Oakland Ballers Add Speed Threat to Outfield Mix

The Oakland Ballers announced today that they have signed outfielder Darryl Buggs for the 2025 season. He will attend the club’s upcoming spring training in May.

Buggs played four years for the University of Alabama-Birmingham, with three of those years as an everyday center fielder. In his senior season at UAB, Buggs batted .273, with 17 extra-base hits, scoring 38 runs and stealing 16 bases. He followed that up with a summer in the MLB Draft League where he hit .318 and stealing 20 bags in 51 bases.

While Buggs has shown a knack for hitting and getting on base at a decent clip, he also hit only five home runs combined in his four collegiate seasons, maxing out with three in the 2022 campaign.

In his four college years, Buggs was consistently one of the best defenders on his team, making only five errors total and holding a .988 fielding percentage.

Buggs is 22 years old from Stockbridge, Georgia.

The Ballers have been busy this offseason. With the addition of Buggs to the roster mix, Oakland has now announced 13 players for the 2025 campaign. Those signings include outfielder Mich O'Hara and utility-man Pat Monteith, who were announced earlier this week.

The rest of the list includes right-handers Connor Sullivan, Kyle Pijaszek, Connor Richardson, Zach St. Pierre and Brody Eglite, catcher Tyler Lozano, shortstop Tremayne Cobb Jr., first base slugger Christian Almanza, and outfielder Tyler Best.

They've also brought in Cameron Bufford, who could play corner infield, or outfield.

With the signings of Buggs, O'Hara, and Monteith this week, the Ballers roster is halfway complete. How the team plans to use Bufford will have an impact on which spots on the roster still need to be filled. The Ballers are still lacking a true second baseman, though they have options like Monteith who could claim that role.

They'll also need to add some arms to the mix, both in the rotation and in the bullpen. More roster announcements are expected to drop next week.

Opening Night 2025 is quickly approaching! Season Tickets and Flex Packs for the 2025 season can be purchased now by going to tickets.oaklandballers.com. For more information on the Oakland Ballers visit our website at www.oaklandballers.com.