RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) baseball team announced on Friday that first baseman Armani Raygoza is set to become the fifth student-athlete in program history to compete in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and the first since 1992 when he suits up for the Orleans Firebirds on Saturday.
 
Raygoza is one of nine Vaqueros competing in collegiate wooden bat summer leagues along with returning pitchers Ruben Gonzalez, Augie Grohman, and Clavin Junek, all of whom are competing in the Texas Collegiate League as Gonzalez and Grohman are teammates on the Brazos Valley Bombers and Junek is competing with the San Antonio River Monsters. Five incoming players are competing as well, including pitcher Brooks Jones, infielder Gael Salinas, and pitcher Merek Yeager with the Saskatoon Berries of the Western Canadian Baseball League, and catcher Carlos Morales and second baseman Nathaniel Williams with the Academy Barons of the California Collegiate League.
 
The CCBL is considered the premiere collegiate baseball summer league in the country. More than 1,750 CCBL alumni have gone on to play in Major League Baseball since the league started in 1965, including about 400 on an annual basis. Among the most notable players to compete for Orleans are Hall of Famers Frank Thomas (1988) and Carlton Fisk (1966) and all-stars Corbin Burnes (2014), Marcus Stroman (2010-11), Mark Teixeira (1999), Todd Helton(1994), and Nomar Garciaparra (1993). Like Raygoza, Thomas, Teixeira, and Helton were first basemen.
 
Raygoza becomes the second position player to compete in the CCBL for UTRGV, along with shortstop Albert Molina, who played for Chatham in 1988 before getting drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 36^th round of the 1988 MLB Draft. The other alumni to compete in the CCBL are pitchers Marc Ottmers (Brewster, 1992), a fifth-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1993, Jesse Trinidad (Cotuit, 1975), and Ron Edquist (Cotuit, 1975). Trinidad and Edquist are members of the UTRGV Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
Orleans opens its season Saturday and plays 40 regular season games through Aug. 2.
 
The Texas Collegiate League regular season started June 2 and features 48 games through July 26.
 
The Berries' season started May 28 and features 56 games through Aug. 5.
 
The Barons started play on June 5 and are playing 34 games through July 26.
 
Armani Raygoza
 
A two-time Southland Conference Player of the Year and all-conference first team honoree, Raygoza hit .314/.462/.633 with 17 home runs, 15 doubles, 50 RBI, and 53 runs scored en route to American Baseball Coaches Association All-Central Region Second Team honors. During the season he became the program's all-time leader in home runs (40) and RBI (138).
 
The Vaqueros' starting first baseman, Raygoza led the Southland in six categories, ranking 27^th in the NCAA in walks (50), 30^th in walks per game (0.91), 76^th in home runs (17), 79^th in home runs per game (0.31), 117^th in slugging (.633), and 147^th in total bases (131) while also ranking second in the Southland and 138^th in the NCAA in on-base percentage (.462). He hit 17 home runs for the second-straight season, tied for the fourth-highest single-season total in program history. Raygoza recorded 19 multi-hit games, including four of three hits and one of four hits, team-high tying 13 multi-RBI games, including one of three, three of four, and one of five RBI, and team-high 16 multi-run games, including four three-run games.
 
Ruben Gonzalez
 
Gonzalez made his season debut on June 3 at Victoria, striking out eight in 5.0 innings of relief. He followed that up by striking out six in 5.0 scoreless innings in a start June 9 at Victoria.
 
After missing the last two and a half seasons due to injury, Gonzalez returned to make nine appearances for the Vaqueros this past season, striking out eight in 8.2 innings while holding opponents to a .226 batting average. 
 
Augie Grohman
 
Grohman made his season debut by starting against Acadiana on June 4, pitching 4.2 innings and striking out three. He followed that with a scoreless outing against Victoria on June 10 where he allowed two hits with four strikeouts over 2.2 innings.
 
Grohman made two appearances for the Vaqueros down the stretch as a freshman this past season, capping the year by striking out two in 2.0 scoreless innings May 10 at Tarleton State, which earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Regionals.
 
Calvin Junek
 
Junek made his season debut by starting and striking out five in 3.0 scoreless innings vs. Sherman on June 3. Junek last pitched on June 10 where he pitched an inning against Acadiana allowing five runs, three earned. 
 
After redshirting the 2025 season with Men's College World Series runner up Coastal Carolina, Junek made one appearance for the Vaqueros this past season, striking out one in a scoreless inning at Tarleton State on May 9.
 
Brooks Jones
 
Jones has already made five relief appearances, pitching 6.2 innings while striking out six and allowing three runs, one unearned, on two hits and five walks.
 
This past season at Hutchinson Community College, Jones made 12 appearances, striking out 10 in 13.2 innings while posting a 5.93 ERA and allowing 17 hits and six walks.
 
Gael Salinas
 
Salinas is off to a strong start, hitting .357/.449/.500 while going 15-for-42 with four doubles, one triple, two RBI, 11 runs scored, and a stolen base in 10 games.
 
This past season at Frontier Community College, Salinas hit .380/.506/.631, going 71-for-187 with nine home runs, 18 doubles, one triple, 65 RBI, 64 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases in 53 games.
 
Merek Yeager
 
Yeager has not yet appeared for the Berries.
 
This past season at Hutchinson Community College, Yeager went 7-4 with a 7.13 ERA. In 15 games (13 starts), he struck out 77 in 59.1 innings while allowing 20 walks and 75 hits.
 
Carlos Morales
 
Morales started two of the Barons' first five games, getting hit by a pitch while going 1-for-7.
 
This past season at Santa Ana College, Morales hit .347/.453/.449, going 34-for-98 with two home runs, four doubles, 22 RBI, and 20 runs scored in 31 games.
 
Nathaniel Williams
 
Williams started in four of the Barons' first five games, going 7-for-19 (.368) with a double, four RBI, three runs scored, and a stolen base.
 
This past season at Santa Ana College, Williams hit .328/.441/.550, going 62-for-189 with nine home runs, 15 doubles, 41 RBI, 51 runs scored, and seven stolen bases in 47 games.

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