Delaware baseball Tyler August throws a pitch during a fall baseball game. Photo courtesy of Delaware Baseball Facebook page
2023 Delaware Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year Tyler August announced a major move last week on where he plans on playing baseball in the Summer of 2024.
It was announced on X (formerly Twitter) that August will play with two-time defending Cape Cod League champions, the Bourne Braves for the 2024 summer season, via Codball.
The move seems to excite the 6-2, 220lb pitcher as he told Delaware Live Sports, “When coach Mamula told me I had a chance to play there (Bourne) I was ecstatic and knew it was an opportunity I can’t pass up.”
As mentioned, the Bourne Braves won both the 2022 & the 2023 Cape Cod championship, something that August also feels makes the invite a fit. “Playing for any team in the Cape is a great opportunity, but I want to compete for a championship everywhere I go and playing for Bourne gives me that opportunity.”
The Cape Cod League is easily the most prestigious college summer league in the country. The league was formed in 1923 and produced over 1600 MLB players, including 350 active big leaguers, according to their website, https://www.capecodbaseball.org/about-ccbl/league-history/.
The league is an invite only set up. There are 10 total teams that play a 44-game regular season and three rounds of playoffs that are best-of-three series. The League is so popular it has even been featured in Hollywood with the classic 90’s romantic comedy, Summer Catch, which stars Freddie Prinze Jr., Jessica Biel, and Matthew Lillard.
Playing in this famous league is something that is familiar to the August family, as Tyler’s father, Brian also played, something that Tyler is taking as a challenge. “It’s cool to play in the Cape Cod League like my dad did back in his college days. It will be fun to see who has a more successful summer there.”
August just completed his first Fall season at the University of Delaware, which he says was a learning experience for him, “it took me a little time to get acclimated to the pace of play and new strike zone.” August continued, “after two weeks of inter-squad I began to find my footing and started to feel like myself again.”
When asked where he felt the most improvement in his development, August cited improvements both on the mound and in the batter’s box. “I really developed my slider this Fall with more movement and velocity. My fastball has gotten better with spin rate and overall shape.”
The DMA alum continued, “hitting was definitely difficult in the beginning. You want to try and show the older guys what you can do by trying to do too much, but once I started to do what I’m used to doing, I figured it out.”
Lastly, we asked August what he’s noticed has been the biggest difference from high school ball to the college game. “Nobody chases bad pitches (in college) and none of the pitchers just walk the house. They are just very disciplined in every aspect of the game.”
August will begin his college career officially on February 16th, as the Blue Hens open the 2024 season in Jacksonville to take on North Florida for a three-game series. They open up at home on February 20th against cross-town foe, Delaware State. It will be fun to follow August both for the Hens in the Spring and the Bourne Braves this summer!
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