Nathan Marshall had a good experience last summer during his time with the Corvallis Knights.
The 2022 West Albany High School graduate saw limited time on the field with the collegiate wood-bat team before heading off for his freshman year at Lane Community College.
But the experience left a lasting impression.
Marshall, with the Knights again this year, isn’t alone. Every year, players talk about how much they enjoy what the Knights are all about — from the program’s drive to develop players to the relationships they develop with teammates they are meeting, often for the first time.
Corvallis Knights assistant coach Youngjin Yoon, outside the rail, talks with West Albany High School graduate and Knights pitcher Nathan Marshall, to Yoon’s immediate right, during Friday’s opener of a doubleheader against Bend at Goss Stadium. Marshall returned to the Knights after a positive experience last summer.
And the success doesn’t hurt either. The Knights have won six straight West Coast League titles.
“It’s like a family here,” Marshall said. “Everybody becomes your best friends here. I still talk to a lot of guys from last year. Just being able to make those memories and doing it on this big of a stage, too.”
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Corvallis plays at Oregon State’s Goss Stadium, and the WCL often attracts many players soon to be stars at the NCAA Division I level and beyond.
Marshall, a pitcher, says it’s the off-the-field time and long stretches together that create such an inviting climate.
“We’re with each other for eight hours a day most days. So we get a pretty special bond going being around each other so much,” he said, adding that it was obvious in his first few hours with the team last year what was in store. “I joined and they kind of opened their arms to me. We had a lot of fun.”
Corvallis’ Tyler Quinn hustles toward first base Friday during the Knights’ game against Bend. Quinn also played for Corvallis last summer.
Kiko Romero is the most recent example of a player who passed through the Knights’ program on his way to even bigger accomplishments.
Romero helped Corvallis to WCL titles in 2021 and 2022, with a junior college national title at Central Arizona College in between. This past spring, in his first season at the University of Arizona, he batted .345 and led the Pac-12 in RBIs with 89, the most in program history.
Former Knights Temo Becerra, Drew Dowd, Matt Scott and Ty Uber are all currently in Omaha, Nebraska, with Stanford at the College World Series. Matt Boyd, Steven Kwan and Adley Rutschman, all former Oregon State standouts, are currently playing in Major League Baseball along with several other former Knights.
Current Corvallis infielder Luke Thiele was teammates with Romero at Central Arizona and will transfer to Purdue in the fall.
Corvallis infielder Luke Thiele gets under a fly ball. Thiele was a college teammate of former Knight Kiko Romero, now at University of Arizona.
Thiele learned from Romero what Knights baseball is all about, from the atmosphere and coming ready to play every day to the supportive coaches. Thiele is in Corvallis this summer with Central Arizona teammate Blake Avila, another infielder who was leading the Knights in hitting at .419 through Friday’s games.
Thiele sees this summer as an important summer to keep improving his game. He feels good about his defensive skills but wants to see more progress with his bat.
“Just sticking at it,” Thiele said. “That whole (junior college) grind is pretty crazy. I’m assuming the DI grind is different. Just working hard every single day, and that’s what I’ve been doing here. I love it. Just really no days off, just playing every day and getting better.”
Thiele is getting what he’s looking for this summer — an opportunity to work on all aspects of his game.
“Summer ball for me is to get as many at-bats as I can and see all different kinds of pitches and different arm slots, pitches, whatever,” he said. “Just always working on my approach.”
It’s a desired destination for college players but also a place where a younger generation can dream.
Thiele stood near the rail of the Knights’ first-base dugout after a recent game at Goss while children from toddlers to middle-schoolers ran the bases and asked for autographs from players.
“I love seeing all the kids having a good time,” Thiele said. “Maybe they’ll be in our shoes in a couple years, playing ball here. You never know who’s watching. You can be a role model to these little kids.”
Knights teammate JC Ng said he’s feeling fortunate to be in Corvallis this season and participate in such a program.
The Pomona-Pitzer outfielder landed with the Knights because of the long-standing relationship between his head coach, Frank Pericolosi, and Knights assistant coach Ed Knaggs.
Ng heard about the Knights from some former high school teammates. Jonah Advincula, Logan Johnstone and Zander Darby all played in Corvallis last summer and Dowd in 2021.
“They had nothing but good things to say about everything about Corvallis,” Ng said. “So I was really excited and looking forward to it.”
In just a few short weeks in town, Ng has experienced it for himself as well. Rattling off everything he’s enjoyed so far, he mentions his host family and his new coaches and teammates.
“There’s nothing like it compared to all the summer ball teams I’ve played for in the past,” Ng said. “You can’t find a greater group of people and a greater community.”
Jesse Sowa is a sports reporter at the Albany Democrat-Herald and Corvallis Gazette-Times. You can connect with him on Twitter: @JesseSowaGT.