{"id":25789,"date":"2026-05-19T13:59:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/kalamazoo-growlers\/?p=25789"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:26:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:26:03","slug":"growlers-unveil-full-roster-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/kalamazoo-growlers\/growlers-unveil-full-roster-for-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Growlers Unveil Full Roster for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growlers Unveil Full Roster for 2026<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

[KALAMAZOO, MI]<\/strong> \u2013 The Kalamazoo Growlers are excited to unveil their preseason roster for the 2026 season as they look to build upon two Northwoods League Championships since 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in the \u2018Zoo<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Growlers 2026 roster will see eight returners from the 2025 team, including <\/span>Jack Crittendon <\/b>(Northwood), the Growlers record holder for pitching wins in a single-season. <\/span>Jeremiah Holder <\/b>(Villanova) will return after finishing fourth on last season’s team in innings pitched, and continuing to grow in college, making 20 appearances for Villanova during the collegiate season. On the hitting side, <\/span>Trevor Johnson <\/b>(Duke) finished fourth among qualified Growlers in on-base percentage a year ago and will also return to the confines of Homer Stryker Field in 2026. In the infield, <\/span>Case Sullivan <\/b>(Valparaiso) appeared in nine games and recorded 32 at-bats and will return as a shortstop option for Kalamazoo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, <\/span>Bryce Brassfield <\/b>(Saint Cloud St.), who went 4-0 with a 4.19 ERA one year ago will join the Growlers for his third season. Brassfield threw four scoreless innings in the playoffs and earned the win in Kalamazoo\u2019s 2024 championship game.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very excited for the returning faces to the team this year. These are guys with playoff experience who will be valuable to our team from game 1 to 72,\u201d Growlers head coach Cody Piechocki said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Conference Ties<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Growlers will roster 18 players from power five programs in 2026, with the ACC boasting the most players with seven from the conference. Five Big Ten programs will send players in 2026, including <\/span>Josh Campbell<\/b> (Michigan) who will bring his talents to Kalamazoo after recording a .348 on-base percentage in 30 games played in the Wolverine outfield. <\/span>Charlie Wortham <\/b>(Mississippi State) and <\/span>Hutson Chance<\/i><\/b> (Tennessee) are two of the four position players that will represent the Southeastern Conference.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mid-American Conference is well represented on the 2026 roster, featuring five players including <\/span>Peyton Williams<\/i><\/b> (Kent State) who has recorded a 2.55 ERA through 17.2 innings and will join the Growlers this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

What to Watch<\/b><\/h3>\n

Kalamazoo will showcase one of the strongest outfields in the Northwoods League in 2026. Trevor Johnson, Josh Campbell, and Hutson Chance will add two more power five hitters around them in the outfield, as <\/span>Chase Thomas<\/b> (Texas Tech) and <\/span>Brock Sell<\/i><\/b> (Stanford) join. Additionally, 2025 Northwoods League All-Star <\/span>Joshua Algarin <\/b>(Walsh) will move to Kalamazoo from Battle Creek after hitting .366 while driving in 48 runs through 61 games as a Battle Jack.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Growlers\u2019 outfield a year ago showcased plenty of flash and power in Jayce Lee and Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe who held a .421 and .413 on-base percentage respectively, however that outfield lacked a true third option. This season, Cody Piechocki and staff were particular about their outfield.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a number of legitimate options in our outfield who are going to spend the summer battling one another. No doubt we\u2019ll have the best outfield in the league this year,\u201d Piechocki said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coaching Staff<\/b><\/h3>\n

Cody Piechocki<\/b> returns to the Growlers for his 11th year and 14th in the Northwoods League. Piechocki is fifth all-time in Northwoods League history in career wins and is tied for fourth all-time in career playoff victories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Greg Wright<\/b> (pitching) and <\/span>Eamon Horwedel<\/b> (assistant) will join Piechocki\u2019s staff after both being with the Growlers a year ago. Wright managed a pitching staff that watched pitchers Jack Crittendon and Adam Berghorst be named to the league All-Star team. Horwedel will spend his second summer as a coach in Kalamazoo, but is maybe best known for his time on the mound, where he won two championships and set a Northwoods League record for wins in a career. Horwedel is only the second player to be named to the Kalamazoo Growlers hall of fame.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker Kauffmann<\/b> (hitting) is the only new coach on the Growlers staff in 2026. Kauffmann spent last season as an assistant in Battle Creek and has spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Delta State University.<\/span><\/p>\n

The full roster is as follows (alphabetical order):<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Pitchers<\/b><\/p>\n

RJ Anglin – Huntington<\/span><\/p>\n

Wolfgang Braasch – Texas Tech<\/span><\/p>\n

Bryce Brannon – Duke<\/span><\/p>\n

Bryce Brassfield – Saint Cloud State<\/span><\/p>\n

Bryan Carney – Olivet<\/span><\/p>\n

Logan Cotton – Indiana<\/span><\/p>\n

Jack Crittendon – Northwood<\/span><\/p>\n

Christian Forniss – Northwestern<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah Holder – Villanova<\/span><\/p>\n

Brody Houseman – Kalamazoo Valley CC<\/span><\/p>\n

JJ Manion – Grand Valley State<\/span><\/p>\n

Tyler Marx – Kalamazoo Valley CC<\/span><\/p>\n

Coleman Morrison – Drury University<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Murphy – Xavier<\/span><\/p>\n

Riley Niggemeyer – Madonna<\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle O\u2019Hearn – Grand Rapids CC<\/span><\/p>\n

Hunter Pudlo – Jacksonville State<\/span><\/p>\n

Henry Slaby – Eastern Michigan<\/span><\/p>\n

Peyton Williams – Kent State<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Worley – Virginia<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Catchers<\/b><\/p>\n

Charlie Caruso – Northwestern<\/span><\/p>\n

Carson Hintz – Benedictine College (KS)<\/span><\/p>\n

Mitchell Morton – Xavier<\/span><\/p>\n

Charlie Wortham – Mississippi State<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Infielders<\/b><\/p>\n

Alex Adams – Air Force<\/span><\/p>\n

Brandon De Goti – Miami (FL)<\/span><\/p>\n

Nick Frontino – Mississippi State<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Heintz – Grand Rapids CC<\/span><\/p>\n

Brady Marshall – Kent State<\/span><\/p>\n

Tylor Morehouse – Kellogg CC<\/span><\/p>\n

Jack Reynolds – South Carolina<\/span><\/p>\n

Landon Stewart – Air Force<\/span><\/p>\n

Case Sullivan – Valparaiso<\/span><\/p>\n

Teddy Tokheim – Stanford<\/span><\/p>\n

Connor Walsh – Eastern Michigan<\/span><\/p>\n

Nate Webb – Belmont<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Outfielders<\/b><\/p>\n

Bryce Adams – Wabash Valley<\/span><\/p>\n

Joshua Algarin – Walsh<\/span><\/p>\n

Josh Campbell – Michigan<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutson Chance – Tennessee<\/span><\/p>\n

Zaid Diaz – Troy<\/span><\/p>\n

Trevor Johnson – Duke<\/span><\/p>\n

Brock Sell – Stanford<\/span><\/p>\n

Chase Thomas – Texas Tech<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Coaching Staff<\/b><\/p>\n

Cody Piechocki – Manager<\/span><\/p>\n

Eamon Horwedel – Assistant<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker Kauffmann – Hitting Coach<\/span><\/p>\n

Greg Wright – Pitching Coach<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":25787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-categories","category-team-news"],"yoast_head":"\nGrowlers Unveil Full Roster for 2026 - Kalamazoo Growlers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/kalamazoo-growlers\/growlers-unveil-full-roster-for-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Growlers Unveil Full Roster for 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/kalamazoo-growlers\/growlers-unveil-full-roster-for-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kalamazoo Growlers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kzoogrowlers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T17:59:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T19:26:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/05\/roster_preview_social-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin-kalamazoo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kzoogrowlers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kzoogrowlers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin-kalamazoo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/kalamazoo-growlers\/growlers-unveil-full-roster-for-2026\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/kalamazoo-growlers\/growlers-unveil-full-roster-for-2026\/\",\"name\":\"Growlers Unveil Full Roster for 2026 - 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