March 26, 2026, Corvallis, Ore. – Five alums of the Corvallis Knights will begin the 2026 season on major league rosters. Another handful are in triple-A, on the doorstep of either returning to the bigs, or making their major-league debuts.
The major-league Knights are:
- Left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (2010) of the Chicago Cubs, a former standout at Oregon State.
- Outfielder Steven Kwan (2016) of the Cleveland Guardians, another former standout for the Beavers.
- Catcher Adley Rutschman (2016) of the Baltimore Orioles, the first overall selection in the 2019 MLB draft and a former teammate of Kwan’s on OSU’s 2018 NCAA champions.
- Right-handed reliever Ryan Walker (2015) of the San Francisco Giants. He played at Washington State.
- Infielder Brooks Lee (2019) of the Minnesota Twins, another first-round draft selection out of longtime partner school Cal Poly.
Boyd will make his first opening-day start when Chicago plays host to Washington on March 26. He signed with the Cubs as a free agent before the 2025 season and had a breakout year, going 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA and making his first All-Star team.
Chicago was 92-70 in 2025 and advanced to the divisional round of the National League playoffs. With the additions of stars Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera, they should challenge Milwaukee for the N.L. Central, even with the loss of Kyle Tucker to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kwan garnered his fourth consecutive American League Gold Glove as the Guardians left fielder in 2025, when he hit .272, with 11 homers, 56 RBIs and a career-high 21 stolen bases. He also made his second consecutive AL All-Star team.
Kwan may also play some center field this season. Cleveland finished 20-6 down the stretch in 2025 to capture the AL Central championship. They should contend for the title again.
Rutschman slumped to .220 in an injury-plagued 2025 campaign. He played in a career-low 90 games and had nine homers and 29 RBIs.
The Orioles also cratered from the previous season. They and Rutschman are expected to reverse those trends in 2026. He hit .302 in spring training, with a solid .850 OPS.
Walker recorded a career-high 17 saves while sharing closer duties with the Giants, with a 5-7 record and 4.11 ERA. He is their projected starting closer.
New manager Tony Vitello, late of the University of Tennessee, won’t have the Giants contending with the defending World Series champion Dodgers, but they should improve on last year’s 81-81 record.
Lee begins his second season as a full-time starter for the Twins. He hit .236 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 2025, playing a variety of infield positions. The Twins are expected to be in rebuilding mode this season.
Three Knights with MLB experience signed minor-league deals with new teams in the offseason and will start the campaign at the triple-A level.
MLB veteran infielder Nick Madrigal (2015) hooked up with the Angels, hit .333 in spring training and was assigned to Salt Lake City of the Pacific Coast League. He played with the Cubs in 2024 but missed the entire 2025 season with a shoulder injury.
Former University of Portland star Chad Stevens (2017-18) made his MLB debut with the Angels in 2025. He signed with Colorado in the off-season, played in a team-high 22 spring training games; he’ll open the year at Albuquerque in the PCL.
Longtime MLB veteran left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson (2008) signed with the Angels in the offseason but was released and is a free agent. He was 2-8, 4.56 with the Angels in 2025.
The former University of Oregon star became the first Knight to be selected in Round 1 of an MLB draft when he went to Colorado in 2011 as the 20th overall selection.
Second baseman Travis Bazzana (2021), the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft by Cleveland, will start the season with their Columbus affiliate in the triple-A International League. He played for Australia in the recent World Baseball Classic.
Check out all Knights in the Pros, from single-A to the Bigs, here.
The Knights open their 19th season in Corvallis on May 29 with a West Coast League road series at Kamloops, B.C. Their home opener is set for June 10 against the Marion Berries, starting at 6:35 p.m. at Goss Stadium.