25 Catamounts Playing in Various Summer Leagues - Western Carolina University (2024)

Update on WCU’s former baseball student-athletes in professional baseball

Cullowhee, N.C. – A combined 25 of Western Carolina's returning players and incoming student-athletes are playing in the various summer collegiate leagues across the region. Leagues and team websites, as well as the team X handles are linked below.

A combined 10 Catamounts are spread between six teams in the Coastal Plain League (CPL), a 15-team league revived in 1997 and is spread between North and South Carolina, southern Virginia, and one team in Georgia.

Freshman outfielder Elijah Smith and RHP Griffin Guinther are scheduled to play in Georgia with the Macon Bacon (@GoMaconBacon). Classmates Landon Mowery and Yates Sikes are expected to take to historic Finch Field with the Thomasville (N.C.) Hi-Toms (@HTHiToms). Two Catamounts – junior pitcher Spenser Hamblen and infielder Trent Turner – are playing for the Forest City (N.C.) Owls (@ForestCityOwls).

Sophom*ore outfielder Hayden Friese is slated to play roughly 30 minutes north of his hometown of Eden, N.C., for the Martinsville (Va.) Mustangs (@MVilleMustangs). WCU newcomers Brayden Corn (Hendersonville, N.C. / USC Union) and Brandon Langley (New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island / USC Lancaster) will team on the Florence (S.C.) Flamingos (@FloFlamingos) while Davis Wright (Ridgeway, S.C. / Spartanburg Methodist) will play for the Lexington (S.C.) County Blowfish (@GoBlowfish).

WCU has five players assigned to rosters of teams in the Old North State League (ONSL), which is in its second year of existence after signing an agreement for its first league partner in March 2023. The league currently has 22 teams spread across the state of North Carolina with the bulk of the franchises – 18 combined – located in the Piedmont and eastern reaches of the state.

Catamount newcomers Jackson Lyda (Hendersonville, N.C. / West Henderson HS) and Carter Burnette (Barnardsville, N.C. / Asheville High) will each team close to home with the Hendersonville (N.C.) Honeycrisps (@HoneycrispsONSL). Teammates in the upcoming fall, Trey Spees (Denver, N.C. / East Lincoln HS) and Alex Robinson (Denver, N.C. / Bandys HS) are both on the roster an hour northwest of their hometowns with the Lenoir (N.C.) Legends (@LenoirONSL).

Five Catamounts are slated to play the summer in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League (SCBL) including three as teammates. Outfielder Tafton Hensley, freshman catcher Noah Quarless, and rookie infielder Josh Ossiander will each wear the colors of the Mooresville (N.C.) Spinners (@SpinnerBaseball), with freshman first-baseman Wyatt Stanley set to play for the Statesville (N.C.) Owls (@StatesvilleOwls). Incoming freshman Caden Haywood (Harrisburg, N.C. / Hickory Ridge HS) is playing this summer for the Lake Norman Copperheads (@LCopperheads).

Two Catamounts – catcher Cameron Murray and RHP Paddy McGonigal – will team with the Front Royal (Va.) Cardinals (@FRCardinals) in the Valley League, a 12-team summer league spread through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. While another pair – pitcher Clay Cox and infielder Brody Raleigh – will team with the Oneonta (N.Y.) Outlaws (@OutlawBaseball) of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, a 16-team league based in New York state.

Junior RHP Maret Drye is pitching for the Gainesville (Ga.) Gol'Diggers (@thegoldiggers) in the Sunbelt Baseball League, an eight-team league between Georgia and Alabama. Gainesville is a two-time defending league champion from 2022 and 2023. Junior infielder Mason Holton is on the roster for the St. Joseph (Mo.) Mustangs (@theSJmustangs) in the MINK Collegiate Baseball League. The MINK League consists of teams from Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, hence the acronym league name.

Catamounts Playing Summer Baseball:
Carter Burnette* – Hendersonville Honeycrisps (ONSL) – Team Stats
Brayden Corn* – Florence Flamingos (CPL) – Team Stats
Clay Cox – Oneonta Outlaws (PGCBL) – Team Stats
Maret Drye – Gainesville Gol'Diggers (SBL) – Team Stats
Hayden Friese – Martinsville Mustangs (CPL) – Team Stats
Griffin Guinther – Macon Bacon (CPL) – Team Stats
Spenser Hamblen – Forest City Owls (CPL) – Team Stats
Caden Haywood* - Lake Norman Copperheads (SCBL) – Team Stats
Tafton Hensley - Mooresville Spinners (SCBL) – Team Stats
Mason Holton – St. Joe Mustangs (MINK League) – Team Stats
Brandon Langley* – Florence Flamingos (CPL) – Team Stats
Jackson Lyda* – Hendersonville Honeycrisps (ONSL) – Team Stats
Paddy McGonigal – Front Royal Cardinals (Valley) – Team Stats
Landon Mowery – Thomasville HiToms (CPL) – Team Stats
Cameron Murray – Front Royal Cardinals (Valley) – Team Stats
Josh Ossiander – Mooresville Spinners (ONSL) – Team Stats
Noah Quarless – Mooresville Spinners (ONSL) – Team Stats
Brody Raleigh – Oneonta Outlaws (PGCBL) – Team Stats
Alex Robinson* – Lenoir Legends (ONSL) – Team Stats
Yates Sikes – Thomasville HiToms (CPL) – Team Stats
Elijah Smith – Macon Bacon (CPL) – Team Stats
Trey Spees* – Lenoir Legends (ONSL) – Team Stats
Wyatt Stanley – Statesville Owls (SCBL) – Team Stats
Trent Turner – Forest City Owls (CPL) – Team Stats
Davis Wright* – Lexington County Blowfish (CPL) – Team Stats
* WCU roster newcomer for 2024-25

Where Are They Now? Former Catamounts in Professional Baseball

Bryan Sammons, LHP – Toledo Mud Hens – Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers
Selected in the 8th round, 226th overall pick in 2017 by the Minnesota Twins

Justice Bigbie, OF – Toledo Mud Hens – Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers
Selected in the 19th round, 555th overall pick in 2021 by the Detroit Tigers

Zebby Matthews, RHP – Wichita Wind Surge – Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins
Selected in the 8th round, 234th overall pick in 2022 by the Minnesota Twins

Jack Snyder, RHP – Montgomery Biscuits – Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays
Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022; currently on the 60-day injured list

Pascanel Ferreras, INF – Corpus Christi Hooks – Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros
Selected in the 20th round, 614th overall pick in 2023 by the Houston Astros

Zach Franklin, RHP – Winston-Salem Dash – High-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox
Selected in the 10th round, 299th pick in 2023 by the Chicago White Sox
* Played five seasons at WCU, drafted as a graduate transfer from Univ. of Missouri

Will Prater, INF – Schaumburg Boomers – Frontier League
Signed to play in the independent league beginning in the 2023 season

Bryson Parks, OF – New Jersey Jackals – Frontier League
Signed to play in the independent league for the 2024 season

Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).