PGCBL Announces 2026 All-League Selections

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. – Fifty-two players from across the 16 teams of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) have been selected as members of the 2026 All-League First, Second, and Honorable Mention Teams.

Deserving players were nominated by their teams at each position and the league office selected the players to fill each of the three teams. One player was selected at each of the infield positions, along with four outfielders, two designated hitter/utility players, three relievers and three starting pitchers, with an additional starting pitcher added to the Honorable Mention Team.

Included in the First Team are Player of the Year Gabriel Rivera (Amsterdam) and Pitcher of the Year Eric Woodley (Batavia).

The league champion Batavia Muckdogs led all teams with nine players selected to the All-League Teams. The Amsterdam Mohawks, who had the best overall record during the regular season, had eight players selected. The East Division postseason champion Utica Blue Sox had six selections and the 2025 league champion Saugerties Stallions had five. The Jamestown Tarp Skunks and Elmira Pioneers each had four and the Niagara Ironbacks had three. The Oneonta Outlaws, Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs and Glens Falls Dragons were each represented by a pair of players, and the Auburn Doubledays, Newark Pilots, Geneva Red Wings and Boonville Lumberjacks all saw one player selected to the All-League teams.

Batavia and Amsterdam shared the league lead with five players selected to the first team.

The Muckdogs, who had the best pitching staff in the league, sent three of their pitchers to the first team as well as two position players. Gavin Chandler, who went 4-2 in the regular season and 2-0 in the postseason, including the win in the Championship game, was chosen after pitching 43.1 innings to a 3.53 ERA with 31 strikeouts. Woodley, who was tied for the league lead with 5 saves, had a 1.67 ERA and a 4-1 record in 32.1 innings pitched with 39 strikeouts. Garrett Beaver went 2-0, recorded 3 saves and had a 1.98 ERA in 27.1 innings with 31 strikeouts. In the field, outfielder Glenn Brooks and DH/Utility player Evan Brock made the first team for Batavia. Brooks hit .394 with 31 RBI, 31 runs scored and ranked third in the league with 27 stolen bases while Brock hit .377 and led the league with 46 RBI.

The Mohawks, who led the league in hits, doubles, home runs and runs scored, sent five of their position players to the First Team, including first baseman Robert Melo, who hit .418 with 7 home runs and 39 RBI which all ranked top four in the league. Rivera hit 10 home runs and 12 doubles with 44 RBI and 48 runs scored which all rank top three in the league. Outfielder Aiden Dill led the league with 49 runs scored and ranked second in the league in stolen bases, going a perfect 31-for-31. Outfielder Andrew Ezell was second in the league with his 52 hits and .441 average, and DH/Utility player Anthony DeCesare was tied for the league lead with 10 home runs.

Cooper Schmidt of Saugerties was named the First Team catcher after batting .405 for the Stallions with 29 RBIs, 34 hits and a .523 on-base percentage. Eric Weeks of Jamestown knocked 11 doubles, scored 31 runs, and stole 22 of 23 bases he attempted on his way to being named First Team at second base. Anthony Perritano of the Utica Blue Sox was the First Team shortstop after getting on-base at a .516 clip and collecting 35 runs batted in with 11 extra base hits, including six home runs. Perritano was joined on the First Team by fellow Blue Sox Joey Kafka, who shined as a relief pitcher. In 12.1 innings, Kafka didn't allow an earned run, and he compiled a 14-2 strikeout to walk ratio with a 1-0 record and two saves. Rounding out the outfielders selected to the First Team was Jake Haarde of the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs. Haarde led the league with 55 hits and 15 doubles while batting .382. He scored 37 runs and his 81 total bases was second only to Amsterdam's Gabriel Rivera.

Joining Chandler as the other First Team starting pitchers were Matt Murtagh of the Saugerties Stallions and Brenden Hayes of the Elmira Pioneers. Murtagh went 4-0 on the year with a 2.54 earned run average over 28.1 innings pitched, while Hayes co-led the league in wins with a 5-1 record and a 1.93 earned run average, with 45 strikeouts in 42 innings.