Oakland Ballers Sign Outfielder
The Oakland Ballers (a.k.a B's) have added a second outfielder to their roster for the team's inaugural 2024 season in Collin Matthews.
A two-time First Team All-MAC selection at Kent State, Mathews finished a five-year college career in 2023, all with Kent. In his senior season, he slashed .341/.461/.565 with 10 HR and 50 RBI and was named to the All-Defense team in the conference.
He made his professional debut with the Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League in a limited stint in 2023, picking up three hits in 12 games.
Matthews will be paired up with Trevor Halsema, who went to USC, in the outfield. Halsema played primarily in left field this past season, while Matthews was Kent State's centerfielder for his last three seasons.
One thing to keep an eye on with Matthews is his strikeout rate, which soared in his first taste of pro ball with Lake Erie. In 34 plate appearances he struck out 14 times, or 41.2%. He hit ten home runs in both 2022 and 2023 while in college, but that may not be enough to offset the strikeout rate. This past season with Kent State he struck out 20% of the time, so hopefully the Frontier League sample was just him getting acclimated to a new level.
The B's will be holding multiple open tryouts which anyone can take part in. In addition to the two Pioneer League Tryouts, the Ballers plan to hold an additional local open tryout, the details of which will be announced at a later time. Future news on tickets and promotions will be announced at a later date.
The Ballers season is set to begin on the road on May 21st, with the B's first-ever game in Oakland coming on June 4th.
There is now Ballers gear available in both green and black available at Oaklandish. Ballers hats are still available for pre-order.