Futures League's Milestone 15th Season Begins on Wednesday, May 28

ROCKLAND, Mass. 一 The 15th season of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League in New England has officially arrived.

Three Opening Day games are on the schedule for Wednesday, with the first pitches of the summer set to be thrown in a pair of 10:30 a.m. games.

The early contests feature a 2024 Futures League Championship Series rematch between the Norwich Sea Unicorns and hosting Westfield Starfires at Bullens Field in Westfield, while the Nashua Silver Knights welcome the Worcester Bravehearts to Holman Stadium. The New Britain Bees host the Vermont Lake Monsters to finish the season-opening slate at 6:35 p.m.

Norwich is the first two-time defending champion since Worcester won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019, but no team has ever won three in a row. The Sea Unicorns have also clinched first place in the past two regular seasons, winning 39 and 37 games, respectively. One of the players looking to help Norwich make history is outfielder Anthony Tirado (UMass), who led the team with 27 RBI last season.

What else is in store for 2025?

There is plenty of star power returning around the league this summer. The Worcester roster includes both the reigning Pitcher of the Year in Brady Stuart (Endicott) and Home Run Derby champion in first baseman Jackson Marshall (Southern New Hampshire), while Vermont veteran Sean Gamble (Bethany Lutheran) will defend his Relief Pitcher of the Year title.

Westfield will be led by hometown native ace Jake Jachym (Keene State), who won Little East Pitcher of the Year honors this past spring after posting five victories during his second summer with the Starfires. Jachym's college teammate Tommy Ahlers (Keene State) was the Little East Player of the Year, building upon a Futures League All-Star summer in which he led the league in several offensive categories and set franchise records for Nashua.

The Silver Knights also return one of the circuit's top sluggers in outfielder River Hart (UMass Lowell). He hit seven for Nashua last summer before reaching double digits during this past college season. Andrew Chenevert (Saint Anselm) is also a familiar name on the Nashua roster, having earned multiple summer all-star honors.

The most experienced pitching staff belongs to New Britain. Veteran manager Matt Gedman welcomes back Ben Oliveira (Wheaton) and Connor Willett (Eastern Connecticut) among a host of familiar arms.

Both of the league's first-year field managers are former championship-winning players as teammates on the 2020 Nashua Silver Knights. Nick Guarino is set to lead the team for which he played, while the Worcester Bravehearts tabbed Luke Beckstein as the skipper of their ballclub. In Norwich, Kyle Dembrowski will manage after spending last summer as an assistant coach for the league champions.

A highlight of the summer season is the annual Futures League All-Star Game, which returns to Worcester for the first time since 2016 in July. The two-day event from July 21-22 will feature a Home Run Derby at Fitton Field (Monday) and the game at Polar Park, the home of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox (Tuesday).

The Futures League Postseason will begin on Sunday, Aug. 10.

Once again in 2025, every league game this season can be streamed via the Futures League Network. Single-game ($8 - new in 2025), seven-day ($10), 30-day ($30) and season ($99) passes are now available for purchase.

For the latest news and information on the Futures League all year long, visit thefuturesleague.com and follow the league's Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram pages.