March 21st, 2022
An exciting brand of baseball is coming to Watertown this summer.
The Rapids, coming out of the PGCBL’s realigned East Division, are led by first-year head coach Mike Kogut, who is expecting to make this summer a special one.
“It’s definitely a different process. It’s my first time coaching a collegiate summer league team, so building the roster, reaching out to coaches and players to get to the full roster we’re expecting this summer,” Kogut said. “It’s been an exciting and new process for sure.”
Kogut has coached high school baseball in the central New York region for nine years and is now ready to make the step up.
Kogut’s assistant coaches as well as some of the players are local ones, part of a new approach that the Rapids are taking for the 2022 season.
The pitchers are the group that Kogut is most excited about. One of the local players that the Rapids are bringing in is Wyatt Parliament (Rutgers), a native of nearby LaFargeville. He will be joined by his brother Owen, who is pitching at Binghamton. Another addition is Ryan Peters (SUNY Brockport), who is a native of Watertown and attended Watertown High School. David Dubray (Jefferson CC) is another new local addition.
One of the local returners is infielder Brett Myers (SUNY Oswego), who comes back for a second season. Myers had previously spent time at Gardner-Webb as well.
It’s not all local players, either. The team is bringing in talent from across seven different states who are different ages, levels and experiences in playing college baseball. Some of these schools include Bloomfield College in New Jersey, St. Joseph’s of Maine, Emory College in Georgia as well as Siena. Kogut believes that all of these different experiences and backgrounds will help the players grow.
“It’s not only levels and experience, but where they played and the type of schools they come from. Suburban-type areas versus and city areas, and then we have some rural kids. We have kids coming from all different backgrounds and experiences and some kids coming to Watertown have never been to a market like Watertown, so it’ll be a new experience for them,” Kogut said. “I think they can learn a lot from each other and bring stuff from their different programs to hopefully let us have a successful season this summer.”
One thing is for sure, Kogut wants to make sure that every night at the Duffy Fairgrounds is a fun one for all, and also getting to see some good baseball.
“The product on the field is going to be high-quality in this league night in and night out. You’re going to get to see good baseball,” Kogut said. “Also, have an entertaining evening in your summer when you come out.”