Cotuit Kettleers 2017 Roster
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Contract Players
| PHOTOS | # | NAME, | POS, B/T, HT, WT, CLASS, COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos | 2 | Alexander, Luke | 2B, S/R, 6'0, 190, 2019, Mississippi State |
| Photos | 35 | Bilous, Jason | RHP, R/R, 6'2, 175, 2019, Coastal Carolina |
| Photos |
| Byrne, Mike | RHP, R/R, 6'2, 205, 2019, Florida |
| Photos | 36 | Cohen, Chase | RHP, R/R, 6'1, 183, 2019, Georgia Southern |
| Photos | 9 | Conine, Griffin | OF, L/R, 6'1, 200, 2019, Duke |
| Photos | 30 | Cota, Clark | RHP, R/R, 6'2, 215, 2019, UNC Wilmington |
| Photos | 33 | Davis, Noah | RHP, R/R, 6'2, 195, 2020, UC Santa Barbara |
| Photos | 47 | Demby, Christian | RHP, R/R, 6'4, 218, 2019, NC State |
| Photos | 16 | Dillard, Thomas | C/OF, S/R, 6'0, 215, 2020, Ole Miss |
| Photos | 51 | Hooper, Justin | LHP, R/L, 6'7, 235, 2019, UCLA |
| Photos |
| Hopkins, TJ | OF, R/R, 6'1, 195, 2019, Univ. South Carolina |
| Photos | 31 | Jenista, Greyson | INF, L/R, 6'4, 240, 2019, Wichita St. |
| Photos | 7 | Kinneman, Brett | OF, L/L, 6'0, 195, 2019, NC State |
| Photos | 38 | Kitchen, Austin | LHP, R/L, 6'0, 200, 2019, Coastal Carolina |
| Koch, Grant | Invited to Team USA: C, R/R, 6'0, 200, 2019, Arkansas | |
| Photos | 26 | Kone, Zack | SS, R/R, 6'3, 202, 2019, Duke |
| Photos | 10 | Lewis, Miles | OF, S/R, 6'1, 200, 2019, Michigan |
| Photos | 27 | Maldonado, Nelson | OF, R/R, 5'10, 195, 2019, Florida |
| Photos | 19 | Martellini, Gian | C, R/R, 6'1, 215, 2019, Boston College |
| Photos |
| Reese, Blake | INF, S/R, 5'11, 185, 2019, Florida |
| Photos | 34 | Shugart, Chase | RHP, L/R, 5'10, 180, 2019, Texas |
| Photos | 17 | Toglia, Michael | 1B, S/R, 6'5, 205, 2020, UCLA |
| Photos | 6 | Vavra, Terrin | SS, L/R, 6'0, 185, 2019, Minnesota |
Temporary Players
| # | NAME | POS, BT, HT, WT, CLASS, COLLEGE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos | 14 | Avant, Chandler | INF, R/R, 5'11 175, 2018, Alabama |
| Photos | 18 | Bigras, Mitch | INF, L/L, 6'5, 210, 2018, Boston College |
| Photos | 11 | Cresto, John | INF, R/R, 6'3, 210, 2019, Santa Clara University |
| Photos | 25 | Collins, Zane | LHP, L/L, 6'2, 215, 2019, Wright State |
| Photos | 37 | Gibson, Keyton | RHP, R/R, 6'2, 209, 2019, Georgia Tech |
| Photos | 46 | Kemp, Kyle | Closer, R/R, 6'2, 228, 2019, Lipscomb University |
| Photos | 32 | King, Dylan | RHP, R/R, 6'4, 220, 2019, Belmont University |
| Photos | 29 | Inman, Davie | RHP, R/R, 6'1, 180, Florida Southwestern |
| Photos | 28 | Rapp, Brian | RHP, R/R, 2018, Boston College |
| Photos | 49 | Scott, Adam | LHP, L/L, 6'4, 230, 2018, Wofford College |
| Photos | 39 | Shuman, Seth | RHP, R/R, 6'1, 195, 2020, Georgia Southern |
| Photos | 48 | Vancena, Jayce | RHP, R/R, 6'5, 225, Michigan |
Released
| # | NAME | POS, BT, HT, WT, CLASS, COLLEGE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos | 44 | Cyphert, Dylan | LHP, L/L, 6'0, 205, 2019, Gulf Coast State College |
| Photos | 45 | Egly, Harrisen | Closer, L/R, 6'5, 200, 2018, Columbia University |
| Photos | 28 | Erickson, Jacob | LHP L/L, 5'9, 180, 2018, San Diego State |
| Photos | 21 | Fleisher, Colin | INF, R/R, 6'3, 225, 2018, Virginia Military Institute |
| Photos | 14 | Gardner, Daniel | OF, L/L, 6'0, 180, 2018, University of San Diego |
| Photos | 8 | Hanson, Alex | OF, R/R, 5'10, 180 2018, Mercer College |
| Photos | 15 | Pita, Matt | OF, R/R, 5'10, 180, 2019, Virginia Military Institute |
| Photos | 20 | Rolette, Josh | C, L/R, 6'0, 200, Kansas State |
| Photos | 50 | Shilling, Luke | RHP, R/R, 6'5, 250, 2019, Illinois |
| Photos | 29 | Simpson, Josh | LHP L/L, 6'1, 185, 2019, Columbia |
| Photos | 3 | Thomas, Ako ("a-KAY-oh") | INF, R/R, 5'8, 160, Michigan |
| Photos | 12 | Turner, Andrew | INF, R/R, 5'11, 180, 2018, Long Island University |
Coach Roberts returns for his 14th consecutive season in 2017. During his coaching tenure in the Cape League, which includes 2 seasons in Wareham in 1984 and 2000 where both teams made the playoffs, Coach Roberts has led his team to the playoffs in 9 of the 13 seasons in Cotuit. The Kettleers have brought home the Arnold Mycock Championship Trophy to Cotuit in 2010 and 2013.
In 2012, the team won the President’s Trophy for the best regular season record in the league at 30-14. This was the first time the Kettleers had reached 30 wins under Coach Roberts’ leadership.
From 1978 through 1998, Roberts was the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He then went on to UNC-Asheville, where he coached in the spring of 2000. All totaled, Roberts’ UNC teams made nine NCAA post-season and two College World Series appearances. Five times his teams captured the ACC Regular Season Championship and four times the ACC Tournament Championship. Eight of Roberts’ former players have been first round draft picks. Sixteen of his former players at UNC have played in Major League Baseball. His greatest individual coaching success is his own son, Brian Roberts, who played 14 seasons in the Major Leagues with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees. Brian was a two-time all-star 2nd baseman with Baltimore.
Bobby Evans, former student manager at UNC for Coach Roberts, is the current GM of the San Francisco Giants. Walt Weiss, who played for Coach Roberts at UNC-CH and went on to become the American League Rookie of the Year in 1988, formerly managed the Colorado Rockies. Five of Coach Roberts’ former players are now head college baseball coaches, many are assistants, and several others work in professional baseball or are professional baseball athletic advisors. “I am pleased so many of the excellent student athletes I have recruited through the years continue to enjoy a career helping young men try to reach their academic, athletic, and career goals.”
“Every summer in Cotuit, the goal is to win a Cape League Championship. We strive to accomplish this goal with mature college student athletes from around the nation who embrace practicing and playing at picturesque Elizabeth Lowell Park. Many of the Kettleers players become involved in our wonderful community with the July 4th parade and activities at the Cotuit Library, Willowbend Country Club, and the ever-growing Kettleers baseball clinics. The athletes provide excellent leadership to young people during the summer as they are also building close relationships, many which last a lifetime, with their host families.” explained Roberts.
Prior to managing Wareham to the Western Division regular season title in 2000, Roberts led Wareham to the same title in 1984. Each of those two seasons, Roberts’ Cape League teams led the entire League in stolen bases and continues this tradition with the Kettleers. In 2000, Roberts’ Wareham team tied the Cape League all-time single season stolen base record with 134 stolen bases.
In the off-season, Coach Roberts has studied part-time for his Doctorate in Sports Administration at the University of New Mexico. He holds base stealing clinics and recently spoke at the 2017 ABCA Coaches Convention in Anaheim before 4,000 coaches. He writes and produces baseball videos. He has written two books on base stealing : You Can’t Steal Second Base and Keep Your Foot on First! published in Dec.2008 and Baserunning published in Dec. 2013. When not in Cotuit coaching the Kettleers, Mike is a full time consultant with the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs, where his emphasis is catching, base stealing and working on improving speed, utilizing a new program built by Coach Roberts.
Several base stealing videos were filmed at beautiful Lowell Park in Cotuit in 2011, and a hitting video was filmed at Lowell Park in 2012. His son Brian, who led the American League in stolen bases in 2007, contributed to the first book and the DVD which shows clips of Brian stealing bases for the Orioles.
Mike is a former full-time professor for Asbury University, outside of Lexington, Kentucky, where he was Director of the Dept. of Sports Management. Several of his former students have interned for the Kettleers the past three summers.
In January 2015, Coach Roberts was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Mike’s daughter Angie Stroman and her husband David live in Dallas, TX, with their two boys Tyler (8) and Brock (5).
Mike’s son Brian and his wife Diana live in Sarasota, FL, with their two boys, Jax (3) and Nash (10 months).