News release from the Danville Otterbots
The 2022 Danville Otterbots are here! Players from 26 schools and hometowns in 14 states (and British Columbia) are gearing up to spend their summers in Danville. Highlighted by four returners from the 2021 roster, the 2022 Otterbots are shaping up to take the league by storm.
2021 Appalachian League All-Star and current NYU RHP Tyler Judge is ready for his second season as an Otterbot, joined by fellow 2021 Otterbots RHP Eli Thurmond (SCF, Manatee-Sarasota), SS Jevin Relaford (Santa Fe College), and OF Ryan Carr (NYU). Newcomers to the Bots include highly touted freshmen Brock Tibbitts (Indiana), RJ Johnson (Appalachian State), and Corbin Lanowitz (UNC Asheville).
Catawba Valley RHP Jonah Milchuck and a trio of UNC Wilmington Seahawks will join Johnson and Lanowitz in representing schools from North Carolina: LHP Connor Higgins, IF Jack Howell, and IF Cam Murphy. Virginia’s own RHP Dylan Saale (Longwood) will represent the Old Dominion. The DMV will make its way to Danville via C Connor Dykstra (George Mason), IF Ty Acker (George Washington), and OF Keith Savoy Jr (Georgetown).
From the Beach to the Bots, five Florida International University Panthers will take the field in Danville this summer: RHP Mario Fernandez, RHP Matthew Fernandez, RHP Kevin Martin, RHP Joel Pineiro, and OF Raul Ibanez Jr. RHP Benjamin Whipple is set for the farthest trip to the River City, coming from the University of Hawai’i.
The 2022 Otterbots roster will also include pitchers Simon Aluko (Charleston Southern), Benji Caggianelli (CSU Bakersfield), Andrew Hermann (Wofford), Roy Peguero (Grambling State), Brendan Moody (LSU Eunice), and Cooper Slaten (Central Alabama CC); catchers Robert Ayers (Loyola Marymount) and Bennett Markinson (Northwestern); infielders Pat Keighran (San Francisco) and Trey Law (Youngstown State); and outfielders Connor Bradshaw (Pepperdine) and Henry Garcia Jr. (Southern).