers in the portal)
- Daniel Dickinson, Utah Valley
- Ryan DeSanto, Saint Joe’s
Orleans Firebirds
Park: Eldredge Park
Parking: Parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 2005
Team page
Top Players
- Tyler Bremner, UCSB
- Roch Cholowsky, UCLA
- Jimmy Keenan, Wake Forest
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
Park: Red Wilson Field
Parking: Parking on-site
Last CCBL Championship: 2016
Team page
Top Players:
- Landon Beidelschies, TBD (Beidelschies is one of the 10 best transfers in the portal)
- Drew Burress, Georgia Tech
- Easton Carmichael, Oklahoma
