San Bruno-based SF Seagulls join California Collegiate League

With the San Bruno-based Seagulls recently joining the California College League, the level of talent expected to take the field at San Bruno Park’s Lara Field this summer is suddenly trending upward. The Seagulls previously played in the Golden State Collegiate Baseball League. The switch to the CCL has everything to do with Division I programs suddenly taking interest.

“Absolutely,” Caviglia said. “With the league having 31 years of history, and a history of major leaguers and draft picks ...it just helps us tap into a talent pool.”

Sponsored by Major League Baseball and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the CCL is a 13-team league with six of those teams in the North Division. The Menlo Park Legends also joined the league this season.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Caviglia said. “Good talent, well run, and it’s good to see our players go out and compete to try and get better and continue to chase their dreams.”

The Seagulls opened CCL play Friday boasting 13 Division I players this season. That talent pool was met with Walnut Creek Crawdads right-hander Carson Jasa, a 6-7 flamethrower coming off his freshman year at University of Nebraska. Jasa departed after four innings of work with a 3-1 lead, but the Seagulls rallied against the Crawdads’ bullpen and walked off with a 5-4 victory.

Hart was penciled into the No. 3 spot in the order and promptly went 2 for 5 with three RBIs. But it was Josh Hanson who walked it off, as the recent graduate of the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida reached on a bunt single that spurred Ethan Rone to score from second base on a throwing error by the pitcher.

Hanson, a native of San Bruno, list among the Seagulls’ 13 Division I players. Committed to play at USC next season, the 6-1 right-handed hitter graduated from IMG Academy on Friday, May 26, and returned from a graduation trip to Paris five days prior to the CCL opener. He went 1 for 3 with an RBI in Friday’s opener, then went large in the Seagulls’ 19-1 win Saturday in Sonoma, hitting for the cycle while going 4 for 5 with five RBIs.

“Wasn’t really planning on it but it felt good,” Hanson said. “It was my my first cycle in my career. So, it felt nice to do it [Saturday], and it was great to be here with the guys, especially to be back home — playing in Florida all the time — it’s very nice to be home.”

The Seagulls banged out 18 hits Saturday against the Stompers. Former Sequoia and College of San Mateo standout Kai Holm (Coppin State) also recorded four hits with three RBIs, while Andrew Tinsley and 2022 Capuchino graduate Ryan Lordier had three hits apiece.

Left-hander Garret Plata (Saint Mary’s) and right-hander Angel Acosta spanned the first six innings on the mound, and 2021 Capuchino graduate Nick Balch, now at Cal State East Bay as a transfer from Skyline College, closed it out with three shutout innings to earn the save.

The Seagulls wrapped up weekend play Sunday with an 8-2 loss to the Crawdads in San Bruno.

Putting Seagulls on the map

While telephone calls from Division I programs are a relatively new phenomenon for the Seagulls, the team has touted some serious talent in recent years. In 2022, left-hander Jared Koenig — who pitched for the Seagulls from 2015-16 — broke into the major leagues with the Oakland A’s.

Koenig had an up-and-down rookie campaign, tabbing a 1-3 record with a 5.72 ERA through 10 games with the A’s. After spending 2023 in the minor league, Koenig joined the Milwaukee Brewers this season and has been stellar through 21 appearances. While the Seagulls were playing their inaugural CCL game Friday night, the 30-year-old southpaw Koenig was busy earning his sixth win of the season. He is currently 6-1 with a 1.84 ERA.

Koenig took a more conventional path to the Seagulls. He did spend one season in the NCAA Division I ranks in 2015 as a transfer junior at Old Dominion, but bounced back to Division II at Cal State Monterey Bay in 2016.

Hanson represents more the Seagulls’ new direction, stepping onto the collegiate league diamond as a bona fide Division I recruit. He played for the team last summer having already verbally committed to USC, and signed his National Letter of Intent in the fall. He went on to slash .382/.505/.578 as a senior at IMG Academy.

Still, Hanson was a special case as he grew up playing for the Seagulls’ youth teams, as his father Dave — a Peninsula sports legend at South City High School and CSM — has long been affiliated with the Seagulls.

“He played for us as a kid,” Caviglia said, “and his dad’s been running the strength and conditioning for our youth.”

The CCL regular season spans through July 29. They are guaranteed 30 games, and will play exclusively against North Division teams this year. Caviglia said the team will look to schedule South Division teams next summer, but was added to the CCL in April, too late to plan for road trips.

“Down the road, like in 2025, my plan is to take a Southern California road trip and play five or six days down there ... and some of the teams from the South, have them come up here too,” Caviglia said.