Wednesday, January 28, Corvallis, Ore. – The Australian Baseball League’s 2025-26 season came to a close this past Sunday, and it’s no coincidence the Sydney Blue Sox made their first-ever ABL Championship Series, the only founding member of the league to have never done so. Last March, the Blue Sox announced that Corvallis Knights head coach Brooke Knight would be returning for a second season as field manager, and Coach Knight promptly guided Sydney to the best winning percentage in the club’s modern-ABL history.
Sydney led the ABL with a 24-14 record this season and came within one win of the club’s first Claxton Shield, awarded to the ABL champion. Coach Knight was denied his third ABL championship by the Adelaide Giants (formerly Bite), whom he skippered in 2014 and 2015, losing this season’s championship series two games to one. Brooke guided the Perth Heat to successive ABL titles in 2011 and 2012 during his first coaching stint Down Under. Last season, Coach Knight also led Sydney to the top record in the league after they finished with the worst record in the two years prior to his arrival.
After dominating the regular season, finishing with the only winning record in the 4-team ABL, Sydney was bested by the Giants in games 1 and 3 in the best-of-three ABLCS. Adelaide won game one 3-2 on a walk-off HR, with Sydney fighting back in game two for a composed 6-1 victory to force the decisive game 3. The Blue Sox’s magic ran out in the final game, however, as Sydney fell 6-2.
In typical fashion of a Coach Knight-led team, Sydney’s pitching staff and defense were its strength. The Blue Sox finished the year with a 3.26 ERA (1.13 better than second-place Perth) and a +66 run-differential, both tops in the ABL.
Sydney’s rotation was anchored by two dominant performances by players with Corvallis ties. Ben Ferrer, who pitched at Oregon State from 2022-2023, started 8 games and went 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA this season. He struck out 44 in 46.0 innings. Equally as impressive, Landen Bourassa, who played for the Corvallis Knights WCL championship team in 2018 out of the University of San Francisco, went 6-2 across nine starts. He had a 2.31 ERA and finished second in the league with 59 strikeouts across 62.1 innings pitched. Both pitchers are up for the Pitching Champion award, given to the ABL’s top starter.
Corvallis Knights 2019 alum Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis of Grand Canyon University helped hold down a strong Blue Sox bullpen. BCV led the ABL in saves, and in 11 games held opponents to a 3.07 ERA. ABL Relief Pitching Award nominee Josh Bishopp, who matched Ferrer with a team low 1.96 ERA, threw 23.0 innings across 11 appearances, all in relief.
The Sydney offense finished second in the league in batting average at .279 and led the league in walks and stolen bases (another Brooke Knight offensive staple). The Blue Sox were led by ABL MVP candidate Eric Rataczak, who hit .336 with 7 home runs and 27 RBI in 38 games. Rataczak, who is a member of the Miami Marlins minor league system, and three other Blue Sox all hit above .330, led by Jaylin Rae’s league-leading .400.
Former Knight and 2019 West Coast League MVP (Crescent Valley HS/Utah/Portland, 2018-19/2021-22) Briley Knight joined his father in Sydney this season after playing for Adelaide each of the past two years, winning the Claxton Shield with the Giants in 2023-24. Briley knocked in 8 runs in 13 games.
Future Knight and Oregon State Beaver Josh Nati hit 2 home runs and collected 8 RBI in just 18 at-bats across 8 games. Nati, a Sydney native, is set to join the Beavs this spring and the Knights this summer.
Coach Knight returns for his 17th season in Corvallis this summer. The Knights kick off the 2026 West Coast League season in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada on Friday, May 29th. Corvallis’ home opener will be Wednesday, June 10th at OSU’s Goss Stadium. Check out the team’s full summer schedule here.