Corvallis Knights

Collegiate summer baseball team in Oregon, US

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Corvallis Knights

Information
League| West Coast League (South Division)
Location| Corvallis, Oregon
Ballpark| Goss Stadium
Founded| 1990
Nickname(s)| "The Evil Empire"
League championships| 10 (2008, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Division championships| 14 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Former name(s)| Aloha Knights (1990-2006)
Former ballparks| Mt. Hood Community College (1990-2006)
Colors| Cardinal and Gold

Mascot| Mack the Knight and Lil' King
Manager| Brooke Knight[1] (Head Coach)

The Corvallis Knights, founded as the Aloha Knights, are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Corvallis, Oregon. Founded in 1990 in Beaverton by Dan and his brother Joe Segel, the Knights moved to Corvallis from Gresham in 2007.[2] They play in the West Coast League, a college summer wood-bat league where college players and prospects prepare for the pros. The league comprises teams from British Columbia, Oregon and Washington. Corvallis plays its home games at Goss Stadium, also the home of the Oregon State Beavers.[3][4]

The Knights are named after Penny Knight, their top sponsor. Penny is married to Nike co-founder Phil Knight.[5]

Arguably one of the most successful teams in summer collegiate wood bat baseball, the Knights have won 10 league titles and 14 division championships. The Knights best run came between the years of 2016 and 2023 where the team finished each year as both division and league champions. Since joining the WCL, the Knights have never finished with a losing season.

## History

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### 2014

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The Corvallis Knights put up 35 wins and 19 losses in the 2014 WCL season. The Knights tried to retake their WCL Championship throne but fell short of the title by one game. Corvallis forced the third-ever Game 3 of the WCL Championship Series. The Knights put up Michael Lucarelli and Grant Melker for 54 games tying the WCL record for the most games with a batting appearance—tying Mitchell Gunsolus of the Wenatchee Applesox from 2012 and Cole Norton from the Kitsap Bluejackets in 2011. Also, Grant Melker set the WCL record for the most bases stolen by one player in one season with 29 steals. The Corvallis Knights hit 95 doubles in the 2014 season, setting the record for the most doubles by any one team in one year. They also set the record for the most sacrifice flies and stolen bases, hitting 39 flies and stealing 119 bases in one season, respectively. The Knights kept the records rolling with Jackson Lockwood winning eight games, tying the record of Eli Morgon of the Yakima Valley Pippins in the same year. Corvallis sold 43,938 tickets in the season and hosted 1,292 fans one night.

### 2015

[edit]

On February 12, 2015, the Corvallis Knights held a re-branding party and unveiled the new logo for the club.[6] According to logo designer Jason Klein of the San Diego graphic design company Brandiose, the new team logo includes a head of grain as a tribute to the agricultural heritage of the Willamette Valley and the regional affinity for craft brewing.[6] Concurrent with the change, the team officially adopted two new team colors in addition to its traditional cardinal — gold and a pale maize tone described by team officials as "Corvallis cream."[6]

### 2022

[edit]

The Knights finished the 2022 regular season first in the South Division with a 39-15 record, the best in the league.[7] The Knights defeated the Pippins 2-1 in the South Division Semifinals and will host the Raptors in the South Division Final.[8] Kiko Romero is sixth in the WCL in runs batted in (34) while Sean Wiese has five wins on the mound.[9] The Knights have seen 61,390 total fans go through the gate. [10][11][12]

### 2024

[edit]

On June 10th, infielder Kevin Takeuchi was selected as the league's player of the week after batting in ten runs and reaching base seventeen times.[13]

On June 17th, Takeuchi once again won the award after batting in and scoring sixteen runs while making base seventeen times.[14]

On July 9th, Brandon Cabrera, James DeCremer, Tyler Horn, Kaden Segel, Kevin Takeuchi, Blake Wilson, and Ty Yukomoto were selected to represent the Knights in the 2024 all star game in Bellingham.[15]

Former Knight Travis Bazzana was selected as the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Guardians on July 14th.[16]

The Knights made the playoffs for the seventeenth straight season after winning the first half. The Knights swept the Raptors 2-0 in the South Divisional Series but were upset in the South Division Championship Game 1-4 by the Pickles ending their bid at an eighth straight WCL Championship.[17]

### 2025

[edit]

On July 8th, it was announced that Brock Ketelsen (Stanford) Xavier Rios (CSUN), Maddox Riske (USC) and J'Shawn Unger (Iowa Western Community College) were selected to represent the Knights at the All Star Game in Bellingham.[18]

## Season-by-Season Record

[edit]

Season  | League  | Division | Finish  | Wins | Losses | Win% | GB  | Postseason  | Manager

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2000  | PIL  |  |  | 20  | 9  | .689  |  | Did Not Qualify  | Geoff Loomis
2001  | PIL  |  |  | 24  | 5  | .827  |  | Did Not Qualify  | Geoff Loomis
2002  | PIL  |  |  | 17  | 13  | .566  |  | NBC Participant (2-2)  | Geoff Loomis
2003  | PIL  |  |  | 19  | 11  | .633  |  | Did Not Qualify  | Geoff Loomis
2004  | PIL  |  |  | 17  | 19  | .566  |  | NBC Champions (7-0)  | Geoff Loomis
2005 |  |  |  | 36 | 16 | .692 |  |  | Matt Dorey
2006 |  |  |  | 31 | 16 | .659 |  |  | Brooke Knight
2007  | West Coast League | West  |  | 38  | 20  | .655  |  | Lost Championship (Pirates)  | Brooke Knight
2008  | WCL  | West  |  | 39  | 16  | .709  |  | Won Championship (AppleSox)  | Brooke Knight
2009  | WCL  | West  |  | 49  | 13  | .790  |  | Lost Championship (AppleSox)  | Brooke Knight
2010  | WCL  | West  | 1st  | 31  | 17  | .645  | 0  | Lost Division Series 0-2 (Elks)  | Brooke Knight
2011  | WCL  | West  | 1st  | 37  | 17  | .685  | 0  | Won Division Series 2-1 (Elks)
Won Championship Series 2-0 (Sweets)  | Brooke Knight
2012  | WCL  | West  | 1st  | 32  | 22  | .592  | 0  | Won Division Series 2-0 (Black Bears)
Lost Championship Series 1-2 (AppleSox)  | Brooke Knight
2013  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 37  | 17  | .685  | 0  | Won Division Series 2-0 (Rogues)
Won Championship Series 2-0 (AppleSox)  | Brooke Knight
2014  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 35  | 19  | .648  | 0  | Won Division Series 2-0 (Elks)
Lost Championship Series 1-2 (Bells)  | Brooke Knight
2015  | WCL  | South  | 2nd  | 32  | 22  | .592  | 4.5  | Lost Division Series 0-2 (Elks)  | Brooke Knight
2016  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 34  | 20  | .630  | 0  | Won Division Series 2-0 (Pippins)
Won Championship Series 2-1 (Bells)  | Brooke Knight
2017  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 34  | 20  | .630  | 0  | Won Division Series 2-1 (Pippins)
Won Championship Series 2-1 (HarbourCats)  | Brooke Knight
2018  | WCL  | South  | 2nd  | 36  | 18  | .667  | 1  | Won Division Series 2-0 (Pickles)
Won Championship Series 2-0 (Falcons)  | Brooke Knight
2019  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 42  | 12  | .778  | 0  | Won Division Series 2-1 (Sweets)
Won Championship Series 2-1 (HarbourCats)  | Brooke Knight
2020 | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
2021  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 37  | 11  | .771  | 0  | Won Division Series 2-0 (Raptors)
Won Championship Series 2-1 (Pippins)  | Brooke Knight
2022  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 39  | 15  | .722  | \-  | Won South Divisional Series 2-1 (Pippins)
Won South Division Championship Game 4-2 (Raptors)
Won WCL Championship Game 5-0 (Bells)  | Brooke Knight
2023  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 39  | 15  | .722  | \-  | Won South Divisional Series 2-1 (Black Bears)
Won South Division Championship Game 4-1 (Pickles)
Won WCL Championship Game 5-0 (HarbourCats)  | Brooke Knight
2024  | WCL  | South  | 1st  | 41  | 13  | .759  | \-  | Won South Divisional Series 2-0 (Raptors)
Lost South Division Championship Game 1-4 (Pickles)  | Brooke Knight
2025  | WCL  | South  | 2nd  | 18  | 10  | .643  | 5.5  |  | Brooke Knight
League Champions | Division Champions | Playoff Team

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## Alumni in Major League Baseball

[edit]

* Adley Rutschman (2016)
* Tyler Anderson – LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
* Matt Andriese – RHP, Boston Red Sox
* Matt Boyd – LHP, Detroit Tigers
* Matthew Duffy – IF, Chicago Cubs
* Mitch Haniger – OF, San Francisco Giants[19]
* Jace Fry – LHP, Chicago White Sox
* Nick Madrigal – IF, Chicago Cubs

[20]

## Media

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The Knights are broadcast live on Corvallis' KEJO 1240 AM.[21]

## Footnotes

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1. ^ Corvallis Knights. Front Office Staff.
2. ^ "About the Knights". Corvallis Knights. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
3. ^ "Goss Stadium at Coleman Field". Corvallis Knights. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
4. ^ "West Coast League - Corvallis". Archived from the original on August 18, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
5. ^ "Corvallis Gets Collegiate All-Star Team". November 22, 2006. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
6. ^ a b c "Knights Enter Golden Era: Corvallis Unveils Refreshed Brand," Archived 2015-02-13 at the Wayback Machine corvallisknights.com, Feb. 12, 2015.
7. ^ "West Coast League - Summer 2022 - standings". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
8. ^ "Corvallis Knights - West Coast League - Playoffs 2022 team schedule". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
9. ^ "West Coast League - Summer 2022 - leaders". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
10. ^ "West Coast League - Summer 2022 - Attendance". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
11. ^ "West Coast League - Non League 2022 - Attendance". Pointstreak Baseball Technologies. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
12. ^ "West Coast League - Playoffs 2022 - Attendance". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
13. ^ "Takeuchi and Rembisz Earn WCL's Moss Adams Weekly Honors". West Coast League. June 10, 2024. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024.
14. ^ "Takeuchi and Canfield Receive WCL's Moss Adams Weekly Accolades". West Coast League. June 17, 2024. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024.
15. ^ King, Chris (July 9, 2024). "WCL All-Star Game Rosters Announced". West Coast League. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
16. ^ King, Chris (July 15, 2024). "Bazzana Selected First Overall in 2024 MLB Draft". West Coast League. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
17. ^ "West Coast League - Playoffs 2024 Schedule". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
18. ^ https://westcoastleague.com/2025-wcl-all-stars-announced/
19. ^ "Former Knights Outfielder Mitch Haniger Hits Way to Big Leagues". Corvallis Knights. August 17, 2016. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016.
20. ^ "In The Pros". Corvallis Knights Baseball. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
21. ^ "Corvallis Knights Replace Seattle Mariners on KEJO". December 20, 2008. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2010.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* West Coast League official website[usurped]

* v
* t
* e

West Coast League

North Division|

* Bellingham Bells
* Edmonton Riverhawks
* Kamloops NorthPaws
* Kelowna Falcons
* Nanaimo NightOwls
* Port Angeles Lefties
* Victoria HarbourCats
* Wenatchee AppleSox

South Division|

* Bend Elks
* Corvallis Knights
* Cowlitz Black Bears
* Marion Berries
* Portland Pickles
* Ridgefield Raptors
* Springfield Drifters
* Walla Walla Sweets
* Yakima Valley Pippins

* v
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* e

Collegiate summer baseball

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Unaffiliated Leagues (full list)

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