SUGAR LAND, Texas – Play ball! Portland Pilots Baseball is back, with the Bluff Boys opening up the season on the road against the Purdue Boilermaker in Sugar Land, Texas. The two teams will play at three-game series at Constellation Field starting on Friday, Feb. 13 with a 2 p.m. PST first pitch. The two teams will play on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 9 a.m. and Sunday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m.
 
No stream or video is available for the weekend series, but a radio broadcast can be found on the Stretch Portal. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and audio.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: vs. Purdue Boilermakers (31-23, 11-19 Big Ten)
Dates: Fri-Sun, Feb. 13-15
Location: Sugar Land, Tex.
Ballpark: Constellation Field
Audio: Stretch Portal
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Against PUR: 0-0-0
Last vs. PUR: N/A
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (2025 W-L, ERA)
Friday • Feb. 13 • 2:00 PM
POR: RHP Kaden Segel (4-4, 5.37)
PUR: RHP Cole Van Assen (4-3, 4.28)
 
Saturday • Feb. 14 • 12:00 PM
POR: RHP Morgan Codron (2-2, 6.67)
PUR: LHP Zach Erdman (0-0, 4.30)
 
Sunday • Feb. 15 • 10:00 AM
POR: RHP Trey Swygart (0-3, 6.97)
PUR: LHP Jarvis Evans (4-2, 5.89)
 
LAST SEASON FOR THE BLUFF BOYS
• The Portland Pilots finished last season 22-30 overall and 13-11 in WCC play to take fifth in the WCC.
• Portland earned 20-plus wins for the fifth season in a row and for the seventh time in the last eight season. It's the first time they've earned at least 20 wins five seasons in a row since a stretch between 2008-12.
• Last year, the Pilots made qualified for the WCC Tournament for the fourth year in a row after previously having never made the tournament. They fell to the LMU Lions in their lone game in the tournament.
• Six players earned All-WCC honors last season, with four of those six player returning this season.
• The Pilots saw six earn All-WCC honors, headlined by Jonas Salk's All-WCC First Team selection.
Tyler Howard earned second team honors, Brady Bean, Cody Nitowitz and Ryan Rembisz earned
honorable mention and Nitowitz and Trey Swygart made the freshman team.
• Salk makes it seven straight seasons the Pilots have had someone make the All-WCC First
Team. This is his first All-WCC selection.
• Jonas Salk's 13 home runs were the most by a Pilot since 2008. Salk is the first Pilot since Matt
Scales 1992 to have at least three multi-home run games in a season.
• Salk's .807 slugging percentage ranked first against conference opponents. He was also third in
home runs (ninth) and OPS (1.287), fourth in doubles (nine) and runs scored (26) and eighth in
batting average (.373).
•Brady Bean was the only Pilot to have played every game. He ranked ninth in the WCC in hits
(64) and tied for third in at bats (206).
• Bean's 48 RBI's ranks seventh in the WCC. They are tied for the 11th most in program history,
and he's just the fifth Pilot in the 2000s to reach that total.
• Tyler Howard was second in the WCC in batting average (.379) and on-base percentage (.481) and ranked sixth in total walks (29). Howard put together a 32-game on-base streak that was the longest by a Pilot since 1993.
• Cody Nitowitz was tied for eighth in the WCC in batting average against conference opponents
at .373, sixth in on-base percentage (.490) and tied for first in walks (18).
• Trey Swygart was a two-way player for the Pilots last season, displaying power at the plate and prowess on the mound.
• Swygart, a 2025 Perfect Game Freshman All-American, posted a slash line of .342/.500/.644 in 73 at bats last year, along with six home runs and four doubles. He was 0-3 on the mound last season with a 6.97 ERA and two saves, one of just two Pilots with multiple.
• As a team, the Pilots led the conference in walks (257), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.05), WHIP (1.52), shutouts (3) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.75). Nationally, they were 38th in double plays per game (0.83) and 46th in walks allowed per nine innings.
 
PRESEASON HONORS
• The Portland Pilots were picked fourth in the annual WCC Preseason Poll, with Salk making the All-WCC Preseason Team for the first time in his career.
• In the D1 Baseball Season Preview for the WCC, Portland was picked to finish fourth in the conference as well.
 
THE RETURNERS
• The Pilots return 22 players from last year's squad, including the four players who earned All-WCC honors returning.
• Portland also adds plenty of new faces, with 19 newcomers joining Portland for the 2026 campaign.
• One of the key bats in the lineup will be Cole Katayama-Stall, who put together one of the best seasons by a true freshman in recent history.
• Katayama-Stall hit .255 with nine home runs and 38 RBI's, posting the most home runs by a Pilot freshman since 2008 and the most RBI's by a true freshman since 2003. He finished last season fourth and fifth among all WCC freshmen in home runs and RBI's.
• Katayama-Stall is one of 12 players returning who earned a chance to play in the field.
• Coleman Hollabaugh and Nolan Miller both earned time last year batting .250 and .167 respectively. Hollabaugh hit a home run as well.
• Hollabaugh and Miller are just two of several Pacific Northwest products returning for Portland in the field.
• Frankie Rutigliano, from Medford, played in 21 games last season with a .206 average at the plate along with stellar defensive performances. Rutigliano was a former four-time All-Southwest Conference selection with North Medford High School.
• Gage Bruce, a Washington product, suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for most of the 2025 season. In 2024, he played in 25 games as mostly a pinch-runner, stealing four bases and hitting .346 in 26 appearances at the plate.
• Rounding out the returning players in the field is Aaron Louis, who played in 16 games last year. Prior to joining Portland,
• Among the pitching staff who threw last season, six full-time pitchers expect to play key roles for Portland.
• Carter Gaston threw the most innings of any returning Pilot last season at 66.2. He posted a 6.61 ERA with a 3-8 record and 57 strikeouts, with his strikeout total the highest of any returning pitcher.
• Gaston was one of just three WCC pitchers to throw a complete game last season.
• In 2024, Gaston was dominant, posting a 3.01 ERA with an 11-2 record for the most wins by any Pilot in a single season. He was named the WCC Pitcher of the Year, an All-WCC First Team selection and an ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Second Team pick.
• Kaden Segel threw 21 games for the Pilots last season with six starts, going 62.0 innings with a 5.37 ERA and a 4-4 record. He was second in the WCC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.79) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.03) and also led the Pilots in saves (3).
• Gaston and Segel were two of three WCC players last year to post a game with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks.
• Nolan Umlandt was one of the most reliable arms for the Pilots in his first year with Portland. The Sherwood product pitched a team-high 24 games with three starts, going 2-4 in those appearances with a 5.90 ERA.
• Morgan Codron battled injuries last season but entered the year as one of the top prospects. He pitched 29.1 innings with a 2-2 record overall and a 6.67 ERA.
• Kaden Starr got his first opportunities on the mound last year, throwing in 29.0 innings across 15 games with three starts. He posted a 6.52 ERA, with his 38 strikeouts ranking second among returning pitchers for Portland.
• Callum Young is a community college transfer who threw 8.1 innings for Portland last year. The lefty posted a 6.48 ERA.`
• Logan Anderson rounds out the returning full-time pitchers for Portalnd. He made 14 appearances in his first year of action with a 2-1 record and a 6.11 ERA.
• JT Landwehr was an important reliever and a true two-way player for the Pilots last season, throwing 39.0 innings with a 5.77 ERA and a 3-1 record.
• Landwehr played 24 games with eight starts in the field for Portland, recording just 28 at bats with five hits. A transfer from Mount St. Mary's, in 2024 Landwehr set the NCAA record for hit by pitch, being hit by 39 pitches in a single season.
• Several Pilots return who did not play in 2025, including Ky Hoskinson, Quin Dufort, Cade Gehlen, Ethan Matsuoka and Jake Allen.
 
THE NEWCOMERS
• A plethora of newcomers join the Pilots this season, with 14 true freshman and four transfers coming to the Pilots
• Trey Newmann joins the pitching staff after spending last season with the TCU Horned Frogs. A local player out of Medford, Newmann pitched in five games last season for the Horned Frogs, throwing shutouts in two of those contests.
• Prior to that, Newmann pitched with the California Golden Bears, where he went 4-6 as a freshman with a 6.13 ERA and a team-high 60 strikeouts. Cal went 7-4 in his starts with the team.
• Two transfers that have a chance to make an impact early are redshirt freshmen Troy Osborne and Leo Cote.
• Osborne is a utility player who redshirted his first season in college with Sacramento State. From Grants Pass, he was stellar with the Cavemen, earning All-Stouwest Conference honors all four years and earning Southwest Conference Player of the Year honors twice.
• Cote is a transfer from the Oregon State Beavers who also redshirted his freshman year. A powerful first baseman by way of Canada, having played with the Okotoks Baseball Academy.
• Brooks Avery is a JUCO transfer for the Pilots coming from Linn-Benton Community College. The infiedler hit .218 across 28 games with three doubles and 11 RBI's.
• A large Canadian contingent joins the Pilots as freshmen this season, with Will Labonte, Austin Collins and Landon Kauffman all joining the Pilots as freshmen.
• All three of those newcomers, along with the transfer, Cote, join the Pilots after playing with the Okotoks Dawgs Academy in Alberta.
• All 11 of the Pilots other freshmen come from either Oregon or Washington.
• Grady Keljo and Carter Stewart both played their high school baseball with Jesuit High School. Keljo starred in both baseball and football and was the 41st -ranked prospect in Oregon while Stewart earned 6A second team All-State honors in 2025 at first base while ranking 26th in the state.
• Connor Parry of Sherwood was a first-team selection in All-State honors as a pitcher, ranking 14th in the Baseball Northwest rankings.
• In the infield, Aidan Rice earned All-State honorable mention in 2025 at the 6A level.
• Logan Nakamura hit .467 his senior years to help the Ridgeview Ravens earn the Intermountain Conference title while also earning first team 5A All-State honors.
• Alex Via won the 5A State Championship with Summit High School last year, finishing 10-1 with just a 0.88 ERA and 91 strikeouts.
• Isaac Pfeifer earned second team All-State honors out of Tualatin, with a chance to make an impact at catcher.
• Dakota Chun was behind the plate as well for Kruz Schoolcraft at Sunset High School, helping Sunset earn their first 6A State Championship since 1994.
• Joe Fagan earned Scappoose High School a 5A State Championship in 202, pitching a complete game. He earned first team All-State honors in 4A as both an infielder and a pitcher last season.
• Jacob Bellamy is a pitcher out of Washougal. A righty, the frosh is the 25th ranked recruit out of Washington.
• Ernie Whelan rounds out the freshmen for Portland. The pitcher is the 20th ranked prospect out of Washington.
 
THE COACHING STAFF
• 2026 marks the 11th year at the helm for head coach Geoff Loomis.
• With 233 career wins as Portland's skipper, Loomis already ranks fourth all-time for
total wins at Portland. He is also just the fourth Pilot coach to reach 200 wins.
• Loomis is a Portland baseball alum and UP Athletics Hall of Fame member who still
holds the UP program career record for batting average (.376).
• Trey Watt was promoted to associate head coach following the 2024 season and takes
over as pitching coach.
• Watt was a pitcher under Loomis at Pacific Lutheran, becoming the second Lute to
ever sign a free agent contract.
• Jarvis Gomes returns as the Director for Player Development for his fifth year and
Ben Patacsil joining as an assistant coach after spending last season as a graduate assistant.
• Also joining the staff is two Pilots from last year's team, with Jake Holcroft signing on
as an assistant coac.
• Holcroft is Portland's all-time leader in games played (227), hits (319), at bats (941),
runs scored (193), doubles (57), walks (112) and total bases (448). He's also third alltime
in RBI's (161), tied for fifth in stolen bases (53), sixth in batting average (.339), tied
for sixth in triples (eight), tied for eighth in home runs (eight).
• Holcroft earned All-WCC First Team honors last season for the third year in a row and
was also named the WCC Tournament MVP last May.
• Patacsil thrice earned All-WCC honors, making the first team in his final season. He led
the WCC in batting average (.387) and on-base percentage (.464) and hit .524 against
WCC opponents specifically, over 100 points higher than the next closest player.
 
ABOUT THE BOILERMAKERS
•The Purdue Boilermakers went 31-23 overall and 11-19 in Big Ten play last season. They finished 13th in the Big Ten last year.
• The Pilots and Boilermakers have not played each other in baseball.
• Three players were named to the 2026 Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch from Purdue: Dylan Drake, Aaron Manias and Cole Van Assen.
• Drake is a transfer from Sacramento City College, having earned First Team All-Big 8 Conference honors and Sac City Athlete of the Year last season with a .354/.460/.497 slash line, playing primarily in the infield.
• Manias played his first year with the Boilermakers last season after transferring from Nebraska. Playing in both the infield and outfield, Manias hit nine homers with 43 RBI's with a .294 batting average.
•Van Assen, who is slated to start on the mound on Friday, went 4-3 last season with a 4.28 ERA and 48 strikeouts.
• Greg Goff is entering his seventh season with the Boilermakers and his 20th overall as a head coach He is 507-469 overall and is 140-130 in his time with Purdue.

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