Waterloo, Iowa – The 2020 Minnesota-Iowa Region Champion Waterloo Bucks have announced the 16 players that will make up their Opening Day Roster as the team travels to Duluth for a two-game season-opening road series against the Huskies. Waterloo’s initial roster features eight pitchers, including one two-way player, three catchers, three infielders and two outfielders all led by first year Field Manager Ryan Gaynor.

The Bucks’ Opening Day pitching staff boasts a wealth of collegiate experience, featuring weekend starters Harrison Cook (Iowa Western), Logan Jones (Ohio) and returner Blake Corsentino (Santa Barbara City). Last summer in Waterloo, Corsentino worked at a 1.67 ERA and a .173 batting average against while limiting hitters to a miniscule .487 OPS. Waterloo won all seven games the righthander appeared in during the 2020 season, including each of his five starts. UConn commit Curren Larson (Saddleback), 2019 Florida Summer Collegiate League All-Star Amir Asghar (Bethune-Cookman), two-way power righthander Aaron Treloar (Glendale) along with high-leverage collegiate relievers Camren Landry (Georgia State) and Eli Emerson (St. Cloud State) round out the Bucks’ stable of arms.

Behind the plate, Waterloo’s Opening Day roster features young defensive stalwarts Emiliano Gonzalez (Glendale) and Blaine Marchman (Georgia State) along with Iowa native and three-time collegiate All-Conference honoree Tavan Shahidi (Clarke). The latter of the three also has experience playing the corner infield, providing the Bucks with plenty of versatility to go with a thunderous bat—Shahidi has clubbed 40 doubles and 24 home runs over 170 college games played.

Waterloo’s infield is comprised of returner Daniel Irisarri (Nova Southeastern), 2020 Ban Johnson League Triple Crown winner Garrett McGowan (Pittsburg State) and electrifying shortstop Gabe Baldovino (Santa Barbara City). Irisarri provides Waterloo with extensive experience at a variety of positions across the diamond, McGowan has bashed 58 collegiate home runs including a career-high 15 this past spring and Baldovino carries a career average of .333 over two seasons of junior college baseball.

Rounding out the Bucks roster in the outfield is a pair of well-established righthanded bats in Gabriel Garcia (Air Force) and Paul Steffensen (St. Cloud State). Garcia spent his sophomore season as a mainstay in the middle of the Air Force lineup, hitting .330 with a .931 OPS. He led the Falcons with five triples and finished third in batting average, doubles, triples, RBI and OPS this spring while showing off a powerful arm in right with nine outfield assists. Steffensen has played in 186 games as a collegian, owning a lifetime .320 average with 36 doubles, 16 triples, 16 home runs, 140 RBI and 45 stolen bases on a 93.8% success rate. This spring he led St. Cloud State in home runs, belting a career-most eight long balls.

The Bucks have 27 players yet to report to Waterloo due to their ongoing collegiate baseball season, hopes of making the NCAA post-season, or academic responsibilities.  The bulk of those yet to report should join the team in the next two weeks.  Included among the Bucks players that have yet to be activated are returners Jalen Smith (UC-Davis), Drew Bianco (LSU), Duncan Davitt (Iowa), Jack Radford (Iowa), Zach Button (Cal Poly), Simon Graf (The Citadel) and Dylan Gotto (Wartburg). Smith earned the Northwoods League’s Big Stick Award at second base last season, while Bianco has settled in as LSU’s starting shortstop this spring. Davitt led Waterloo with eight starts and earned the win in Waterloo’s regular-season finale that became the clinching victory of the Minnesota-Iowa Region Championship, Radford and Graf served as two of the Bucks’ top lefthanded relievers, Gotto provided a critical start down the final stretch of the regular season and Button was a featured piece at the back end of the Bucks’ bullpen as a closer.

The 2020 Minnesota-Iowa Region Champion Bucks open their 2021 season on May 31 before returning to Waterloo for their Home Opener on June 3 at Cost Cutters Field at Riverfront Stadium.  Single-game tickets are currently on sale.  The ballpark welcomed a new state of the art video board in 2016 thanks to a matching grant from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association.  Team ownership has invested nearly $400,000 in stadium improvements since the end of the 2014 season including group outing areas, painted bleachers, public Wi-Fi, sound system, kids zone inflatables, wiffle ball field, and concessions equipment.  Fans are encouraged to stay in touch with the Bucks by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com or utilizing the Northwoods League Mobile App.

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The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27^th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Bucks as your favorite team.